Inholland Composites performed an experiment together with our colleague Mark Jacobs. During an informal meeting, initiated by Kampinga, Inholland’s Innovation Director, the suggestion was made to set up an experiment to investigate the production readiness for integrating the fibre sensors in composite laminates using vacuum infusion as a production method.
There seem to be many opportunities for structural health monitoring where sensors are part of composite laminates. Consider in this regard the non-conducting electrical benefits of fibre sensors used instead of conventional sensors. The first results are promising, but more research will follow to confirm the viability of this solution.
In case you are interested in this topic, there is a challenging graduate position available at Optics11 starting February 2017, please contact Inholland Composites or Martin Kampinga.