Tensile strain and damage self-sensing of flax FRP laminates using carbon nanofiber conductive network coupled with acoustic emission.

The strain and damage self-sensing properties of carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/flax fiber-reinforced polymer (FFRP) laminates under tension were investigated via simultaneously measuring the changes of electrical resistance (ER) and acoustic emission (AE) signals. The piezoresistive mechanisms together with the damage evolution of CNFs/FFRP laminates were also explored. The results revealed that both ER and AE responses to tensile strains in CNFs/FFRP laminates could be segmented into three stages, which confirmed their good damage self-sensing ability. The isochronous and reversible electrical resistance responses to tensile strains proved the stability and repeatability of strain self-sensing capability for CNFs/FFRP laminates. Moreover, in-situ ER measurement is sensitive not only to new damages but also to existing damages, whereas AE signals are only sensitive to new damages. Therefore, adding a small amount of conductive CNFs into non-conductive FFRP laminates could provide an effective strategy to achieve the self-sensing ability in their strain and damage development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]