Ribbon Tapes, Shape Sensors, and Hardware

For fiber optic sensors to be integrated in aerospace structures and for these sensors to provide data that can be used for structural health monitoring (SHM), development work has been performed in the SARISTU project. This particular chapter describes the inclusion of fiber optic sensors in a tape format, called ribbon tape, for damage detection and load monitoring with a secondary bonding procedure to install these in an aerospace structure. The ribbon tapes can be installed on composite structures either by co-bonding or secondary bonding techniques. Both procedures have been applied to composite coupons that have been tested in different environmental conditions. Moreover, a damaged tape repair procedure is developed. This chapter also describes the development of a fiber optic sensor to be used as a shape sensor inside a morphing aerospace structure to provide feedback on the structures shape. The hardware required to analyze and format the sensor readings for use in SHM is also provided in this chapter.