4. Numerical modeling of sensor wire

Coupled field analysis in commercial Abaqus/standard software was used to model the electromechanical behavior and verify experimental results. The sample geometry of conductive thin film-coated monofilament was developed at the microscale to avoid aspect ratio problems during meshing and reduce the computational time, Figure 2a and b. Before performing the finite element analysis, it was

important to ensure the convergence of the mesh. So, mesh convergence study was performed on the model to eliminate the dependency upon the mesh for which 5 mesh sizes, 1, 0.5, 0.1, 0.08, and 0.05 were considered, and, based on the study, mesh size 0.05 was used for discrete model because it was the best compromise between less computational work and accuracy of results, Figure 2c. The applied boundary conditions consisted of both mechanical and electrical loads, Figure 3.

Electromechanical boundary conditions applied to the 3D model.

Nanotechnology and Development of Strain Sensor for Damage Detection

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82871

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

101

Fabrication of composite specimen with sensor wire.

5. Fabrication of composite specimens incorporated with sensor

Standard specimens of composites for tensile test were prepared and a full integration of sensors into the composite structure was achieved, Figure 4. Silicon

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the coated yarn: (a) front view, (b) side view, and (c) mesh of the yarn.

Nanotechnology and Development of Strain Sensor for Damage Detection DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82871

Figure 3. Electromechanical boundary conditions applied to the 3D model.

important to ensure the convergence of the mesh. So, mesh convergence study was performed on the model to eliminate the dependency upon the mesh for which 5 mesh sizes, 1, 0.5, 0.1, 0.08, and 0.05 were considered, and, based on the study, mesh size 0.05 was used for discrete model because it was the best compromise between less computational work and accuracy of results, Figure 2c. The applied boundary conditions consisted of both mechanical and electrical loads, Figure 3.
