Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

Composite materials are widely used in many engineering applications and fields of technology. One of the main defects, which occur in fiber-reinforced composite materials, is delamination. It manifests itself in the separation of layers of material and the damaged structure once subjected to mechanical loads degrades further. Delamination results in lower stiffness and the decrease of structure’s carry load capability. Its early detection is one of the tasks of non-invasive structural health monitoring of layered composite materials. This publication discusses a new method for delamination detection in fiber-reinforced composite materials. The approach is based on analysis of energy signal, calculated with Teager–Kaiser energy operator, and comparison of change of the weighted instantaneous frequency for measurement points located in- and outside of delamination area. First, applicability of the developed method was tested using simple models of vibration signals, reflecting considered phenomena. Next, the authors’ weighted instantaneous frequency was applied for detection of deamination using signals obtained from FEM simulated response of the cantilever beam. Finally, the methods effectiveness were tested involving real experimental signals collected by the laser Doppler vibrometer (LVD) sensor measuring vibrations of the delaminated glass-epoxy specimens.

delamination, Teager–Kaiser energy operator, instantaneous frequency, fiber-reinforced composite material

This study presents and tests a method for semi-active control of vibrations in sandwich-type beam structures. This method adapts a strategy called prestress accumulation release. The prestress accumulation release strategy is based on structural reconfiguration: it uses short time, impulsive and localised changes of actuator properties (such as stiffness or damping), which are applied to a part of the system in the moments, when its strain energy attains a local maximum. The method has been earlier applied as a global control scheme to mitigate the fundamental vibration mode of a cantilever beam (by stiffness control) and in the task of mitigating the first four modes of a frame structure (by damping control). This study proposes a prestress accumulation release strategy and tests its effectiveness for the case of a three-layered sandwich structure, with the internal layer fabricated from a material with dissipative characteristic locally controllable through the material damping coefficient. In contrast to the earlier research, the control is applied thus at the level of material characteristics instead of a discrete set of dedicated actuators. Based on the finite element method, a numerical experiment involving a passively damped, as well as prestress accumulation release-controlled, three-layered cantilever beam excited by initial displacements was performed. The effectiveness of the approach was studied for a broad range of internal layer damping parameters. The presented results revealed a high potential of the prestress accumulation release strategy in semi-active damping of vibrations of sandwich-type structures.

vibration control, sandwich structure, semi-active control, decentralised control, smart structures, constrained layer method

This paper studies the effect of prestress force magnitude on natural frequencies and dynamic behaviour of eccentrically prestressed glass fibre reinforced polymer composite beams, including the theoretical background, numerical results and experimental verification. The term prestress indicates the initial tensile stress applied to the fibres embedded in selected external layers of the composite material. First, the paper presents the theoretical background of the finite element method modelling of prestressed composites. Then, the results of numerical simulations conducted for a five-layered glass-epoxy composite beam are presented. The natural frequencies corresponding to three initial bending modes are analyzed for different prestressing force levels and for different fibre volume content. Finally, the results are verificated by experimental modal analysis conducted on three different glass-epoxy composite specimens of various mechanical parameters. Both the numerical results obtained from finite element method and the experimental results obtained from experimental modal analysis reveal that the first bending frequency increases and the two subsequent bending frequencies decrease due to the prestressing force. The comparison of numerical and experimental data confirms the effect and allows to quantify the influence that the prestress force has on the natural frequencies of composites, which is an interesting and practically relevant phenomenon.

Prestressed structures, laminated composites, prestressed reinforced composites, glass fibre reinforced polymer composite materials, vibrations, finite element method

The paper analyzes the influence of prestressing force on the natural frequencies on Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite beams. Prestress is introduced by applying initial tensile forces to the fibres embedded in selected layer of the composite material during the manufacturing process. Release of prestressing forces results in deformation and self-equilibrated state of stress of the entire composite which changes both its static properties and dynamic characteristics. The paper is focused on analysis of shifts in natural frequencies corresponding to initial bending modes of the composite beams of various fibre volume fraction and prestressed layer location. The problem is analyzed with the use of finite element simulations and experimental modal analysis. The conducted numerical and experimental work reveals that shifts in the natural frequencies caused by non-axial prestressing can be significant and they are important phenomenon which has to be taken into account during design of the composite material.

The concept of increasing strength capacity of structural elements by introducing preliminary stresses, counteracting the exploitation stresses, is known for years. Large number of applications of pre-stressed materials in civil engineering proves that proper compression of material can effectively increase the strength of structural elements. Because of the rapid development of composite materials, and growing demand for light materials with particularly high stiffness and strength properties, the pre-stressed FRP composites application in industry seems to be a question of time. This assumption is confirmed by increasing number of publications concerning the problem of mechanical characteristics for such materials. This paper presents the results of preliminary research on the pre-stressing of the FRP composite structures, while the term pre-stress indicates initial tensile stress applied to the fibres embedded in selected layers of the composite material. Manufacturing process and shape forming possibilities as well as short-term static and dynamic behaviour of the pre-stressed composites are discussed. Presented results are achieved by the use of the experimental methods (three-point bending tests and Experimental Modal Analysis) and experimentally verified Finite Element Method model of pre-stressed structure.