Embedded ferromagnetic microwires for monitoring tensile stress in polymeric materials

Considerable efforts have been made to develop testing non-destructive methods for polymer composite materials. We would like to introduce researchers in the field of smart materials to a new method of monitoring internal stresses. The method can be classified as an embedded sensing technique, where the sensing element is a glass-coated ferromagnetic microwire with a specific magnetic anisotropy. With a diameter 10–100 μm, the microwire impedance acts as the controlled parameter which is monitored for a weak alternating current (AC) in the MHz range. The microwire impedance becomes stress sensitive in the presence of a weak constant axial bias magnetic field. This external parameter allows the impedance stress sensitivity to be easily tuned. In addition, a local bias field may also allow the reconstruction of stress profile when it is scanned along the microwire. The experimental results are analysed using simple magnetostatic and impedance models.