Experimental characterization of interfacial adhesion of an optical fiber embedded in a composite material

The efficiency of an optical sensor embedded in a composite structure strongly depends on the interfacial adhesion between the optical fiber coating and the surrounding solid material. The present paper reports on the study of the interfacial adhesion of an optical fiber embedded in a composite material. A simple system composed of optical fibers embedded in an epoxy vinylester resin was first studied to evaluate the influence of embedded length, curing temperature and curing time. Pull-out tests on optical fibers bonded in epoxy vinylester/glass fiber composite material were carried out to measure the effect of glass concentration on the fiber bonding. The pull-out results showed no effect of both embedded length and curing temperature. However, an increase of the interfacial debonding stress is reported with increased curing time. For the optical fiber/composite system, a linear evolution of interfacial debonding stress with increasing glass fiber concentration is reported.