Self-sensing time domain reflectometry method for damage monitoring of a CFRP plate using a narrow-strip transmission line

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) measures the time difference between the pulse signals reflected from the end of a transmission line and from damage, and it obtains the location of the damaged point in the target transmission line from the measured time difference. In previous studies, authors of the present paper proposed a self-sensing TDR method for a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plate. The results of a previous paper revealed the applicability of the self-sensing TDR method for the CFRP plate. In this study, a new self-sensing TDR method is proposed: a narrow-strip line is used for a transmission line. The narrow-strip transmission line allows us to determine the location of damage in the transverse direction. The present study experimentally investigates impedance matching using the narrow-copper-strip transmission line. The results of the damage detections show the applicability of the new method to damage monitoring of CFRP plates.