Impact damage detection of a carbon-fibre-reinforced-polymer plate employing self-sensing time-domain reflectometry

A non-destructive inspection method of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is self-sensing technology that uses carbon fibres as sensors. The technology applies electric current to composites and measures the electrical resistance change to detect damage. Although the technique detects damage precisely, it requires many electrodes on the CFRP surface. Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) has previously been proposed to detect damage over a wide area with a small number of electrodes and applied to detect fibre breakage in unidirectional CFRP ply specimens. In the present paper, experiments are conducted for a cross-ply CFRP laminate subjected to impact damage. Three impact loads are applied and the damage is inspected employing self-sensing TDR and a micro-strip line. Results show that the self-sensing TDR can be applied to laminated CFRP structures that have several fibre directions and when damage such as a delamination crack extends under or close to the micro-strip line.