A micro-computed tomography technique to study the quality of fibre optics embedded in composite materials

Quality of embedment of optical fibre sensors in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers plays an important role in the resultant properties of the composite, as well as for the correct monitoring of the structure. Therefore, availability of a tool able to check the optical fibre sensor-composite interaction becomes essential. High-resolution 3D X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography, or Micro-CT, is a relatively new non-destructive inspection technique which enables investigations of the internal structure of a sample without actually compromising its integrity. In this work the feasibility of inspecting the position, the orientation and, more generally, the quality of the embedment of an optical fibre sensor in a carbon fibre reinforced laminate at unit cell level have been proven.