A Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Composite with a Damage Indication Function

A method for the manufacture of a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) containing a sensitive layer with a damage visualization capability is developed. The layer is based on a glass fabric impregnated with a mixture of three components — microcapsules with a leuco dye, a dye developer, and a polymer adhesive. Specimens of the GFRP epoxy composite with an integrated damage-indicating layer were manufactured by the method of vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. It was established that both the shear and compression strains above the threshold of sensitivity of the layer led to a change in color of the specimen. The kinetics of the halochromiс transformation in room conditions was estimated in series of quasi-static compression and shear strength experiments. The effect of the integrated damage indicating layer on the interlaminar shear strength of the composite was estimated in a series of test on double-notch specimens.