Determinatio Of Individual Fibre Failure In Fibre Bundles

The onset of fibre failure signals the commencement of catastrophic structural failure in fibre bundle systems, a process that is important in standalone bundles and in other material structures. In this work, a technique by which the onset of fibre failure can accurately be identified by monitoring the electrical continuity and resistance of filaments and bundles during loading is demonstrated. The dual sensor/loading functionality of the fibres differs from most prior approaches wherein separate sensors were added to the load-bearing fibre array. Individual fibre failure and bundle onset failures in 50 fibre bundles were reliably and reproducibly detected.