ABSTRACT
The effect of layer waviness in carbon-epoxy laminate on the optical signal was investigated. A single-step fabrication procedure was developed for fabricating embedded optical fiber into wavy thermoset cross ply laminates. Laminates were fabricated having embedded optic fiber over various wave intensities formations. The optical signals were transmitted through fiber optic embedded over intentionally fabricated waves. The results indicated direct correlation between the optical signal with wave intensity. The greater the severity and number of waves, the lesser is the transmission of optical signal. The results suggest application of above technique to evolve accept-reject criteria for characterization of layer waviness defect in composite structure which is analogous to other defects such as delamination and porosity etc.
