Piezoelectric fibres integrated into structural composites

This paper describes the manufacture of structural composites incorporating piezoelectric fibres which are finding interest in applications such as shape-changing applications, sensors to detect mechanical strain or vibration and energy harvesting. In this paper preliminary results are presented for a simple cantilever structure consisting of piezoelectric fibres with planar electrodes that are co-cured within a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). Processing methods to embed functional fibres are described along with characterization of the piezoelectric and mechanical properties of the resulting material.