Manufacturing and testing composite overwrapped pressure vessels with embedded sensors

In this research programme, methodologies for structural health monitoring (SHM) of composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) were addressed. So, this work is part of the development of a COPV laboratorial prototype incorporated with non-destructive sensing technologies. The aim is to detect and identify critical aspects that can happen during operation, in order to reduce possible safety problems. Fibre Bragg grating (FBG) optical sensors and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymeric piezoelectric were the selected sensing technologies. These sensors were embedded in the liner–composite interface during its manufacturing and monitored the prototype while tested under cyclic internal pressure loading. The measurements collected from the sensors were compiled with the analysis of test data and are presented in this paper. Also, the suitability of the two sensing technologies, issues related to sensor embedding and the monitoring strategy are discussed.