Abstract
This paper presents a method for monitoring impact damages m FRP pressure vessels based on impact force identification. When an impact event occurs, the location and force history of the impact force are identified using experimental transfer matrices which relate the impact force and the measured strain responses. Then, the location of the damage is predicted from the impact location, and the extent of the damage is estimated using an experimental relation between the impact damage and the peak force. In the present study, the experimental relation was preliminarily determined by conducting drop-weight impact tests. The validity of the present method is verified experimentally by estimating the impact damage in a FRP pressure vessel which was induced by a drop-weight impact test. The results reveal that the location and extent of the impact damage can be estimated with sufficient accuracy using the present method.
