In this paper, the performance of various apodization profiles (uniform, hyperbolic tangent and gaussian) for un-chirped Fiber Bragg Grating is investigated. Apodization techniques are used to get optimized reflection spectra with high side lobe suppression. The simulations are done by solving coupled mode equations in MATLAB using transfer matrix method which explains the relationship between the guided modes. The result shows that Gaussian profile suppresses side lobe level much more efficiently than uniform and hyperbolic tangent profiles. Gaussian apodized Fiber Bragg Grating is used to indicate strain by producing wavelength shift. MATLAB and Opti-grating result gives an idea about the efficiency of the suggested scheme to analyze strain measurements by giving a linear response.

Novel structural supercapacitors, containing graphene nanoplatelets incorporated carbon fiber mats as electrodes, crosslinked diglycidylether of bisphenol-A epoxy polymer electrolyte and filter paper separator, have been manufactured for the first time by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding process. These supercapacitors can bear structural loads and store electrochemical energy at the same time. Loading of high surface area graphene nanoplatelets on carbon fiber mats is an effective process to improve the charge storage capacity of the electrodes. Electrochemical and structural properties of the structural supercapacitors are explored through in-plane shear testing, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, chronoamperometry and impedance spectroscopy, respectively. As graphene nanoplatelet loadings on carbon fiber mat electrodes increase from 0 to 10 wt.%, the structural supercapacitors exhibit significant improvements in specific capacitance (8.9–118.7 mF·cm−3), energy density (19.7–263.8 Wh·m−3) and normalized in-plane shear modulus (1.7–3.1 GPa). Thus, this study has revealed that using the graphene nanoplatelet loaded carbon fiber mats as structural supercapacitor electrodes is a relatively novel and easy approach to enhance the multifunctionality of structural supercapacitors.

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