Smart technical textiles based on fibre optic sensors

Angle dependent Fiber Bragg grating inscription in microstructured polymer optical fibers

“…For example, the higher elastic limit and about 30 times lower Young's modulus of PMMA fibers (2-3 GPa [5][6][7] with respect to about 72 Gpa in silica [8]) are particularly advantageous when sensing weak forces. Silica fibers can be in general used for up to 1% strain, which is not enough in certain applications, such as in geo-grids and smart textiles [9]. This is where the polymer fibers are preferred as they are less rigid and can be strained up to 10% [8].…”

Towards a Multiscale Scheme for Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Masonry Structures with Damage

“…In recent years, textile solutions in particular are gaining ground as they provide a minimally intrusive means for recovering structural strength, improving structural performance under service conditions and additionally provide protection in the event of an extreme event [7,11]. On a step further the embedment of sensors in such textile solutions may provide valuable information for characterising such complex materials [12,13].…”

Glowing felt textile [Invited]

“…The concept of illuminative fabrics emerged in 1970 as a result of progress in the development of polymeric optical fibers (POFs) in the 1960s [1]. Integration of POFs in textiles enabled the merger of design and functionality towards so-called "smart textiles" in the form of the light distribution systems, flexible flat panel displays, and optical fiber fabric displays which targeted applications covering industrial sectors ranging from medical, healthcare, earthworks, construction, to civil engineering and transport [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Besides, smart clothing fabricated from smart textile has broad applications including phototherapy and three-dimensionally fitted low-level light therapy [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], wearable sensors [5,6,8,10,11,16] as well as in fashion design [6,8,9,[16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…For data transmission applications, POF is guiding light along the fiber based on the total internal reflection in the fiber core [6]. However, POF in smart textiles has to be side emitting (glowing) to provide illumination functionality [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Side glowing can be achieved by launching light into the fiber at angles larger than critical or by fiber modification.…”

“…Modification minimizes total internal reflection, either by raising the refractive index of cladding or by lowering the refractive index of the core or by enabling scattering to change the critical angle of incident light. The scattering can be enhanced by various techniques including multiple micro-bending of the fiber; mixing of scattering or fluorescent additives into the core or cladding material; creating asymmetries in the core/cladding geometry; chemical processing or laser ablation of the POF surface to create notches [6,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”