High-strength and high-flexibility fiber reinforced composite material optical fiber structure and preparation device and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber reinforced composite material optical fiber structure and a preparation device and method.The method combines an optical fiber sensing technology and a composite material continuous pultrusion preparation process, and the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber reinforced composite material optical fiber structure is composed of a core material optical fiber and a wrapping layer fiber reinforced composite material. Then, the fibers and the optical fibers are integrally formed through a heating curing mold under the action of a traction device, and finally, the fibers and the optical fibers are subjected to post-curing treatment through a drying tunnel, and can be rolled and detected. Wherein the resin system is a mixture of epoxy resin and a curing agent, and the fibers are quartz fibers. The high-strength flexible composite material optical fiber prepared by the invention has excellent mechanical property and flame retardant property, is relatively good in flexibility, and can meet the application requirements of the optical fiber in severe environments such as high temperature and high curvature.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The patent of this invention relates to a method for preparing a composite optical fiber, which belongs to the technical field of functional composite materials, and specifically relates to a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure and a preparation device and method. Background Art

[0002] Compared with traditional sensors, fiber optic sensors have the advantages of small size, fast response speed, and suitability for harsh environments. They are particularly suitable for embedding in composite materials to monitor the curing process and health of structures during service. However, fiber optics are brittle and prone to root breakage when embedded in structures, which affects the sensor's embedding survival rate. Therefore, it is necessary to encapsulate or surface treat fiber optic sensors before embedding to enhance their flexibility.

[0003] The existing Chinese patent with publication number CN117824522A, optical fiber sensor packaging structure, packaging process, calibration test method, Chinese patent with publication number CN 117705328A, a metallized packaged fiber Bragg grating pressure ring sensor and its packaging method, Chinese patent with publication number CN115262862A, a steel-continuous fiber composite intelligent reinforcement with sheathed optical cable embedded in the inner core of steel bar and its preparation method, all propose the use of metal tube packaging optical fiber sensor. The use of metal tube packaging can protect the optical fiber sensor and improve the burial survival rate. The optical fiber sensor material is quartz and the packaging tube is metal. If it is buried in a resin-based composite material, problems such as interface incompatibility are prone to occur, thereby affecting the optical fiber sensing characteristics. Secondly, publication number CN103903681A proposes a new type of fiber-reinforced composite cable core, including an inner glass fiber layer, an intermediate carbon fiber layer and an outer glass fiber cloth, which has the function of transmitting signals, but the preparation method is relatively complicated.

[0004] To this end, we proposed a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure and a preparation device and method to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure and a preparation device and method. The outer layer of the optical fiber structure of the present invention is a quartz / epoxy composite material, which has the functions of high temperature resistance and protection of the core optical fiber, and can improve the flexibility of the overall material. The preparation device of the present invention can make the composite optical fiber continuous and uninterrupted during the production process, and the optical fiber is integrated with the fiber and the resin, which improves the production efficiency and can realize industrial production.

[0006] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0007] The high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure includes an optical fiber, a fiber and a resin. After the fiber and the resin are uniformly coated on the optical fiber, they are solidified and formed in one piece to form a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure with an outer layer of a fiber-reinforced composite material and an inner layer of an optical fiber.

[0008] To optimize the above technical solutions, the specific measures taken also include:

[0009] The above-mentioned fiber is quartz fiber.

[0010] The above-mentioned resin is epoxy resin.

[0011] A preparation device for a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure comprises a glue tank, a curing mold, a drying tunnel, a traction device and a winding reel which are arranged in sequence in a front-to-rear manner, wherein a resin system is placed in the glue tank, the glue tank is used to impregnate the fiber with the resin system, the curing mold is used to cure and mold the optical fiber, the fiber and the resin system, the drying tunnel is used to further heat and cure the cured optical fiber, the fiber and the resin system to obtain a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure, the traction device is used to pull the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure, and the winding reel is used to wind up the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure.

[0012] The resin system is a mixture of epoxy resin and curing agent.

[0013] The drying tunnel comprises a first drying tunnel and a second drying tunnel which are sequentially arranged in front and behind. The first drying tunnel and the second drying tunnel are both used for further heating and curing the cured optical fiber, fiber and resin system. The heating temperature of the second drying tunnel is higher than that of the first drying tunnel.

[0014] The method for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure uses the above-mentioned high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure preparation device, specifically comprising the following steps:

[0015] Step 1: inject the resin system into the glue tank, select fibers with different linear densities to be impregnated with the resin system through the glue tank and pass through the curing mold;

[0016] Step 2: Under the action of the pulling device, the optical fiber passes through the fiber inside the front end of the curing mold and passes through the curing mold together with the fiber and resin system for integrated molding, so as to achieve uniform coating of the optical fiber by the fiber and resin, forming a composite material structure with an outer layer of fiber-reinforced composite material and an inner layer of optical fiber;

[0017] Step 3: After the composite material structure is heated in the first drying oven and the second drying oven, the curing degree of the fiber-reinforced composite material is improved to obtain a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure;

[0018] Step 4: The traction device reels the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure onto a reel.

[0019] In step 1, before the resin system is impregnated into the fiber, a predetermined temperature is set in the glue tank to fully mix the epoxy resin and the curing agent, and the viscosity reaches 100mPa·s-200mPa·s. The predetermined temperature of the glue tank is set to 25°C-35°C.

[0020] In step 2, the diameter of the optical fiber after being integrated with the fiber and the resin is 0.3-0.7 mm, the temperature of the curing mold is 90° C., and the pulling speed of the pulling device is 1 m / min.

[0021] In step 3, the temperature of the first drying channel is 110°C, and the temperature of the second drying channel is 130°C.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] 1. The preparation device of the present invention adopts a composite material continuous pultrusion process, combines the composite material continuous pultrusion preparation process with the optical fiber structure design, and has no restrictions on the length direction of the internal optical fiber and the outer sheath layer, thereby improving the application range of the optical fiber. On the other hand, since the optical fiber is integrated with the fiber and the resin, the interface bonding performance is strong, so the outer sheath layer can protect the optical fiber well, and the entire preparation process causes less damage to the optical fiber, thereby realizing a low-damage preparation process for composite optical fiber.

[0024] 2. The diameter of the entire composite optical fiber structure of the present invention is in the range of 0.3-0.7 mm. On the one hand, it has a high load-bearing effect in the fiber direction. On the other hand, the composite optical fiber structure has a small diameter and a thin outer coating layer, which makes the structure highly flexible, improves the survival rate of the optical fiber buried in the structure and reduces the impact on the structural performance, and can adapt to the needs of high-curvature and complex service sites.

[0025] 3. The present invention uses quartz fiber and epoxy resin, which can not only realize the high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance of the core optical fiber data transmission in different places and the performance support under different load conditions, but also the use of quartz / epoxy materials makes the optical fiber structure have a certain light transmittance, which can efficiently and conveniently detect the damage of the internal optical fiber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a device for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the high-strength flexible composite optical fiber structure of the present invention.

[0028] The reference numerals in the drawings are: glue tank 1, curing mold 2, first drying tunnel 3, second drying tunnel 4, traction device 5, winding reel 6, high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure 7, optical fiber 71, fiber-reinforced composite material 72. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application is described and illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Based on the embodiments provided in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0030] Obviously, the drawings described below are only some examples or embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, the present application can also be applied to other similar scenarios based on these drawings without creative work. In addition, it can also be understood that although the efforts made in this development process may be complicated and lengthy, for ordinary technicians in this field related to the content disclosed in this application, some changes in design, manufacturing or production based on the technical content disclosed in this application are just conventional technical means, and should not be understood as insufficient content disclosed in this application.

[0031] Reference to "embodiments" in this application means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described in this application may be combined with other embodiments without conflict.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms involved in this application should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the technical field to which this application belongs. The words "one", "a", "a", "the" and the like involved in this application do not indicate a quantitative limitation, and may represent the singular or plural. The terms "include", "comprise", "have" and any of their variations involved in this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions; for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units (units) is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may also include steps or units that are not listed, or may also include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The words "connect", "connected", "coupled" and the like involved in this application are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The "multiple" / "several" involved in this application refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. The terms "first", "second", "third", etc. involved in this application are only used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of the objects.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the preparation device of the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure of the present invention mainly includes a glue tank 1, a curing mold 2, a first drying tunnel 3, a second drying tunnel 4, a traction device 5, a winding reel 6 and other structures.

[0034] The glue tank 1 is used to fully impregnate the fiber with the resin system.

[0035] The curing mold 2 is used to cure and mold the optical fiber 71, fiber and resin system.

[0036] The first drying tunnel 3 and the second drying tunnel 4 are used to further heat and cure the cured optical fiber 71 and the fiber and resin system to obtain a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure.

[0037] The traction device 5 is two pairs of guide wheels, which are used to pull the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure.

[0038] The winding reel 6 is used for winding the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure.

[0039] The resin system is a mixture of epoxy resin and curing agent.

[0040] The preparation process of the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0041] Step 1: Select epoxy resin model E51 as the resin matrix, and select quartz fiber model B, 195Tex as the composite material reinforcement fiber. Figure 1 As shown, the carbon fiber is passed through a glue tank 1, a curing mold 2, a first drying tunnel 3, a second drying tunnel 4, a traction device 5 and a winding drum 6 in sequence.

[0042] Step 2: Weigh a certain amount of solid mixture of epoxy resin and curing agent, and add it to glue tank 1, heat glue tank 1 to 25°C-35°C, and adjust the initial viscosity of the solution to a range of 100mPa·s-200mPa·s. The resin solution within this viscosity range can fully impregnate the fiber and meet the mechanical properties of the composite material after molding.

[0043] Step 3: Setting experimental parameters: Set the temperature of the curing mold 2 to 90° C., the temperature of the first drying tunnel 3 to 110° C., the temperature of the second drying tunnel 4 to 130° C., and the pulling speed of the pulling device 5 to 1 m / min.

[0044] Step 4: Turn on the pulling device 5 to complete the pulling process of preparing the quartz / epoxy composite material.

[0045] Step 5: Pass the optical fiber through the interior of the quartz fiber and pass through the curing mold 2 together to complete the integrated molding of the fiber, optical fiber and resin to form a Figure 2 As shown, the outer layer is a quartz / epoxy fiber reinforced composite material 72, and the inner layer is a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber reinforced composite material optical fiber structure 7 of the optical fiber 71.

[0046] Step 6: After completing the above steps, the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure 7 is received by the winding reel 5 .

[0047] The above are preferred embodiments of the present application, but those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they are aware of the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the present application.

[0048] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. High-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure, characterized by: It comprises an optical fiber (71), fibers and resin. After the fibers and resin uniformly coat the optical fiber (71), they are solidified and formed in an integrated manner to form a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure in which the outer layer is a fiber-reinforced composite material (72) and the inner layer is the optical fiber (71).

2. The high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 1 is characterized by: The fiber is quartz fiber.

3. The high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 1 is characterized by: The resin is epoxy resin.

4. A device for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure, characterized by: The invention comprises a glue tank (1), a curing mold (2), a drying tunnel, a pulling device (5) and a winding reel (6) which are arranged in sequence in a front-to-rear manner. The resin system is placed in the glue tank (1). The glue tank (1) is used to impregnate the fiber with the resin system. The curing mold (2) is used to perform curing and molding on the optical fiber (71), the fiber and the resin system. The drying tunnel is used to further heat and cure the cured optical fiber (71), the fiber and the resin system to obtain a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure. The pulling device (5) is used to pull the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure. The winding reel (6) is used to wind up the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure.

5. The device for preparing the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The resin system is a mixture of epoxy resin and curing agent.

6. The device for preparing the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The drying tunnel comprises a first drying tunnel (3) and a second drying tunnel (4) which are arranged in sequence in front and behind. The first drying tunnel (3) and the second drying tunnel (4) are both used to further heat and cure the cured optical fiber (71), fiber and resin system, wherein the heating temperature of the second drying tunnel (4) is higher than that of the first drying tunnel (3).

7. A method for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure, characterized by: The device for preparing the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure as claimed in claim 6 specifically comprises the following steps: Step 1: injecting a resin system into a glue tank (1), selecting fibers with different linear densities to pass through the glue tank (1) to be impregnated with the resin system and pass through a curing mold (2); Step 2: Under the action of the pulling device (5), the optical fiber (71) passes through the fiber interior at the front end of the curing mold (2) and passes through the curing mold (2) together with the fiber and the resin system to form an integrated structure, so that the fiber and the resin uniformly cover the optical fiber (71), forming a composite material structure with an outer layer of the fiber-reinforced composite material (72) and an inner layer of the optical fiber (71); Step 3: After the composite material structure is heated in the first drying tunnel (3) and the second drying tunnel (4), the curing degree of the fiber-reinforced composite material (72) is increased to obtain a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure; Step 4: The traction device (5) reels the high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite material optical fiber structure onto the reel (6).

8. The method for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step 1, before the resin system is impregnated into the fiber, the predetermined temperature of the glue tank (1) is set to fully mix the epoxy resin and the curing agent, and the viscosity reaches 100mPa·s-200mPa·s. The predetermined temperature of the glue tank (1) is set to 25°C-35°C.

9. The method for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step 2, the diameter of the optical fiber (71) after being integrated with the fiber and resin is 0.3-0.7 mm, the temperature of the curing mold (2) is 90° C., and the pulling speed of the pulling device (5) is 1 m / min.

10. The method for preparing a high-strength and high-flexibility fiber-reinforced composite optical fiber structure according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step 3, the temperature of the first drying channel (3) is 110°C, and the temperature of the second drying channel (4) is 130°C.

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