Insight into the nondestructive performance evaluation of fiber‐reinforced polymer composite laminate immersed in produced water using embedded fiber Bragg grating sensor

Abstract Fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are exposed to various corrosive media during their service life, which adversely affects their material properties. Here, a novel approach is developed to investigate the long‐term performance of glass FRP composite laminate immersed in produced water generated in oil fields. This is achieved by monitoring the internal hygroscopic strain developed over the aging time using embedded fiber Bragg grating sensor. Composite material strength reduction over the immersion time is evaluated by conducting destructive mechanical tests at regular intervals, and the mechanism of property degradation is established. It is observed that property degradation follows first‐order kinetics and absorption of produced water medium obeys dual‐sorption diffusion kinetics. Moreover, the strain developed within the composite laminate is formulated by considering the unified influence of swelling and chemical degradation. The predicted strain closely interprets the experimentally recorded strain. This work proves that the strain measurement is an effective nondestructive technique to estimate the property of FRP composite laminates on a real‐time basis.