Fiber optic accelerometers and sensors for dynamic measurements

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to provide an understanding of the current state-of-the-art in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors and instrumentation for dynamic and vibration testing. Innovation in the optoelectronics and fiberoptic communication industries has significantly reduced optical component prices and improved quality. By leveraging these economies of scale, fiber-optic sensors and instruments have moved from experimental research applications in the lab to broad usage and applicability in field applications such as structural health monitoring. The main sensing parameters for these tests have been strain and/or temperature and now accelerometers with FBG sensors as the measurement medium. The discussion includes a brief overview of FBG sensors, the functionality of FBG sensors as accelerometers, aspects of commercially available instrumentation for monitoring the accelerometers, and applications where they are being used. Specific applications include the use of optical fiber based sensors in the S Blade wind turbine structural health monitoring project where FBG sensor arrays, along with several other sensing technologies for direct comparison, were surface-mounted and embedded in the composite structure of a wind turbine blade and a structural health monitoring system for restoration work on the historic Duomo di Milano. © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2013.