Title : Advanced fiber optic sensing systems for aerospace applications
Abstract:
This presentation is an outline of fiber optic sensor systems and its understanding of the utilization of these systems for aviation, aerospace and space applications. It documents the current state of the art and provides references for users of this advanced technology for future of aerospace and track the rapid advances in leading edge technologies under development plus revolutionary progresses in fiber optic technology as applied to flight-test instrumentation that that has been achieved over the last two decades and are expected to continue at a rapid pace for the foreseeable future.
Optical fiber is well-known for its ability to carry information at close to speed of light at 69 Tbsp over long distances. They have evolved a long way from the first low-loss fiber demonstrated in the late 1960s. Fiber optic technologies offer unique features that can be exploited in a variety of ways, such as carrying high optical powers in flexible light guides for welding stations, transfer ring images in endoscopes, distribute sensing along a large structure such as wing of the aircraft, and for low weight and high-transmission bandwidth in avionics.
The presentation also covers the state-of-the-art Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology. One important application for this technology is System Health Monitoring (SHM) to a wide range of aircraft systems in order to establish a comprehensive set of data for current and aging aircrafts. Other future applications could entail embedding fiber optic systems in composite structures as they are manufactured, allowing extremely light-weight flexible structures to be actively controlled, and giving enhanced capability to aircraft systems.
