Certification of a submarine design using fiber Bragg grating sensors

Jason S. Kiddy; Chris S. Baldwin; Toni J. Salter

doi:10.1117/12.539990

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29 July 2004 Certification of a submarine design using fiber Bragg grating sensors

Jason S. Kiddy, Chris S. Baldwin, Toni J. Salter

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Proceedings Volume 5388, Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.539990
Event: Smart Structures and Materials, 2004, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) has recently planned, installed, and tested a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensor system to validate FEM predictions of a new submarine design undergoing American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) certification testing. Fiber optic triaxial, biaxial, and uniaxial gage locations were selected based on the FEM analysis. FBGs were placed on six optical fibers with two fibers (33 sensors) mounted internally to the hull and four fibers (64 sensors) mounted externally. Testing was performed by lowering the submarine to the design depth and recording strain measurements. The optical sensor signals were transmitted directly to the water's surface and monitored by top-side interrogation instrumentation through over 2000 feet of optical cable. Measured temperature-compensated strain values were compared to the FEM predicted strain values with excellent results. To the author's knowledge, this successful test represents the first time that FBG sensors have been used to certify a submarine design and to validate FEM analysis on a large-scale structure.

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Jason S. Kiddy, Chris S. Baldwin, and Toni J. Salter "Certification of a submarine design using fiber Bragg grating sensors", Proc. SPIE 5388, Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies, (29 July 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.539990

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