Calculating Shape From OFDR-Based Distributed Strain Measurements 20 June 2019 0915 - 0945

This presentation describes how engineers are utilizing Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) based fiber optic strain measurements to derive distributed shape. OFDR offers the ability to acquire strain measurements continuously along the length of an optical fiber. Coupled with fiber’s flexible routing options, this allows one to capture various components of strain continuously or quasi-continuously along the length of the substrate to which the fiber is bonded. Through any number of mechanics models or computational techniques, this information may then be used to determine distributed displacements and deflections along the length of structural components. This has been particularly useful in the aerospace industry for monitoring wing deflection in real-time during flight.