Numerical and experimental analysis of the reliability of strain measured by surface-mounted fiber-optic sensors based on Bragg gratings

The paper considers errors that occur during strain measurement by fiber-optic sensors based on Bragg gratings, which are mounted on the surface of the controlled object with a connecting material. Errors due to the use of the assumption of a uniaxial stress state in the Bragg grating zone in the strains calculation based on the measured physical quantities are considered. The errors associated with the strain gradient along the Bragg grating and the strain gradient from the measurement zone to the measuring element are analyzed. To answer the question of what strain is measured, the change in the measured strain as a result of mounting the sensor on the material surface is estimated. Models and algorithms for numerical simulation of errors arising in the strain measurement are presented. Numerical results are given for estimating the considered types of errors when sensor is mounted with epoxy adhesives on the surface of isotropic and anisotropic (fiberglass, carbon fiber) materials. Variants of experiments are presented in which various options of nonuniform distribution of strains and a complex stress state are provided in the zones of strain measurement. The experimental results are compared with the results of numerical simulation based on the finite element method. The results of the analysis of the choice of the resonant wavelength from the reflected optical spectrum, which is used to calculate the strains under the assumption of a uniaxial stress state in the Bragg grating, are presented.