Experimental method of strain/stress measurements on tall sailing ships using Fibre Bragg Grating sensors

The safety of navigation, regardless the size and types of ships is based on: the technical condition of the ships, navigation and signalling devices, life-saving and fire protection equipment as well as proper and well trained crews. Although ships are equipped with advanced facilities such as integrated bridge system, automatic navigation device and unmanned engine room, ships accidents still occurred. Safety is the key issue which restricted the development of ships. According to the analysis of ships accidents statistical data from International Maritime Organization (IMO), main reasons which caused the accidents are as follow: ship failure (equipment or structure), external environment and human factor. In the case of sailing ships the technical condition of the rigging (masts, yards, sails and cordage) should be also taken into consideration. In this paper an experimental research on STS Dar Mlodziezy board using Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors is presented and discussed. The study is focused on an application of FBG sensors grid for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of the foremast. The main goal of the research was to determine the strain/stress level of the foremast during her normal operation. To achieve this goal during the research special attention was paid to setting the sails and to taking in the sails. That allows one to determine the effectiveness, quantity and configuration of the sails for the strain/stress level of the foremast. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.