ADVANCES TOWARD FIBER OPTIC BASED SMART STRUCTURES

An overview of our research toward the development of fiber optic-based smart structures is presented. This includes the development of the first full-scale fiber optic damage assessment test system for an aircraft composite leading edge; the use of a Michelson fiber optic strain sensor for monitoring acoustic emission from within composite specimens; the first real-time correlation of acoustic emission with the incremental growth of a delamination; the fabrication and characterization of an all-fiber intrinsic Fabry-Perot fiber optic strain gauge embedded within composite materials; and the fabrication of the first practical fiber optic strain rosette and an evaluation of its ability to map the strain tensor within a composite structure.