Superstructured fiber-optic contact force sensor with minimal cosensitivity to temperature and axial strain

In this work a new superstructured, in-fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based, contact force sensor is presented that is based on birefringent D-shape optical fiber. The sensor superstructure comprises a polyimide sheath, a stress-concentrating feature, and an alignment feature that repeatably orients the sensor with respect to contact forces. A combination of plane elasticity and strain-optic models is used to predict sensor performance in terms of sensitivity to contact force and axial strain. Model predictions are validated through experimental calibration and indicate contact force, axial strain, and temperature sensitivities of 169.6 pm/(N/mm), 0.01 pm/με, and -1.12 pm/°C in terms of spectral separation. The sensor addresses challenges associated with contact force sensors that are based on FBGs in birefringent fiber, FBGs in conventional optical fiber, and tilted FBGs. Relative to other birefringent fiber sensors, the sensor has contact force sensitivity comparable to the highest sensitivity of commercially available birefringent fibers and, unlike other birefringent fiber sensors, is self-aligning with respect to contact forces. Unlike sensors based on Bragg gratings in conventional fiber and tilted Bragg gratings, the sensor has minimal cosensitivity to both axial strain and changes in temperature.     

Effect of repeated impacts on the response of plain-woven hybrid composites

The repeated low-velocity impact responses of hybrid plain-woven composite panels were studied by drop-weight experiments. Non-hybrid S2-glass-fiber/toughened epoxy and IM7 graphite fiber/toughened epoxy as well as hybrid S2-glass–IM7 graphite fiber/toughened epoxy composite panels were impacted repeatedly using a pressure-assisted Instron-Dynatup 8520 instrumented drop-weight impact tester. During the low-velocity impact tests, the time histories of impact forces, absorbed impact energies and panel central deflections were recorded. The relations between the impact force and central deflection, whose slope represented the dynamic contact stiffness, were then constructed. The damaged specimens were inspected visually and using the ultrasonic C-Scan method. The effects of hybridization and lay-up sequence on the repeated drop-weight impact responses of woven composites were investigated. It was observed that damage accumulations could be slowed down using hybridization. It was also witnessed that the lay-up configuration of a hybrid composite had a significant influence on damage accumulation rate. The hybrid specimens with glass–epoxy skins survived the double number of successive impacts compared to hybrid specimens with graphite–epoxy skins.     

光纤非本征法布里-玻罗传感器兰姆波检测灵敏度分析

基于兰姆波的结构工况检测技术在评估复合材料和金属结构的安全性和耐久性方面发挥着重要的作用。作为对传统的压电换能器（PZT）的一种很好的替代,光纤传感器在传感方面的应用正被广泛地挖掘出来,包括兰姆波检测。本文从理论上建立了超声兰姆波作用下光纤非本征法布里．玻罗（EFPI）传感器参数与其输出性能之间的关系。数值结果显示了传感器的性能与其相对于声源的方向角以及传感器的计量长度与超声波长的比值相关。所得出的结论对于EFPI传感器精确地探测兰姆波提供了理论依据。     

Demodulation of Fiber-Optic Sensors for Frequency Response Measurement

The neural-network-based processing of extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) strain sensors was investigated for the special case of sinusoidal strain. The application area is modal or cyclic testing of structures in which the frequency response to periodic actuation must be demodulated. The nonlinear modulation characteristic of EFPI sensors produces well-defined harmonics of the actuation frequency. Relationships between peak strain and harmonic content were analyzed theoretically. A two-stage demodulator was implemented with a Fourier series neural network to separate the harmonic components of an EFPI signal and a backpropagation neural network to predict the peak-to-peak strain from the harmonics. The system performance was tested using theoretical and experimental data. The error for high-strain cases was less than about 10% if at least 12 harmonics were used. The frequency response of an instrumented cantilever beam provided the experimental data. The demodulator processing closely matched the actual strain levels     

高压釜成型过程中弯曲力矩对EFPI光纤 传感器测试性能的影响

为了确定复合材料热压釜成型过程中弯曲力矩对EFPI光纤传感器测试性能的影响,制作了将光纤传感器埋入FRP层合板中间层的试验片,并对试验片进行三点弯曲试验,得到了弯曲力矩与传感器输出应变的对应关系。用显微镜观察层合板的截面,确定光纤传感器的埋入位置。对传感器的埋入位置偏离层合板中间层的试验片,运用有限元应变解析法计算了其应变值。结果表明,光纤传感器的埋入位置偏离层合板的中间层时,传感器的输出应变值大于解析值,说明弯曲力矩会影响光纤传感器的测试性能。      

硅微声光传感特性的实验研究

硅微声光传感器是一种由硅微列阵簧片和光纤组合成的新型传感器，这种传感器在完成声光转换的同时对声频信号进行了并行滤波处理，可用作神经网络的并行输入，是一种光机电一体化的传感系统。本文中叙述通过纤反射强度调制技术检测硅簧片振动信号的方法；通过实验研究，完成了对声光调制信号的探测和预处理，并给出了实测数据及其分析。为实现音频编码和振动信号的实时分析，本文中还给出了采用人工神经网络对阵列传感器的输出信号进     

Composite Optical Bend Loss Sensor for Pressure and Shear Measurement

A composite optical bend loss sensor for measuring 3-D forces has been developed. The sensor is composed of two optic fiber meshes which are embedded into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) slab. The sensor consists of an array of optical fibers lying in perpendicular rows and columns sandwiched inside an elastomeric pad. A map of normal and shear stress is constructed based on observed macrobending through the intensity attenuation from physical deformation of two adjacent perpendicular fibers. Due to the new addition of the composite design and acrylic holder, the stability of the present sensor is found to be significantly better than our previously reported microfabricated optical bend loss sensor. In this paper, we will report the results of an optical bend loss simulation using the beam propagation method based on a series of images captured by a CCD camera on the fiber's bending curvatures. The result from the simulation will be compared with the results obtained from the experiment. Other results include vertical force and shear measurements at a single pressure point of the sensor. A force image algorithm is used to map the force distribution detected by the sensor. Here, we will present the results of six different shape patterns and two force magnitudes on each shape using a neural network system. We will also present a radio frequency sensor module, which we developed for the composite optical bend loss sensor for remote sensing.     

重载并联六维力传感器及静态标定

针对传感器重载小尺寸需求,提出一种具有混合分支的重载并联六维力传感器,分析了其结构特点和测量原理。搭建了重载并联六维力传感器标定系统,为改善维间耦合及制造误差等对测量精度产生的影响,从标定算法及模型优化方面对其进行了研究。分别利用最小二乘法和BP神经网络算法对加载实验数据进行了处理,分析结果表明BP神经网络算法要明显优于最小二乘法,并通过数据随机分组测试验证了结果的正确性。基于BP神经网络,提出了一种基于人工鱼群算法的BP神经网络算法,并采用优化后的BP神经网络标定算法对实验数据进行了计算分析,结果表明优化后的BP神经网络计算结果较好且稳定,不易陷入局部极值。     

Low velocity localized impact study of cellular foams

This paper deals with low velocity impact behavior of two densities of ductile polyvinylchloride (PVC) foam manufactured by Divinicell. Low velocity impact tests are carried out on foam beam and panel specimens. A drop-weight rig is used to carry-out the impact tests. The test rig is equipped with a load cell connected to a data acquisition PC computer, which allows the most important dynamic and kinetic parameters, such as the contact force, load–time response, impactor velocity and energy to be measured. Post-impact creep response of the foam is also investigated. Finite element analyzes are also conducted to study the dynamic response of foam specimens subjected to a low velocity impact. The present paper contributes towards the development of a damage tolerance design approach for structural foams.     

光纤陀螺刻度因子的建模方法

针对低精度光纤陀螺(FOG)刻度因子线性度较差的问题,提出了采用径向基函数(RBF)神经网络对刻度因子进行建模的方法,以减小光纤陀螺输出误差。通过测量数据对 RBF 神经网络进行训练,获得神经网络参数,根据神经网络结构和参数可以得到非线性刻度因子的解析表达式,将其作为刻度因子的模型,来提高 FOG 的精度。同时将 RBF 神经网络对刻度因子进行建模的结果与传统的建模结果进行了比较,验证了采用 RBF 神经网络对低精度刻度因子建模是非常有效的。     

Load identification for a rolling disc: finite element discretization and virtual calibration

For many applications, direct measurement of forces in mechanical systems is difficult or even impossible, and indirect measurement involving inverse analysis must be adopted. One such application of major industrial relevance is the accurate measurement of contact forces acting on rolling bodies. In this paper, a newly proposed strategy for load identification is applied to an example problem of a rolling disc. Based on strain gauge measurements, the contact force is estimated using finite element analysis. A virtual calibration procedure is introduced in order to reduce the dependency of the results on the spatial discretization. In particular, the sensitivity of the results with respect to finite element discretization, sensor placement and noise is discussed. Numerical results based on synthetic data illustrate the behavior and accuracy of the proposed strategy.     

Simultaneous sensing of the strain and points of failure in composite beams with an embedded fiber optic Michelson sensor

A fiber optic Michelson sensor was embedded in composite beams to sense the internal strain and points of failure of the composite structures. The bending deformation and matrix cracking were investigated by four-point bending tests of cross-ply composite beams with the embedded fiber optic sensor. The failure points of composite beams were detected by using both a PZT sensor and a fiber optic sensor in order to investigate the fiber optic failure signals. The failure due to matrix cracks in a composite beam was confirmed by the edge replica method. The digital processing of the fiber optic signal was carried out to determine the strains and failure points of composite beams. The failure points were observed from the processed failure signal by high-pass filtering. The initial failure strain of the composite beam was measured and processed from the fiber optic strain signal after low-pass filtering.     

Impact damage processes in reinforced polymeric materials

This study investigates the impact toughness of two grades of Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) and one grade of Glass Mat Thermoplastic (GMT) material. A servo-hydraulic impact machine and a drop-weight impact facility are used to obtain and relate different degrees of deformation and penetration damage of the two grades of SMC and GMT materials to load displacement records. The servo-hydraulic impact data provides a step-by-step damage history of drop-weight impact penetration of these materials. The impact energy absorbed by the different composite materials is determined for different degrees of deformation and penetration of the specimens. Notable in the findings is that, in some cases, the onset of through-thickness damage can occur before there is visual evidence of surface damage at the point of contact between the striker and the specimen.     

大型结构应变场光纤分布监测系统

研究了一种用于大型工程结构应变、变形状态监测的基于光时域反射技术的分布式光纤应变传感系统。设计了一种新型的光纤微弯传感器结构,用于对沿传感光纤分布各测量点的应变信息进行提取;在此新结构的基础上,了全光纤型应变传感器串行阵列,以对构件应变测量和安全监测为主要目标,建立了起了分布光纤应变实时监测系统,进行了系统实验了得到了良好的结构。     

Low-velocity impact and residual tensile strength analysis to carbon fiber composite laminates

In this paper, low-velocity impact characteristics and residual tensile strength of carbon fiber composite laminates are investigated by experimentally and numerically. Low-velocity impact tests and residual tensile strength tests are performed using an instrumented drop-weight machine (Instron 9250HV) and static test machine (Instron 5569), respectively. The finite element (FE) software, ABAQUS/Explicit is employed to simulate low-velocity impact characteristics and predict residual tensile strength of carbon fiber composites laminates. These numerical investigations create a user-defined material subroutine (VUMAT) to enhance the damage simulation which includes Hashin and Yeh failure criteria. The impact contact force and the tensile strength are accurately estimated using the present method. Two different tensile damage modes after different impact energies are observed. The degradation of residual tensile strengths can be divided to three stages for different impact energies, and amplitudes of degradation are affected by stacking sequences.     

基于光纤光栅传感器的弓网状态监测方案及其验证试验

结合轨道交通列车受电弓与接触网安全监测的实际需求,提出利用光纤光栅传感器进行碳滑板应变变化实时检测,利用应变推导出接触力变化,实现接触力检测,从理论模型和试验测试两方面对监测可行性进行验证,为弓网状态监测提供了一种可行的解决方案。     

The Effects of Debonding on the Low-Velocity Impact Response of Steel-CFRP Fibre Metal Laminates

The effect of metal-composite debonding on low-velocity impact response, i.e. on contact force–central deflection response, deformation profiles and strains on the free surfaces was studied. We focused on type 2/1 fibre metal laminate specimens made of stainless steel and carbon fibre epoxy layers, and tested them with drop-weight impact and quasi-static indentation loadings. Local strains were measured with strain gauges and full-field strains with a 3-D digital image correlation method. In addition, finite element simulations were performed and the effects of debonding were studied by exploiting cohesive elements. Our results showed that debonding, either the initial debonding or that formed during the loading, lowers the slope of the contact force–central deflection curve during the force increase. The debonding formation during the rebound phase was shown to amplify the rebound of the impact side, i.e. to lower the ultimate post-impact deflection. The free surface strains were studied on the laminate’s lower surface at the area outside the debond damage. In terms of in-plane strains, debonding formation during impact and indentation, as well as the initial debonding, lowered the peripheral strain and resulted in a positive change in the radial strain.     

High-resolution interrogation technique for fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric sensors by the peak-to-peak method

An improved peak-to-peak method is developed for interrogating the absolute cavity length of fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) sensors with high resolution. A fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter (FFP-TF) is used to scan the optical spectrum of an EFPI, and the problems caused by the nonlinear performance and poor repeatability of the FFP-TF are removed by using a wavelength calibration technique. A linear fitting is used to calculate the wavelength spacing between two adjacent apexes in the optical spectrum, and the cavity length can be retrieved using this wavelength spacing. The experimental results show that the measuring resolution is improved from 25 to 1 microm, and a linear output is also obtained.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of low velocity impact on functionally graded circular plates

This paper addresses low-velocity impact behaviour of functionally graded clamped circular plates. An experimental work was carried out to investigate the impact behaviour of FG circular plates which is composed of ceramic (SiC) and metal (Al) phases varying through the plate thickness by using a drop-weight impact test system. The influence of the compositional gradient exponent and impactor velocity on the contact forces and absorbed energies was concentrated on the tests. The explicit finite element method, in which a volume fraction based elastic–plastic model (the TTO model) was implemented for the functionally graded materials, was used to simulate their drop-weight impact tests. Effective material properties at any point inside FGM plates were determined using Mori–Tanaka scheme. The experimental and numerical results indicated that the compositional gradient exponent and impactor velocity more effective on the elasto-plastic response of the FG circular plates to a low-velocity impact loading. The comparison at the theoretical and experimental results showed that the use of the TTO model in modelling the elasto-plastic behaviour of FG circular plates results in increasing deviations between the numerical and experimental contact forces for ceramic-rich compositions whereas it becomes more successful for metal-rich compositions.     

基于Brillouin散射的分布式光纤拉伸应变传感器的理论分析

分布式光纤拉伸应变传感器具有非常重要的应用前景。本文中着重从理论上分析讨论了光纤拉伸应变与由此引起的Ｂｒｉｌｌｏｕｉｎ散射光相对于入射光频移量的变化关系。计算结果表明：其理论和实验数据基本吻合。