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Title:
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State-of-the-art investigation on fiber optic sensors
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
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1996
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-I--96-005
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Other
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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30
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Download PDF
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Abstract:
Significant progress has been made recently in the development of smartstructure technology. In this course smart structures could be an interesting
option for advanced wind turbine rotor blades. Initial application would
include the introduction of simple health monitoring or damage sensing
systems. Examples of these early systems would be localized strain monitoring
of the blade root section. Later efforts would include a structural integrity
warning system which could cover the complete rotor blade. Composite
structures and materials will require development of methods for measuring
rapidly-changing strains simultaneously at many points throughout a
structure. The sensor must meet these specifications without harming the
mechanical performance of the structure and should allow easy, demountable,
secure connection to signal indication equipment located remotely from the
sensor assembly. The sensor itself should be as simple as possible to
construct and the complexity of the signal processing arrangement must be
minimized. Optical-fiber technology provides a basis for gathering data from
many points, with negligible crosstalk or interference and potentially very
wide bandwidth. The fiber-based optic sensors have demonstrated the ability
to detect damages induced by fatigue or manufacturing defects. These sensors
are typically embedded in the composite structure to measure the desired
structural integrity parameter of interest. This report describes the
applicability of several fiber optic sensors which could be installed in a
wind turbine rotor blade. First, in section 2 the advantages of a fiber optic
sensor system compared with common electrical alternatives is given. Next,
sections 3 and 4 present a basic fracture detection and an advanced optical
fiber sensing system. In chapter 5 the influence of fiber optic sensors on
the performance of composite materials is addressed. Finally, in section 6
the conclusions of this work are presented, followed by additional
information on the fiber optic technology in chapter 7. An overview of
available literature in the field of fiber optic sensor technology is
included. 6 figs., 22 refs.
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