Pre-formed optical meander structures for use in an optical strain gauge system for measuing strain, and a method

摘要

An optical fiber strain sensor system and method are provided that use pre-formed optical structures instead of optical fibers for measuring the strain, or stress, placed on a subject object. The use of pre-formed optical structures in the optical strain gauge system eliminates many of the limitations associated with the use of optical fibers. Because the optical structures are pre-formed structures, they can be made with very tight tolerances to ensure high measurement accuracy and repeatability. The pre-formed structures can be made in low to high volume at low cost and can be made of a variety of materials to ensure that the structures are suitable for use with the material of which the subject object is made. Also, the pre-formed structures can be made very compact while achieving higher sensitivity and exhibiting less optical loss than fiber.

主权项

1. A device, comprising:
a pre-formed optical meander structure, the pre-formed optical meander structure comprising at least a first end, a second end and a first light guide extending from the first end of the meander structure to the second end of the meander structure, the first light guide having a first end and a second end and having a plurality of light-guiding portions connected end-to-end in a predetermined configuration; and a fastening device configured for fastening the pre-formed optical meander structure to the subject so as to sense strain in the subject object.