摘要 |
A curvature sensing device 10 comprising, a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensor 12, a second FBG strain sensor 14, a flexible piece comprising two end pieces 16, 18 joined by a tubular mid-section 20. The device 10 further comprises 16 contact rollers 22 provided on the internal surfaces of the end pieces 16, 18, which maintain the end pieces 16, 18 tangential to a pipe around which the device 10 is located. The FBG strain sensors 12, 14 are embedded within the mid-section 20 and are arranged in two generally orthogonal planes, so that the curvature is measured in two dimensions. This enables the device 10 to detect both the magnitude and direction of bending/curvature within a pipe. Bending in a pipe is transferred through the end pieces 16, 18 to the mid-section 20. The FBG sensors 12, 14 measure bending of the mid-section 20 from which bending of the pipe can be inferred. |