EVALUATION OF A FIBER‐OPTIC SENSOR FOR STRAIN MEASUREMENT AND AN APPLICATION TO CONTACT MECHANICS

A surface attached fiber‐optic sensor has been evaluated for maximum strain measurement capability in simple tension experiments to better understand the basic mechanisms of fiber‐optic sensor failure. A fiber‐optic sensor was then evaluated for its applicability to measure strains under more complex loading conditions, for example, contact strains. Experimental work has shown that while the surface attached fiber sensor fails at much lower strain levels than that achievable by conventional strain gages, unlike conventional strain gages, the fiber‐optic sensor shows linearity up until the failure point. This failure point is well within the parameters for typical experiments in our laboratory. Fiber‐optic sensors also showed their applicability to contact mechanics. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve