Enhanced Real Time Distributed Strain and Temperature Monitoring for Rocket Ground Testing

IFOS proposes an innovative Brillouin sensing system ndash; B*Sensetrade; ndash; for enhanced, distributed strain and temperature measurements in harsh environments. Brillouin sensing provides both temperature and strain measurement along the entire length of fiber, allowing the entire fiber to act as a sensor. B*Sensetrade; will enable identification of defects, such as fatigue cracking or excessive loading, and temperature in structures. Project goals include designing a high-resolution (few cm) miniaturized interrogator based on photonic integrated circuits (PIC), fabricating and demonstrating a test platform, and developing signal processing algorithms. B*Sensetrade; will enable the effective real-time, in situ strain and temperature profiling of rocket propulsion structures during ground testing.