Measuring Strain Using Optical Fibres

: Optical fibres have emerged as versatile strain transducers. They can function as direct but topologically simple replacements for a range of strain gauges or can implement new measurements in distributed and integrating formats. Like all strain measurement techniques the properties of the transducer dictate its suitability for specific applications. In the case of optical fibres some of these applications are entirely new and in particular facilitate the techniques of “smart structures” fabricated from new advanced materials. This paper presents an overview of the principal approaches to optical fibre strain measurement and endeavours to set these into an applications context. In particular we shall highlight some of the more novel applications which are enabled through the use of fibre optic strain transducers.