Fiber optic sensing system for smart materials and structures

In this work, a fiber optic multiparameter sensing system is presented It could be used for process and structural health monitoring in concrete structures. Reflectometric technique has been implemented for refractive index measurements by using as transducer the fiber end/host interface. Results on the capability of the developed sensor to monitor the curing process of thermoset based composites are presented. The integration with fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) with the aim to perform temperature and strain measurements has been discussed. Two low cost intensity based demodulation techniques for FBG interrogation have been developed and tested. Preliminary experimental results are shown.