Electro-optomechanical design of fiber optic smart structures

The field of fiber optic smart structures has recently been an active area of research with many important advances in sensors, manufacturing and structural reliability. These areas of fiber optic smart structures have progressed independently to the level that separate design criteria are beginning to be formulated. As has been emphasized time and again, fiber optic smart structures is a multidisciplinary field that requires an integrated approach to system design and testing. This paper describes one such integrated design approach for composite material-based fiber optic smart structures. Both design for sensor performance and structural reliability are considered. The design for sensor performance presents a rational design philosophy for choosing the appropriate combination of sensors and demodulators to faithfully record the target strain in a smart structure. The design for structural reliability provides a rational approach for ensuring that the structure will support its design loads.