An all-fibre multi-parameter sensor for composite structures based on a chirped fibre Bragg grating

An all-fibre multi-parameter sensor for composite structures based on a chirped optical fibre Bragg grating (CFBG) has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The principle of multi-parameters sensing with a single CFBG is based on that the centre wavelength and the FWHM (full width at half maximum) in the reflection spectrum of a CFBG vary linearly with the temperature and/or the axial stress. A wavelength matched optical fibre long period grating (LPG) and another wavelength matched reference CFBG (CFBGR) have been used to interrogate the signal of the sensor CFBG (CFBGS). The temperature and strain of the composite structure have been monitored real-time with one CFBG as a single sensor head. The temperature resolution of 0.12°C and the strain resolution of 1.1μɛ for a composite structure have been realized in experiments. The experiment results agree well with the theoretical analyses.