Uncertainty Analysis of an Optoelectronic Strain Measurement System for Flywheel Rotors

The strain in a fast spinning carbon fiber flywheel rotor is of great interest for condition monitoring, as well as for studying long-term aging effects in the carbon fiber matrix. Optoelectronic strain measurement is a contactless measurement principle where a special reflective pattern is applied to the rotor which is scanned by a stationary optical setup. It does not require any active electronic components on the rotor and is suited for operation in a vacuum. In this paper, the influences of the key parts comprising the optoelectronic strain measurement are analyzed. The influence of each part on the measurement result including the uncertainty is modeled. The total uncertainty, as well as each part’s contribution is calculated. This provides a valuable assessment of requirements for component selection, as well as tolerances of mechanical parts and processes to reach a final target measurement uncertainty or to estimate the uncertainty of a given setup. We have shown that the edge quality of the special reflective pattern has the strongest influence, and how to improve it. Considering all influences, it is possible to measure strain with an uncertainty of less than 1% at a rotation speed of 500Hz.