Optical fiber bragg grating sensors applied to gas turbine engine instrumentation and monitoring

Abstract

Optical fiber systems are becoming more prevalent in both commercial and military aircraft, finding applications in niche area where the properties of optical fibers are essential. However, the application of optical fibers to all aircraft systems, in particular fly-by-light, is of significant interest. In this work, an integrated engine instrumentation and monitoring system based on optical fiber Bragg grating sensors is proposed. Engine instrumentation and monitoring requires a number of different sensors, including temperature, pressure, RPM, and vibration. All four of these measurands can be monitored using FBGs, multiplexed together using the same interrogation system. Results for all of these measurands are presented, including proposed transducers for both pressure and vibration. In addition, the overall optical fiber monitoring system is proposed.