Characteristics of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors with Various Grating Lengths Embedded in Composite Materials

Because of their good multiplexing capabilities, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are being studied more actively than any of other fiber optic sensors. The application fields of FBG sensors have been mainly focused on composite materials through embedding rather than through surface attachments. However, there are many limitations on the embedding of FBG sensors into composite materials because of the birefringence that is induced when FBG sensors are not embedded parallel to the reinforcing fibers. This study investigates the fabrication of FBG sensors that have various grating lengths, good multiplexing capabilities, better stability from birefringence, and ease in production. The signal characteristics of FBG sensors are also verified through the cure monitoring of two composite laminates.