August 2007

Press Release:

Strain Survey of an F/A-18 Stabilator Spindle Using Micron Optics si425

A strain survey of the F/A-18 stabilator spindle has recently been undertaken to calibrate a finite element model of the spindle by researchers of Platforms Sciences Laboratory in Australia. Whilst the strain measurements used for the finite element validation were made using conventional electrical resistance foil strip gauges, strain measurements were also carried out using co-located distributed optical-fibre Bragg-grating arrays.

In order to apply a dynamic load to the F/A-18 horizontal stabilator, the air bags on the IFOSTP rig were removed and an 890 N (200 lb) electrodynamic shaker (Ling Electronics) was attached to the underside of the port horizontal stabilator as shown in Figure 7. The stabilator was counter-balanced with a 668 N (150 lb) load hanging from the trailing edge of the stabilator to eliminate any freeplay within the system. A sinusoidal loading regime was applied and measurements from the Bragg gratings were recorded using a si425 Micron Optics system. Strain Measurements were not recorded using the electrical resistance foil gauges, as there was no data acquisition system available to monitor this number of individual gauges (72) dynamically. The si425 Micron Optics interrogation system sampled the data at its maximum acquisition rate of 250Hz for each optical fibre. Each of the four fibre optic inputs was connected directly to the optical input channel on the Micron Optics system. The software autonomously detected and tracked the wavelengths of each of the Bragg peaks, and recorded this information as a function of time for each load line.

The results demonstrate that the performance of the high-density distributed Bragg grating arrays compares favorably with electrical resistance foil strip gauges with the additional advantage of reducing strain gauge cabling weight, density and complexity.

For full article, you can download from:

dspace.dsto.defence.gov.au/dspace/bitstream/1947/3555/1/DSTO-TN-0615%20PR.pdf

About Micron Optics, Inc.

Micron Optics, a leading provider of tunable optical technologies, offers a comprehensive portfolio of components and instruments for Optical Sensing, Biotech and Telecom markets. Built upon its solid technology foundation, Micron Optics' products span from simple tunable components to fast swept laser modules to fast and accurate optical instrumentation. Since 1990, Micron Optics has been a privately held company based in Atlanta.