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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineering and Safety Center Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project is a multicenter project tasked with developing new analysis-based shell buckling design guidelines and design factors (i.e., knockdown factors) through high-fidelity buckling simulations and advanced test technologies. To validate these new buckling knockdown factors for future launch vehicles, the Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project is carrying out structural testing on a series of large-scale metallic and composite cylindrical shells at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama). A fiber optic sensor system was used to measure strain on a large-scale sandwich composite cylinder that was tested under multiple axial compressive loads up to more than 850,000 lb, and equivalent bending loads over 22 million in-lb. During the structural testing of the composite cylinder, strain data were collected from optical cables containing distributed fiber Bragg gratings using a custom fiber optic sensor system interrogator developed at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. A total of 16 fiber-optic strands, each containing nearly 1,000 fiber Bragg gratings, measuring strain, were installed on the inner and outer cylinder surfaces to monitor the test article global structural response through high-density real-time and posttest strain measurements. The distributed sensing system provided evidence of local epoxy failure at the attachment-ring-to-barrel interface that would not have been detected with conventional instrumentation. Results from the fiber optic sensor system were used to further refine and validate structural models for buckling of the large-scale composite structures. This paper discusses the techniques employed for real-time structural monitoring of the composite cylinder for structural load introduction and distributed bending-strain measurements over a large section of the cylinder by utilizing unique sensing capabilities of fiber optic sensors.

An overview of the research and technological development of the fiber-optic sensing system (FOSS) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center (NASA AFRC) is presented. Theory behind fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, as well as interrogation technique based on optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) is discussed. Assessment and validation of FOSS as an accurate measurement tool for structural health monitoring is realized in the laboratory environment as well as large-scale flight deployment.

This paper presents comprehensive studies on sensor performance of an embedded Extrinsic Fabry Perot Interferometer (EFPI) fiber optic strain sensor in an aerospace grade composite system to support fiber optic smart structures (FOSS) development for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) System. A major portion of this study is focused on establishing the accuracy of the embedded EFPI sensors in a graphite epoxy composite material system at different stress levels under quasi-static loading conditions. The NASA Dryden calibrated EFPI's were used for accurate measurements. Two collocated surface-mounted strain gages and a calibrated surface-mounted EFPI sensor are used to validate the calibrated embedded EFPI sensor. Experimental results suggest that once calibrated, the embedded and surface-mounted EFPI sensors provide robust, reliable and accurate measurement for values up to ~5,400 higher than sensor's durability limit ~3,000 at 10 6 cycles. This validation provides evidence that the sensing information emanating from FOSS can be used to monitor accurate health information.

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