High pressure shock profiles are monitored using a long Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG). Such thin probe, with a diameter of typically 150 µm, can be inserted directly into targets for shock plate experiments. The shocked FBG's portion is stressed under compression, which increases its optical group index and shortens its grating period. Placed along the 2D symmetrical axis of the cylindrical target, the second effect is stronger and the reflected spectrum shifts towards the shorter wavelengths. The dynamic evolution of FBG spectra is recorded with a customized Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) spectrometer covering the C+L band. The AWG provides 40 channels of 200-GHz spacing with a special flattop design. The output channels are fiber-connected to photoreceivers (bandwidth: DC-400 MHz or 10 kHz-2 GHz). The experimental setup was a symmetric impact, completed in a 110-mm diameter single-stage gas gun with Aluminum (6061T6) impactors and targets. The FBG's central wavelength was 1605 nm to cover the pressure range of 0-8 GPa. The FBG was 50-mm long as well as the target's thickness. The 20-mm thick impactor maintains a shock within the target over a distance of 30 mm. For the impact at 522 m/s, the sustained pressure of 3.6 GPa, which resulted in a Bragg shift of (26.2 ± 1.5) nm, is measured and retrieved with respectively thin-film gauges and the hydrodynamic code Ouranos. The shock sensitivity of the FBG is about 7 nm/GPa, but it decreases with the pressure level. The overall spectra evolution is in good agreement with the numerical simulations.

Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) are used to measure shock velocity, detonation velocity, shock wave profile or pressure profile in inert and energetic materials. Such thin probe, with a diameter below 150 µm, can be inserted directly into materials without disturbing the physical phenomena. Chirped FBGs are used to track the shock wave in the grating using wavelengths. The velocity (few km/s) and shock wave profile measurements are realized by recording the CFBG's reflected spectral width. Pressure measurements at few GPa levels use dynamic spectrometers, two approaches are compared: parallel acquisition using an Arrayed-Waveguide-Grating and time-multiplexing by wavelength-to-time conversion using dispersion.

A new high resolution dispersive spectrometer has been developed to measure high pressure shock profiles every 10 ns using long Fiber Bragg Gratings. The performances are compared with a dynamic AWG-based spectrometer. Two small diameter fibers allow inserting in parallel two 50-mm long gratings into the target. The use of slightly chirped gratings provides the localization of the shock-wave along them. Placed along the target axis, a gratings reflected spectrum is "blue shifted". The FBG's central wavelength are 1605 nm to cover a pressure range of 0-8 GPa. The new spectrometer is based on a femtosecond laser source, a long dispersive fiber and a fast acquisition system with an electrical bandwidth above 30 GHz. The experimental setup was a symmetric impact with 6061T6 aluminum, performed with a 110-mm in diameter single-stage gas gun. An impact velocity of 314 m/s is obtained and generated a sustained level of 2.1 GPa during few microseconds. A resulted Bragg shift of (16 ± 1) nm is measured. The dispersive spectrometer offers much greater resolution than the AWG one which is favorable to retrieve more easily a pressure profile.

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Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) are gaining acceptance as velocity/pressure gauges in the fields of detonation and shock physics on account of their sensitivity, small size, flexibility, electromagnetic immunity, and wavelength-encoded feature. Chirped FBGs (CFBGs) are investigated as wavelength-to-position discriminators with the purpose of monitoring pressure/velocity profiles over a distance range of typically 100 mm. The use of CFBGs simplifies both sensor deployment and data retrieval and finally improves the accuracy due to the increased number of measurement data. In this paper, the metrological performance of CFBGs used as in situ distributed shock pressure/velocity gauges is investigated both theoretically and experimentally in a planar shock loading configuration with an aluminum-based flyer and target. In the intermediate range for shock stress, i.e., less than the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) of silica, CFBGs provide simultaneous measurements of both shockwave velocity and stress within the target material. A Bragg wavelength-to-stress model is proposed that takes into account (i) the state-of-stress within the target material, (ii) the stress coupling coefficient due to imperfect impedance matching between the target material and the silica fiber, (iii) the conversion of the state-of-stress into a state-of-strain within the silica fiber, and (iv) the conversion of strain data into observable Bragg wavelength shifts. Finally, the model also takes into account the pressure dependence of constitutive parameters for silica and aluminum. Experiments were performed in planar shock loading using CFBGs as stress gauges, bonded along the target axis with Araldite glue. 6061-T6 aluminum flyers were launched at several velocities by a gas gun onto targets of the same material. A free-space Czerny-Turner (CT) spectrometer and an integrated-optics Arrayed-Waveguide Grating (AWG) were both used as dynamic spectrum analyzers. Experimental Bragg wavelength shifts agree well with theoretical predictions for both elastic and hydrodynamic planar shock loading of 6061-T6 aluminum, opening up large perspectives for shock physics experiments.