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Shape sensing is a means by which to infer or reconstruct the deflections experienced by a flexible body. These deflections can be clear indicators of the operating conditions of the structure itself. The work presented in this paper proposes a robust, inexpensive, and accurate method for the shape sensing of a cantilevered body using a first-generation shape sensing spar. The shape sensing spar is benchmarked with static point loads and unsteady distributed loads in the context of a flexible hydrofoil. Results reveal maximum measurement error uncertainties of 0.2cm in bending and 0.49°in twisting using a sampling rate of 500 Hz, making the proposed method competitive with optical methods for steady state measurements, and more suitable than optical methods for dynamic measurements because of the high sampling rate. Moreover, the shape sensing spar provides a method for deflection measurement in complex multiphase flows where optical methods do not perform well. Future improvements and applications for the shape sensing spar are outlined.

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