Fast fiber Bragg grating interrogation system with scalability to support monitoring of large structures in harsh environments

Fiber optic sensor systems can alleviate certain challenges faced by electronics sensors faced when monitoring structures subject to marine and other harsh environments. Challenges in implementation of such systems include scalability, interconnection and cabling. We describe a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor system architecture based that is scalable to support over 1000 electromagnetic interference immune sensors at high sampling rates for harsh environment applications. A key enabler is a high performance FBG interrogator supporting subsection sampling rates ranging from kHz to MHz. Results are presented for fast dynamic switching between multiple structural sections and the use of this sensing system for dynamic load monitoring as well as the potential for acoustic emission and ultrasonic monitoring on materials ranging from aluminum and composites to concrete subject to severe environments.