Composite plate low energy impact localization system based on FBG sensing network and hybrid algorithm

Abstract This paper proposed an impact localization system using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) network which is based on quasi-Newton algorithm and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The FBG sensing network, formed by eight FBGs, was used to detect impact signals. And Shannon wavelet transform was employed to extract time differences. According to time differences and the coordinates of FBGs, nonlinear equations model of impact localization was established. Based on quasi-Newton algorithm and PSO algorithm, the nonlinear equations can be solved to obtain the coordinate of impact source. Testing experiments were carried out on a composite plate within 400 mm × 400 mm monitoring area. The experimental results showed that the maximum and average errors are 3.2 mm and 1.73 mm, respectively. The computational time is less than 2 s.