STATIC STRESS OPTICAL-FIBER SENSOR

This sensor is based on the mode coupling between two optical fibers. It uses standard multimode optical fibers, fused along a fixed clad le ngth parallel to the fiber axis. The sensor is integrated in an epoxy- resin material and submitted to a static pressure, causing the light t o be coupled from one fiber to another, It exhibits a coupling coeffic ient variation in the range of 4 x 10(-3) MPa-1 that depends on the se nsor parameters, and a low temperature sensitivity. The sensor is devo ted to civil-engineering applications such as concrete shrinkage, weig hing bridges and monitoring. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science S. A.