Development of integrated damage detection system for international America's Cup class yacht structures using a fiber optic distributed sensor

Shimada Akiyoshi; Hiroshi Naruse; Kyoshi Uzawa; Hideaki Murayama; Kazuro Kageyama

doi:10.1117/12.388121

12 June 2000 Development of integrated damage detection system for international America's Cup class yacht structures using a fiber optic distributed sensor

Shimada Akiyoshi, Hiroshi Naruse, Kyoshi Uzawa, Hideaki Murayama, Kazuro Kageyama

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3986, Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Sensory Phenomena and Measurement Instrumentation for Smart Structures and Materials; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.388121
Event: SPIE's 7th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 2000, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

We constructed a new health monitoring system to detect damage using a fiber optic distributed sensor, namely a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR), and installed it in International America's Cup Class (IACC) yachts, the Japanese entry in America's Cup 2000. IACC yachts are designed to be as fast as possible, so it is essential that they are lightweight and encounter minimum water resistance. Advanced composite sandwich structures, made with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) skins and a honeycomb core, are used to achieve the lightweight structure. Yacht structure designs push the strength of the materials to their limit and so it is important to detect highly stressed or damaged regions that might cause a catastrophic fracture. The BOTDR measures changes in the Brillouin frequency shift caused by distributed strain along one optical fiber. We undertook two experiments: a pulling test and a four point bending test on a composite beam. The former showed that no slippage occurred between the optical fiber glass and its coating. The latter confirmed that a debonding between the skin and the core of 300 mm length could be found with the BOTDR. Next we examined the effectiveness with which this system can assess the structural integrity of IACC yachts. The results show that our system has the potential for use as a damage detection system for smart structures.

Citation Download Citation

Shimada Akiyoshi, Hiroshi Naruse, Kyoshi Uzawa, Hideaki Murayama, and Kazuro Kageyama "Development of integrated damage detection system for international America's Cup class yacht structures using a fiber optic distributed sensor", Proc. SPIE 3986, Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Sensory Phenomena and Measurement Instrumentation for Smart Structures and Materials, (12 June 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.388121

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