ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that multiple causes lead to the distortion to the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) response spectra. The FBG sensors can be embedded into Fiber-reinforced polymer composites during the manufacture of the composite part with no adverse effect on the strength of the part as the sensor is diminutive in size. FBGs are formed by constructing periodic changes in the index of refraction in the core of a single mode optical fiber. In general, FBG sensors will be placed closer to critical sections of the structure where high stress concentrations are predicted. The majority of research work on FBG sensors in structural health monitoring (SHM) of composite structures has focused on investigation of the spectra of FBG sensor embedded in the vicinity of damage. The SHM process involves the observation of a system over time using periodically sampled structural response measurements from an array of sensors.
