MULTIPLEXED OPTICAL FIBER WEAR SENSOR
First Claim
1. A wear sensor assembly for monitoring wear and other defects in a component, said sensor assembly comprising:
- at least one light source generating an optical beam;
at least one optical fiber receiving the optical beam from the at least one light source, said optical fiber including a fiber core through which the optical beam propagates and a fiber Bragg grating formed in the core, said fiber Bragg grating being operable to reflect a predefined wavelength of the optical beam back along the optical fiber and allow other wavelengths in the optical beam to propagate through the fiber Bragg grating; and
a detector for detecting the reflected wavelength of the optical beam from the fiber Bragg grating, wherein detection or no detection of the reflected wavelength is indicative of the wear on the component.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fiber wear detector that includes one or more FBG sensors positioned within the fiber that are operable to reflect a defined wavelength of an optical input beam. The wear detector includes a light source for generating the optical input beam that propagates down the optical fiber and interacts with the FBG sensor. The wavelength of the optical beam that is reflected by the FBG sensor is detected, where loss of the reflected signal indicates that the fiber before the FBG sensor or the FBG sensor itself is damaged, which would most likely be an indication of wear on the component. The depth of wear can be determined by providing multiple FBG sensors in a single optical fiber and/or providing multiple optical fibers with one or more FBG sensors.
19 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A wear sensor assembly for monitoring wear and other defects in a component, said sensor assembly comprising:
-
at least one light source generating an optical beam; at least one optical fiber receiving the optical beam from the at least one light source, said optical fiber including a fiber core through which the optical beam propagates and a fiber Bragg grating formed in the core, said fiber Bragg grating being operable to reflect a predefined wavelength of the optical beam back along the optical fiber and allow other wavelengths in the optical beam to propagate through the fiber Bragg grating; and a detector for detecting the reflected wavelength of the optical beam from the fiber Bragg grating, wherein detection or no detection of the reflected wavelength is indicative of the wear on the component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
- 11. A wear sensor for monitoring wear and other defects in a component, said sensor comprising at least one optical fiber receiving an optical beam, said optical fiber including a fiber core through which the optical beam propagates and a plurality of fiber Bragg gratings formed in the core and being spaced apart from each other, each fiber Bragg grating being operable to reflect a predefined wavelength of the optical beam back along the optical fiber and allow other wavelengths in the optical beam to propagate through the fiber Bragg grating, where loss of the reflected wavelength indicates wear on the component.
-
16. A gas turbine engine comprising:
-
a shaft rotatably provided along a center line of the engine; a compressor section responsive to a working fluid and being operable to compress the working fluid to produce a compressed working fluid; a combustion section in fluid communication with the compressor section that receives the compressed working fluid, said combustion section mixing the compressed working fluid with a fuel and combusting the compressed fluid and fuel mixture to produce a hot working fluid; a turbine section in fluid communication with the combustion section, said turbine section expanding the hot working fluid to produce mechanical power through rotation of the shaft; and at least one wear sensor operatively coupled to a component in the engine, said at least one wear sensor including at least one optical fiber receiving an optical beam, said at least one optical fiber including a fiber core through which the optical beam propagates and at least one fiber Bragg grating formed in the core, said at least one fiber Bragg grating being operable to reflect a predefined wavelength of the optical beam back along the optical fiber and allow other wavelengths in the optical beam to propagate through the fiber Bragg grating, where the reflected optical wavelength can be analyzed to determine wear on the component. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification