Composite Propeller Performance Monitoring with Embedded FBGs

摘要

Composite propeller blades are of Navy and commercial interest because they offer significant advantages in reduced weight, reduced maintenance, and increased performance. Potential benefits include design flexibility not achievable with metal that can increase mechanical efficiency, cavitation reduction, propeller weight reduction, and underwater blade replacement, to name a few. One of the major benefits claimed for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors is their ability to be embedded in composite materials with minimal effects on the performance of the material. In spite of embedded FBGs being routinely touted during discussions of smart materials, most reports dealing with embedded FBGs have been limited to simple structures such as composite plates or beams and tested under laboratory conditions. NRL was asked to contribute embedded FBG sensors as part of a composite propeller manufacturing and testing program being put together in the Propulsion and Fluid Systems Division of the Naval Systems Warfare Centers Carderock Division. This was an opportunity to both advance the state of the art in FBG sensing and provide propeller designers with the high-quality strain data that can lead to improved fluid dynamics models and better propeller designs.