Preliminary Development of Optical Fiber Sensors Numerical Models for Aerospace Systems Monitoring

The development of cutting-edge innovative systems in the mechanical and aerospace sectors firstly requires the use of a versatile and integrated sensor network. This approach allows to measure various physical parameters with the same hardware, thus generating smart components: optical fiber sensors are particularly suited for this purpose due to their physical characteristics. On the other hand, it is also essential to develop models that can accurately reproduce the physical behavior of the system. However, in the case of smart components equipped with optical fiber sensors, it is also necessary to model the response these sensors provide. This method can guarantee specific benefits, such as virtual sensing or decoupling the effects acting on the same sensor. This article considers the thermal and mechanical effects acting on a Fiber Bragg Grating sensor. A firstorder model was employed for the thermal case, and a second-order mass-spring-damper model was used for the mechanical case. Finally, the numerical results were compared with the physical system, highlighting the good accuracy of the proposed approach and possible future developments.