Cantilever beam vibration sensor based on the axial property of fiber Bragg grating

Abstract

In the fields of civil engineering and seismology, it is essential to detect and tracking the vibrations, and the fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are typically used as sensors to measure vibrations. Where, one of the most popular and detailed approaches to use FBGs as vibration sensors involves the use of cantilever beam designs, which adds a mass to measure low and moderate frequencies (from 20 Hz up to 1 kHz) with high sensitivities (greater than 10 pm/g). The design consists of a bending strain in the cantilever that is simultaneously transferred to the FBG, resulting in a shift in the wavelength that is proportional to the strain experienced by the cantilever. In this work, we present the experimental results of a vibration sensor design using a cantilever beam to generate an axial uniform strain in the FBG in-line with the vertical axis, which modifies the cantilever\'s natural frequency that allows the sensor to have a wide frequency broadband without losing sensitivity. This sensor achieved a sensitivity of about 339 pm/g and a natural frequency of 227.3 Hz. The presented design compared with the traditional cantilever beam-based FBG vibration sensors, has the advantages of a simple design for detection on vibration-sensitive structures and its physical parameters can be easily modified in order to satisfy the requirements of the desired vibration measurements.