Abstract
This paper presents high-sensitivity, micromachined all-fiber Fabry–Pérot interferometric (FFPI) strain gauges and their integration in a force balance for hypersonic aerodynamic measurements. The FFPI strain gauge has a short Fabry–Pérot cavity fabricated using an excimer laser etching process, and the deformation of the cavity is detected by a white-light optical phase demodulator. A three-component force balance, using the proposed FFPI gauges as sensing elements, was fabricated, calibrated, and experimentally evaluated. To reduce thermal output of the balance, a simple and effective self-temperature compensation solution, without external temperature sensors, is proposed and examined through both oven heating and wind tunnel runs. As a result of this approach, researchers are able to use the balance continuously throughout a wide range of temperatures. During preliminary testing in a hypersonic wind tunnel with a free stream Mach number of 12, the measurement accuracies of the balance were clearly improved after applying the temperature self-compensation.
Highlights
Free-space Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometers are widely employed for applications in lasers, spectroscopy, and filters, just to name a few
Petuchowski et al [3] discussed the implementation of a fiber FP interferometric (FFPI) device with fiber ends to serve as mirrors
On account of the advantages, such as capability of responding to a wide variety of parameters, high resolution, and miniature size, FFPI sensors were demonstrated to be especially attractive for the measurement of numerous physical and chemical parameters in past years [4,5,6,7,8]
Summary
Free-space Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometers are widely employed for applications in lasers, spectroscopy, and filters, just to name a few. There are different types of FP structures, where the stable optical interferometer consisting of two mirrors on either side of an optically transparent medium (cavity) is most often used. Compared with conventional free-space FP devices, the development of an all-fiber FP interferometric (FFPI) device represents a big step, in terms of great miniaturization and in terms of the enrichment of the various structures. Petuchowski et al [3] discussed the implementation of a FFPI device with fiber ends to serve as mirrors. On account of the advantages, such as capability of responding to a wide variety of parameters, high resolution, and miniature size, FFPI sensors were demonstrated to be especially attractive for the measurement of numerous physical and chemical parameters in past years [4,5,6,7,8]
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