A resin pocket surrounding an optical fiber in a laminated structure will produce residual stresses in the optical fiber due to the mismatch of the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the laminate, resin, and optical fiber. This paper describes an analytical tool that generates a solid 3D finite element model (FEM) of a plate- like fiber optic smart structure for any ply stacking sequence, any optical fiber embedding location through-the- thickness of the laminate, and any optical fiber orientation. Classical laminate plate theory and a linear elastic model are employed to estimate the resin pocket geometry along a user specified optical fiber path. The unknowns of the system are evaluated using the method of minimum potential energy, which is comprised of the bending strain energy of the reinforcing fibers, the compressive strain energy of the laminate, and the work performed on the system. Using the geometry of the optical fiber, the lamina, and the resin pocket, a solid 3D FEM is generated in the neighborhood of the optical fiber along the user defined optical fiber path. The FEM will be used to evaluate the strain field in the optical fiber due to the CTE mismatch in the system.

Date Published: 27 July 1998
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 3329, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, (27 July 1998); doi: 10.1117/12.316952

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3329:
Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems
Mark E. Regelbrugge, Editor(s)