A novel optical accelerometer

Abstract

Frequently, assessment and monitoring of mechanical (acoustic) vibrations is necessary in large structures. Cost and reliability are major issues for fielddeployment. We present a simple, compact and reliable optical accelerometer designed and constructed in our labs, capable of consistent and reliable measurement of vibrations in intermediate acoustic range (few Hz to few kHz), based on variation of optical power coupling between fibers in the optical sensor head. The device sensitivity has a lower limit to accelerations as low as 1g, but has a surprising upper value above 180 m/s 2 (18g).

Optical Accelerometers for Detecting Low-Frequency Micro-Vibrations

“…The simplest optical accelerometer with optical intensity modulation is the optical waveguide (OWG) accelerometer. As shown in Figure 9a, Kalenik et al and Barbosa et al fixed a transmitting fiber in the form of a cantilever beam at one end and a receiving fiber at the other end [31,32]. When acceleration acts on this structure, the cantilever beam bends, reducing the optical flux of the receiving fiber.…”