Structural shape reconstruction with consideration of the reliability of distributed strain data from a Brillouin-scattering-based optical fiber sensor

In this paper, we constructed a shape reconstruction algorithm using a finite element (FE) model of the target structure, taking advantage of characteristics of the distributed strain data, which was acquired from a Brillouin-scattering-based optical fiber sensor. The remarkable point is that, using not only raw strain data but also information of the non-uniformity of strain distribution profiles, the algorithm appropriately considers the data reliability for accurate shape reconstructions. The constructed algorithm was applied to the reconstruction of the deflection of a composite laminate specimen, in which an optical fiber network was embedded. The results indicated that reconstruction accuracy was greatly improved by using weight values determined from the non-uniformity index of the strain distribution profile for each data point. Moreover, we demonstrated that the prior information of identification parameters, which were the node-displacements of the FE model, could be provided for accurate shape reconstructions of complex deformations using the non-uniformity index