Patent ID: 6495819
Filing Date: 2002-12-17
Classification: G01B

Abstract:
A method of using two interferometric configurations to measure bending of an extended structural element, comprising the steps of:attaching a segment of a first optical fiber along one side of the element, the first optical fiber comprising the measurement arm of a first interferometric configuration, the first interferometric configuration having a reference arm and selected from the group consisting of a Michelson or Mach-Zehnder interferometer; obtaining a set of interference fringe values from the first interferometric configuration; attaching a segment of a second optical fiber along one side of the element and another segment of the second optical fiber along the opposing side of the element, the second optical fiber comprising the measurement arm of a second interferometric configuration, the second interferometric configuration having a reference arm and selected from the group consisting of a Michelson or Mach-Zehnder interferometer; obtaining a set of interference fringe values from the second interferometer configuration; subtracting the second set of interference fringe values from the first set of interference fringe values; and calculating bending of the element based on the results of the subtracting step.