Patent ID: 8463085

Claim:
A rotor blade monitoring system for use with a wind turbine, the wind turbine including at least one rotor blade, the rotor blade including a sidewall extending between a root portion and a tip portion, said rotor blade monitoring system comprising: a fiber optic strand coupled to the rotor blade sidewall, the fiber optic strand having a length extending from the root portion towards the tip portion; and, a plurality of sensors coupled to said fiber optic strand, said plurality of sensors comprising: a first set of sensors coupled to the root portion wherein adjacent sensors of said first set of sensors are spaced a first spanwise distance between the root portion and the tip portion; and, a second set of sensors coupled to the tip portion wherein adjacent sensors of said second set of sensors are spaced a second spanwise distance between the root portion and the tip portion, said second spanwise distance is different than said first spanwise distance, each sensor of said plurality of sensors axially spaced along said fiber optic strand and configured to transmit a signal indicative of a position of a respective portion of the rotor blade.