Patent ID: 8042412

Claim:
A method of sensing turbomachinery system shaft static and dynamic torques, vibration modes and associated operation status, the method comprising: transmitting light from a single light source to a plurality of shaft surface locations on a turbomachinery system via a plurality of optical fiber bundles, the plurality of shaft surface locations arranged in a substantially axial direction between the ends of at least one shaft, such that a plurality of dynamic reflected light signals are received from the plurality of shaft surface locations by at least one high-temperature fiber bundle-based lensless reflectance sensing probe while at least one shaft is rotating, wherein at least one of the plurality of shaft surface locations has an altered texture defined by a v-groove inscribed into the surface of the shaft by altering the surface depth of desired shaft surface areas relative to other shaft surface areas and at least one other of the plurality of shaft surface locations does not include an altered texture, wherein the depth of the v-groove provides a front working point signal and a rear working point signal such that a corresponding time delay can be detected from any two v-groove locations to determine the shaft twist angle value by differentiating their reflectance pattern signatures during each rotating cycle; and determining at least one turbomachinery system shaft torque characteristic based on at least one characteristic of the dynamic reflected light signals received from the at least one of the shaft surface locations; and determining at least one turbomachinery system shaft vibration characteristic based on at least one characteristic of the dynamic reflected light signals received from the at least one other of the surface locations.