A fiber optic buckle transducer for measurement of in vitro tendon strain

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to present a prototype of a fiber optic based buckle transducer suitable for measuring strain caused by stretching of a tendon. The device has an E-shape and its central arm is instrumented with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. The tendon adjusts to the E-form in a fashion that when it is stretched the central arm bends causing a shift of the Bragg's wavelength (lambda(B)) that is proportional to the amount of strain. This prototype is presented as an alternative to conventional strain gauge (SG) buckle transducers.