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Curved Piezoelectric Actuators for Stretching Optical FibersAssemblies containing curved piezoceramic fiber composite actuators have been invented as means of stretching optical fibers by amounts that depend on applied drive voltages. Piezoceramic fiber composite actuators are conventionally manufactured as sheets or ribbons that are flat and flexible, but can be made curved to obtain load-carrying ability and displacement greater than those obtainable from the flat versions. In the primary embodiment of this invention, piezoceramic fibers are oriented parallel to the direction of longitudinal displacement of the actuators so that application of drive voltage causes the actuator to flatten, producing maximum motion. Actuator motion can be transmitted to the optical fiber by use of hinges and clamp blocks. In the original application of this invention, the optical fiber contains a Bragg grating and the purpose of the controlled stretching of the fiber is to tune the grating as part of a small, lightweight, mode-hop-free, rapidly tunable laser for demodulating strain in Bragg-grating strain-measurement optical fibers attached to structures. The invention could also be used to apply controllable tensile force or displacement to an object other than an optical fiber.
Document ID
20090020594
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
Authors
Allison, Sidney G.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Shams, Qamar A.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Fox, Robert L.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2008
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, January 2008
Subject Category
Electronics And Electrical Engineering
Report/Patent Number
LAR-17356-1
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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