Novel Fiber Optic Methods for Sensing Shape, Orientation and/or Heading of Undersea Arrays and Tethers

In the Phase I STTR, N08-T029 “Novel Fiber Optic Methods for Sensing Shape, Orientation and/or Heading of Undersea Arrays and Tethers” a concept was developed for a fiber optic sensing array and shape reconstruction algorithm to be used for situation awareness of flexible undersea cable structures. Undersea cable structures are deployed in environments unsuitable for direct in-situ observation of shape or health monitoring. Therefore, the accurate monitoring of an undersea tether or array can simultaneously provide both performance enhancements and help to guard against catastrophic failure. The 3Pi team plans to extend the development of all efforts from the Phase I work with application to a specific target. Much of the Phase I effort was generalized to be applicable to any one of the four (4) length domains identified in the original topic. In addition, the tether structures used were simplified to thin-walled flexible hoses with no complicated geometry, materials, or internal structure. While shape reconstruction accuracy was maximized within a reasonable set of constraints, 3Pi will work with the program sponsor to provide the system performance necessary for the target application.