A simple FBG pressure sensor fabricated using fused deposition modelling process

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a popular technology used for modeling, prototyping, and production applications. In this study, a simple fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based pressure sensor was fabricated using FDM process for monitoring vertical pressures. Raw material used for the fabrication of the pressure sensor was Polylactic Acid (PLA). Measurement performance of this FBG pressure sensor was validated by conducting cyclic loading tests on the FBG pressure sensor. Calibration tests indicate that the maximum measured vertical pressure of this new pressure sensor was 800 kPa with a measurement sensitivity of 4.26 kPa/pm. FMD process is found to be a simple and quick encapsulation method for the fabrication of FBG sensors. It is also found that FBG sensors can be successfully embedded into melted raw PLA materials without sacrificing its sensing performance. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.