? Dynamic Photomechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, U.S.A.
? Department of Physics, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, U.S.A.
Abstract:
An experimental study is conducted to show the application of fiber optic sensors to fracture mechanics problems. Mode I stress intensity factors are obtained using single mode optical fibers in single edge notched specimens fabricated from aluminium. A Mach–Zehnder interferometric set up is used during the experiments. The experimental results compare well with theoretical predictions.