Fibre Optic ‘Nerve Systems’ make Composite Materials Transparent

EXTREMELY fine optical glass fibres only three‐hundredths of a millimeter in diameter are being used as ‘nerves’ which can make the interior of a composite component structure ‘transparent’. Research and development of a fibre opto‐electronic crack detection system (FORS) begun by the MBB Transport Aircraft Group four years ago, have reached such a high standard that the technology is now to be applied to a variety of materials and structures. This system enables cracks in materials to be easily detected because the glass fibres break at the crack with the result that the flow of light through the fibres is interrupted.