Rapid miniature fiber optic pressure sensors for blast wave measurements

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious potential threat to soldiers who are exposed to explosions. Since the pathophysiology of TBI associated with a blast wave is not clearly defined, it is crucial to have a sensing system to accurately quantify the blast wave dynamics. This paper presents an ultra-fast fiber optic pressure sensor based on Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometric principle that is capable of measuring the rapid pressure changes in a blast event. The blast event in the experiment was generated by a starter pistol blank firing at close range, which produced a more realistic wave profile compared to using compressed air driven shock tubes. To the authors' knowledge, it is also the first study to utilize fiber optic pressure sensors to measure the ballistics shock wave of a pistol firing. The results illustrated that the fiber optic pressure sensor has a rise time of 200 ns which demonstrated that the sensor has ability to capture the dynamic pressure transient during a blast event. Moreover, the resonant frequency of the sensor was determined to be 4.11 MHz, which agrees well with the specific designed value.

► Ultra-fast fiber optic pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in blast event.
► The sensor was based on Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometric principle.
► The blast event was generated by a starter pistol blank firing at close range.
► First study to utilize fiber optic sensors to measure the pistol firing shock wave.
► The results were studied for the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury.