Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98

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Optics and Laser Technology

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Analytical model for a polymer optical fiber under dynamic bending

Arnaldo G. Leal Junior ⇑, Anselmo Frizera, Maria José Pontes
Telecommunications Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Fernando Ferrari avenue, 29075-910 Vitória, ES, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Advantages such as sensibility in bending, high fracture toughness, and high sensibility in strain enable
Received 28 November 2016 the application of polymer optical fibers as sensors for strain, temperature, level, and for angle measure-
Accepted 10 February 2017 ments. In order to enhance the sensor design, this paper presents an analytical model for a side polished
Available online xxxx
polymer optical fiber under dynamic bending. Differently from analytical models that use only the geo-
metrical optics approach with no correction for the stress-optical effects, here the refractive index is cor-
Keywords: rected at every bending angle to consider the stress-optical effects observed polymer optical fibers.
Polymer optical fiber
Furthermore, the viscoelastic response of the polymer is also considered. The model is validated in
Fiber optic sensor
Stress-optical effects
quasi-static and dynamic tests for a polymer optical fiber curvature sensor. Results show good agreement
Viscoelasticity between the model and the experiments.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Over the years a new trend for optical fibers application has
been observed. Silica fibers, which still are more employed for
communications purposes, began to be applied in sensors due to
several advantages over traditional measurement technologies
for strain, temperature, angle, level, among others. The advantages
include lightweight, magnetic fields immunity and multiplexing
capabilities [1]. An alternative to the silica fibers is the polymer
optical fiber (POF) that, in general, presents lower cost. Although,
POF systems have higher transmission losses, which limit its appli-
cation to short distance communications [2], it has some advan-
tages over silica fibers for sensor applications, such as high
sensitivity in bending, high fracture toughness, and high sensitivity
in strain [2]. Among the applications for POFs are angle [3], liquid
level [4], temperature sensors [5], and accelerometers [6].
An important step before the analytical modelling of the curva-
ture sensor is its characterization. Vallan et al. [7] proposed a static
characterization of the POF strain. The characterization was made
on a rectangular and a trapezoidal cantilever to apply the POF as
a deflection sensor for these structures. Similar characterization
is made on Lomer et al. [8] to obtain a liquid level sensor based
on the attenuation of the signal due to the fiber bending. Moraleda
et al. [5] characterize the fiber response on a certain geometry to
obtain a temperature sensor based on the fiber bending. Donno
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: arnaldo.leal@aluno.ufes.br (A.G. Leal Junior), frizera@ieee.org
(A. Frizera), mjpontes@ele.ufes.br (M.J. Pontes).
et al. [3] presented a curvature sensor based on POF for knee angle
measurements.
In order to quantify and simulate the effects on a bending fiber,
some effort has been made to obtain analytical models for an opti-
cal fiber under this condition. Most of these methods are derived
from [9], where the author calculates the electrical and magnetic
fields for a curved waveguide and achieves a curvature loss for-
mula for optical fibers. Marcuse [10] improves the curvature loss
formula for the case of a multimode fiber. However, it requires
knowledge of the propagation constant variation with the optical
fiber bending. Although these models achieved good results for
static analysis, the attenuation also has variation on the geometry
of the bending. In other words, the attenuation of the fiber bend in
a circular geometry is different from a fiber bend in an ellipsoidal
shape [11].
Therefore, it is necessary to consider the fiber geometry in
bending. The following models have the experimental validation
made in an optical fiber bending setup with circular shape. Some
models are applicable only to POFs. The difference in these models
is that only the geometrical optics are applied, which is a good
approximation for POFs considering that, generally, they are
employed for sensing in short distances and present higher numer-
ical aperture than silica fibers [1].
The model for a POF sensor with a sensitive zone depends upon
the length and depth of such zone. Moreover, it also depends on
the geometry of the lateral section. The lateral section can be made
by a continuous section or can also be a toothed region with speci-
fic characteristics for the teeth shape (angle, length and depth). Fu
et al. [12] described the POF curvature sensor principle of opera-
tion and proposed a model for static measurements. Kovacevic

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2017.02.009
0030-3992/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A.G. Leal Junior et al. / Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98 93

et al. [13] provided an analytical model for the parameters
optimization of a POF with toothed sensitive zone. Although it is
a feasible technique to predict the lateral section parameters and
the signal attenuation in bending on static conditions, the fabrica-
tion process itself is a major limitation. If it is desired an optimized
sensor, the dimensions of the fiber and the sensitive zone require a
precision drilling [13]. Bilro et al. [14] presents a very similar
model. However, in this case, it is a model for a continuous section
on the sensitive zone.
None of the models discussed above considered the influence of
the fiber bending load characteristics on the signal output. A POF
under a pure bending load condition presents changes on its
refractive index, which depends on the stress tensor applied on
the fiber and on its structure, geometry, and physical properties
[15]. Furthermore, the polymer is a viscoelastic material and its
characteristics have to be included on the stress-optical analysis.
This paper presents an analytical model for dynamic bending of
a POF, which is based on the geometrical optics approach com-
bined with the stress-optical analysis and viscoelastic models.
The validation is performed with two different experimental set-
ups: one using a goniometer for quasi-static tests and another
using a servomotor for dynamic measurements. Moreover, the
POF curvature sensors analyzed have different lateral section
parameters and are analyzed under different angular velocities.
The analysis of different POF sensors in different experimental
setups and different dynamic conditions prove the robustness of
the model.
This paper is divided as follows. Section 2 presents the model
derived from geometrical optics. In Section 3, the geometrical
optics model is integrated with the viscoelastic and stress-optical
effect on the fiber refractive index. Section 4 presents the valida-
tion of the model proposed. Section 5 presents the final remarks
of the paper and future works suggestion.
Fig. 1 shows the fiber geometry considered in the POF sensor
modelling. This figure is out of scale, since the diameter of fiber
core is not much smaller than the cladding part as observed in
practical perspective. The sensitive zone along the curvature region
is represented by the section length given by c. p denotes the depth
of removed material on the fiber core. The optical fiber length in
Fig. 1 is given by L, meanwhile the optical fiber diameter is d,
and the curvature radius is R. This will compose the sensitive zone
for sensing the curvature.
The optical power coupled to the POF sensor is modeled under
geometrical optics concepts, as considered by [13], and written as,
dP ¼ 2pL0 cosðhÞ sinðhÞdhdS: ð1Þ
where (dP) is an element power radiated into a solid angle dX sub-
tended by a section (dS) at an angle (dh). L0 is the light source
radiance.
The integration of (1) over the cross sectional area gives the
input power of the model to be coupled to the fiber sensor, where
a is the optical fiber core radius, and hc is the critical angle.
2
Pin ¼ p2 L0 a sin ðhc Þ: ð2Þ
Assuming an uniform mode distribution, where the light source
has constant radiance, it can be defined [13] from the parameters
of Fig. 1, the difference of the fiber core cross sectional area (SC )
and the maximum area of removed material (So ) as,

a  p qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pa2
SC  So ¼ þ a2 arcsin þ ða  pÞ a2  ða  pÞ2 : ð3Þ
2 a
Eq. (3) defines the cross section of the sensitive zone, which is
critical for the evaluation of the PS , the optical fiber sensitive zone
power. PS can also be defined as the remaining power when it
enters the sensitive zone, i.e.,
2
PS ¼ pL0 ðSC  So Þ sin ðhc Þ: ð4Þ

2. Geometrical optics model Furthermore, a loss of power due to partial transmission can
occur when the light meets the side-polished interface [13]. Since
A typical POF sensor for curvature measurements employs a this is a dielectric media, the losses are calculated through the
POF with a lateral section, which creates a sensitive zone to Fresnel’s equations and the reflection coefficient (r T ) for an unpo-
increase the sensor sensitivity and linearity of the signal attenua- larized light is,
tion when the fiber is bending. A POF without any modification ðr2PP þ r 2PL Þ
has a circular cross-section with three layers: core, cladding and rT ¼ ; ð5Þ
2
jacket. The core section conducts most part of the optical signal
due to its higher refractive index than the cladding and the jacket where rPP is the reflection of the perpendicular rays and rPL is the
provides only mechanical and chemical protection. Light losses reflection of parallel rays, defined as,
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
happen due to absorption and frustrated total internal reflection sinðhp Þ  1
 cos2 ðhp Þ
n2C
when in contact with the surface [1]. As the bending occurs, the rPP ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; ð6Þ
incident angle increases and creates a variation on the transmis- sinðhp Þ þ n12  cos2 ðhp Þ
C
sion mode. When the sensitive zone of the fiber is bending, there
are more losses due to the absence of the cladding in that region, qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
increasing the radiation losses. Another source of loss is the surface
1
n2C
sinðhp Þ  1
n2C
 cos2 ðhp Þ
rPL ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; ð7Þ
scattering caused by the coupling between higher and lower 1
sinðhp Þ þ n12  cos2 ðhp Þ
n2C
guided modes [16]. C

Fig. 1. Section view of the POF sensor analyzed.

94 A.G. Leal Junior et al. / Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98

where hp is the angle of propagation and nC is the POF core refrac- DBi ¼ qi;j ri ; ð12Þ
tive index.
where qi;j is the stress-optical tensor, which is a fourth-rank tensor
Considering multiple reflections can be observed inside the sen-
sitive zone of the fiber, the number of internal reflections (N) is the with 36 components. However, the isotropy assumption reduces
closest integer number obtained by, the number of independent variables to only two (q11 and q12 ).
The values of the elements of the stress-optical tensor depend on
the material of the fiber core and it can be measured through the
c tanðhp Þ
N¼ : ð8Þ experimental setup presented in [19]. Eq. (13) shows the stress-
2ð2a  pÞ
optical tensor for the symmetry conditions obtained in an isotropic
material assumption.
The combined effect of the power losses when the rays enter 2 3
the sensitive zone and the losses due to the reflected rays result q11 q12 q12 0 0 0
in an output power (Po ) defined by, 6q q11 q12 0 0 0 7
6 12 7
6 7
Z 6 q12 q12 q11 0 0 0 7
q¼6 7:
hc
Po ¼ pL0 ðSC  So Þ r NT cosðhÞ sinðhÞdh: ð9Þ 6 0 7 ð13Þ
6 0 0 q11  q12 0 0 7
0 6 7
4 0 0 0 0 q11  q12 0 5
Eq. (9) accounts the output power for a fiber without bending.
In order to account the bending, the integral upper limit hc has to 0 0 0 0 0 q11  q12
be corrected to evaluate the effect of the fiber bending by a certain Although the fiber has a shear stress component, most of the
angle. The fiber has a decrease on its numerical aperture when it is stress acting on it is an axial stress. Therefore, in order to simplify
bending and the output signal decreases. The angle corrected by the stress tensor, it is possible to apply a correction on the Young’s
the fiber bending (hb ) for a concave sensitive zone can be written modulus of the material to cover the effects of the shear stress [20].
as, Eq. (14) shows the expression for the corrected Young modulus for
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi shear stress.
2a "
hb ¼ hc 1  2: ð10Þ  2 #
Rhc  6 d
E ¼ Ea 
1 þ ð2 þ m Þ : ð14Þ
5 L
By relating the ratio between the input and output power
before and after bending the fiber with respective parameters where E is the corrected dynamic Young modulus, Ea is the uncor-
and characteristics, it is possible to obtain rected Young modulus, m is the material Poisson ratio, d and L are
2 defined in Fig. 1 and represent the fiber diameter and length.
Po ðSC  So Þ sin ðhb Þ However, the fiber length generally is some orders of
¼ 2
: ð11Þ
Pi SC sin ðhc Þ magnitude higher than the fiber diameter. For this reason, the
quadratic term in (14) is negligible. Since the Poisson ratio of the
Analyzing (11) together with (3) and (10) it is possible to
materials typically lie on the range 0.3–0.5, the second term of
observe that only the curvature radius (R) will increase or decrease
the summation continues to be close to zero. Hence, the corrected
depending upon the positive or negative bending and the bending
Young modulus is close to the uncorrected one.
angle. Therefore, such expression relies only on the curvature
In addition, the stress tensor depends on the load condition on
radius, which may not be an adequate approach for dynamic mea-
the fiber. One considers the fiber under a bending stress with the
surement and for a sensor under stress or strain condition.
configuration of Fig. 2.
Where x is the distance between the bending part to the neutral
3. Stress-optical effects modelling line, and h is the bending angle. For this stress condition, the only
component of the tensor different from zero is the axial stress on
The model presented in Section 2 does not include any effect of the z direction. The multiplication of the stress tensor and the
the load on the fiber. When the fiber is bending, there is a symmet- stress-optical tensor gives the following results for DBi (15)–(18).
ric second-rank stress tensor with six independent variables acting
on it [15]. Moreover, the elements of the tensor are not constant DB1 ¼ q12 rðtÞ; ð15Þ
due to the viscoelasticity of the POF material. Viscoelastic material
has a relationship between stress and strain varying with time due
DB2 ¼ q12 rðtÞ; ð16Þ
to its molecular rearrangement, which dissipates part of the accu-
mulated energy leading to a time varying tensor [17]. Therefore,
the viscoelastic effect has to be considered on the stress-optical
analysis.
Some assumptions are important for the stress-optical analysis.
First, the second-order effects due to temperature changes are
neglected. Furthermore, the model is valid only for step-index
POF, which is also considered transparent, homogenous, and iso-
tropic [15]. Although there are minor differences between the opti-
cal behavior along the fiber and perpendicular to it due to the
anisotropy induced on the fabrication processes, this differences
for a Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA) fiber is not very large
and are difficult to measure [18]. Since most of the POFs have its
core made of PMMA, the assumption of isotropy is acceptable.
The stress-optical effect is described by a second-rank tensor
(DBi ) to represent the changes of coefficients in optical indicatrix
under the action of the bending stress [15]. Eq. (12) defines the
stress-optical relation aforementioned. Fig. 2. Polymer optical fiber under the bending stress condition.
 A.G. Leal Junior et al. / Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98
DB3 ¼ q11 rðtÞ; ð17Þ
DB4 ¼ DB5 ¼ DB6 ¼ 0: ð18Þ
where B is defined as (19) [15].
1 
B¼ : ð19Þ
n2C
The combination of (15)–(19) result in the variation of the
refractive indexes Dnx , Dny , and Dnz for the bending condition
(20)–(22).
n3C q12 rðtÞ
Dnx ¼ ; ð20Þ
2
n3 q rðtÞ
Dny ¼ C 12 ; ð21Þ
2 The Young modulus of a viscoelastic material has two compo-
n3C q11 rðtÞ
Dnz ¼ : ð22Þ
2 (26).
The stress component depends on the time due to the viscoelas-
ticity of the material. There are several models to describe the
viscoelastic behavior of a material, which may be divided in three
major types: integral models, differential models, and molecular
models [20]. Among the differential models, some different
approaches exist as well. However, all the approaches consider
the stress or strain response of the material as a combination of
springs and dashpots. The spring behavior is the behavior of an
elastic material and the dashpot represents the behavior of a vis-
cous material. Since the response of a viscoelastic material is a
combination of the elastic and viscous response, the combination
between springs and dashpots results on the response of the mate-
rial [17]. The differential models are Maxwell’s model, Kelvin-Voigt
model, Three-element standard solid, Burgers model, among
others. The differences between these models are the configuration
between the spring and dashpot and the number of such elements
[20]. For example, the Maxwell model has one spring and one
dashpot connected in series. Whereas the Three element standard
solid model has a spring in series with a spring parallel with a
dashpot (Fig. 3).
Although models with higher number of components result in
response closer to the real one, the number of parameters to deter-
mine also increase, which need a more complex experimental
setup and additional viscoelastic characterization. Nevertheless,
in some cases, the Maxwell model can predict a POF response with
good approximation degree [21].
In the Maxwell model, the total strain (e) is the sum between
the strain due to the elastic effects and the one due to viscous
effects. Eq. (23) shows the variation of the strain with time:
de 1 dr r
¼ þ ; ð23Þ
dt E dt g
Fig. 3. Three element standard solid and Maxwell viscoelastic model.
95
where E is the Young modulus, and g is the polymer viscosity.
However, the strain is kept constant and the polymer viscosity is
a multiplication between the Young modulus and the polymer time
constant [21]. Hence, substituting the viscosity term and solving the
differential equation for constant strain yields (24).

t
rðtÞ ¼ r0 exp ; ð24Þ
s
where s is the time constant and r0 is the initial stress. The time
constant can be obtained from an exponential fit of the fiber
response. In the pure bending stress case, the initial stress is calcu-
lated in as (25)
E x
r0 ¼  : ð25Þ
R
nents: elastic or storage component and the loss modulus. The
dynamic Young modulus is the summation of the two components
E ¼ E0 cosðdÞ þ iE0 sinðdÞ; ð26Þ
where E0 is the static Young modulus and d is the phase shift
between the input stress or strain and the viscoelastic response.
Substituting (26), (25), and (24) in (20)–(22) result in the refrac-
tive index variation of a POF under a bending stress condition,
which can be substituted in (10) and (11) to provide the attenua-
tion on the optical signal in a fiber during bend. The jacket of the
fiber does not have any influence on the optical part of the model.
Moreover, the cladding part also does not have a major importance
on the model derived in this section due to its small diameter com-
pared with the core [15].
4. Experimental validation
The model presented in previous sections is validated. In order
to show the robustness of the model, two different setups for two
different tests are made. First, the results for a quasi-static test are
shown, and then, the results are presented for a dynamic test.
4.1. Quasi-static tests
The quasi-static test is made by fixing a multimode HFBR-
EUS100Z POF (Broadcom Limited, Singapore) with step index made
of PMMA on a plastic goniometer through 3D printed supports. The
test comprises of bending the fiber on sequential 10° steps for flex-
ion in 0–90° range. The fiber remains on the desired angle for 10 s.
The light variation is acquired by the photodiode IF-D91 (Industrial
Fiber Optics, USA). The light source is a low cost 3 mW 650 nm
laser. The signal acquisition is made by an Arduino Micro and the
sample rate is 10 Hz. Furthermore, a reference fiber is applied to
compensate the possible fluctuations in the light source, tempera-
ture, and humidity. The laser provides light for both fibers and
these fibers are further split into the reference and sensor fibers
through the light coupler IF-562 (Industrial Fiber Optics, USA).
Fig. 4 shows the experimental setup. The sensor lateral section
with controlled length and depth were made through a Computer
Numeric Control (CNC) milling machine.
The samples were fabricated with section depth of 0.7 mm and
section length varying from 5 mm to 40 mm on 5 mm steps inter-
val. The lower limits of the samples were chosen regarding the CNC
milling machine precision limits. Nevertheless, the upper limits of
the samples were chosen regarding the experimental setup
dimensions for the section length and the fiber resistance limit. It
is important to notice that the fiber lateral section is made
taking into account the core, cladding and jacket parts of the fiber.
96 A.G. Leal Junior et al. / Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98

Fig. 4. Experimental setup for the quasi-static test.

power. Table 1 shows the fiber parameters applied on the calcula-

Table 1
POF sensor Parameters.
Symbol Parameter
a Fiber core radius
nC Core refractive index
nCl Cladding refractive index
p Lateral section depth
E0 Static Young modulus
q11 Stress-optical coefficient
Therefore, the section depths presented are made with respect to
the fiber jacket. Three consecutive tests were made for each sam-
ple. In these tests, the best and worst results are discarded.
In order to simplify the analysis and avoid the electrical circuit
modelling, the output signal of the experiments is normalized with
respect to the signal of the fiber in straight position (no bending).
The same procedure is made on the calculated values.
The POF sensor output is calculated by substituting the fiber
parameters in (3), the critical angle is obtained by the well-
known Snell’s law. Since the refractive index changes with the fiber
bending, the core refractive index value is updated in every model
iteration. The changes in core refractive index is obtained by the
parameters in (26), (25), and then (24) to obtain the stress on
the fiber. Furthermore, the resultant stress is substituted in (22)
to obtain the refractive index of the core in this iteration. After
obtained the updated critical angle, this result has to be
substituted in (10). Finally, the results in (10), (3), and the fiber
parameters are substituted in (11) to obtain the sensor output
Fig. 5. Results for the quasi-static test of the POF with 25 mm section length. The
marked points (black squares) are the measured values and the blue curve is the
result of the analytical model. P/P1 is the ratio between the power of the fiber
without curvature and the fiber under curvature. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of this article.)
tion. These parameters are obtained in components datasheet and
reference works [15,22].
Value
The time constant and the phase shift is calculated in each test.
0.49 mm The results showed a variation of the time constant, its minimum
1.492 RIU value is 0.008 s for the fiber with 5 mm lateral section length and
1.417 RIU
0.3 mm
its maximum value is 0.013 s for the fiber of 40 mm lateral section
3.09 GPa length. The analysis of the time constant shows a linear increase of
1011 Pa1 its value with the increase of the section length. The phase shift ana-
lyzed for each sample does not lead significant variations to the
dynamic Young modulus, the cosine of the phase shift of every test
was higher than 0.98. Therefore, for this test, the dynamic Young
modulus value can be approximated as the static Young modulus.
The model obtained good results for each sample analyzed. The
correlation coefficient (R2) is 0.9913 ± 0.007. The worst correlation
coefficient found was 0.9788 for the sample with 40 mm lateral
section length. The loss of precision of the model in this case
may be due accumulation of errors of the CNC milling machine
which can make the lateral section deviate in its depth and length
and errors provided by the test itself. Since the process is made
manually, some errors on the goniometer position or in the time
that the fiber remains on the position may occur. The best correla-
tion coefficient obtained was 0.998 for the fiber with 25 mm
section length (Fig. 5).
4.2. Dynamic tests
The POF sensor is positioned on the prototype shown in Fig. 6,
which has a servomotor with position control and a potentiometer.
The POF response is compared with the potentiometer response.
The test comprises in bending the fiber for flexion and extension
in 0–100° range. In this case, USB-6008 board (National Instru-
ments, USA) makes the signal acquisition and the sample rate is
1 kHz. In order to validate the model under different dynamic
parameters, the test was made with 11 different angular velocities,
which were: 0.034 rad/s, 0.0426 rad/s, 0.0561 rad/s, 0.086 rad/s,
0.1105 rad/s, 0.1656 rad/s, 0.1959 rad/s, 0.262 rad/s, 0.3906 rad/s,
1.5 rad/s, and 2.9 rad/s. It was made three flexion/extension cycles
in each velocity. The POF employed in these tests has lateral sec-
tion of 12.48 mm and depth of 0.66 mm.
A good repeatability of the time constant and the phase shift
was found, these parameters remains almost constant when the
bending of one cycle is compared with the bending of the other
cycle. However, the time constant and the phase shift are not con-
stant in flexion and extension. The variation of these parameters is
one of the causes of the hysteresis in flexion/extension analysis.
Furthermore, the phase shift on the flexion is small, therefore the
cosine of the phase shift is approximately 1 and the sine is about
0, in this case it is a good approximation to define the dynamic
Young modulus equal to the static Young modulus. However, when
the extension movement is occurring this approximation is not
valid due to the higher values of the phase lag. Hence, besides
the difference between the time constant of flexion and extension,
the hysteresis of POF response is also due to the phase lag differ-
ence between the flexion and extension movement.
 A.G. Leal Junior et al. / Optics and Laser Technology 93 (2017) 92–98
Fig. 6. Test bench applied on dynamic tests.
Fig. 7. Calculated and measured values for five cycles of POF flexion and extension
with 1.5 rad/s. The marked points (black squares) are the measured values and the
blue curve is the result of the analytical model. P/P1 is the ratio between the power
of the fiber without curvature and the fiber under curvature. (For interpretation of
the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web
version of this article.)
The methodology used to calculate the fiber response is the
same as presented in quasi-static tests. The fiber parameters are
also the same as presented in Table 1. Since the test bench provide
higher repeatability of the test and almost eliminates the position
errors, the correlation coefficient of the dynamic test is higher than
the one obtained on quasi-static tests. The correlation coefficient
obtained is 0.9938 ± 0.0014. Furthermore, the standard deviation
decreases, which proves the higher repeatability of the method.
However, the dynamic tests results show that the model present
lower hysteresis than the hysteresis measured. This may be due
to the oversimplification of the Maxwell’s model. Furthermore,
the model estimates a lower response for the 100° angle than the
one measured. This happens due to the saturation trend of the sen-
sor when the bending angle is higher than 90°, which is not consid-
ered by the model. In order to illustrate the dynamic response
characteristics aforementioned, a test comprised of five flexion/
extension cycles with angular velocity of 1.5 rad/s was made
(Fig. 7).
The analytical models previously presented for POF curvature
sensor with sensitive zone are applicable only to static measure-
ments [12–14]. Furthermore, it presents errors higher than the
ones obtained on the analytical model proposed in this paper.
The error was analyzed only in [14], which presented errors on
97
different sensitive zone length and depth of about 3%. Whereas,
the error of the analytical model for dynamic bending proposed
in this paper is below 3% on the worst case among the range ana-
lyzed (0.034 rad/s). Therefore, besides the possibility of apply this
model in dynamic measurements, it also show an error lower
when compared to the analytical model presented in [14].
5. Conclusions
This paper presents a dynamic analytical model for polymer
optical fiber under dynamic bending condition. A geometrical
optics approach is applied to obtain the relation between input
and output signal as well as combined to the analysis of opto-
mechanical features of POFs. When a fiber is bending, there is an
attenuation due to the radiation losses caused by the macrobend-
ing and a variation on the refractive index due to the stress-optical
effect. Since the polymer has a viscoelastic behavior, the stress-
optical effect is modeled and applied for a viscoelastic material,
which results in a refractive index equation for the applied load.
In order to validate the model, two experimental setups were
made, one for a quasi-static evaluation and other for a dynamic
evaluation of the fiber response. The results show good agreement
between the model and the experimental measurements. The cor-
relation coefficient between the model presented and measure-
ments is 0.9913 ± 0.007 for quasi-static tests and 0.9938 ± 0.0014
for the dynamic tests
In order to improve the model and increase the correlation of
hysteresis between the model and the experiments, the investiga-
tion of others viscoelastic models may be required. However, even
with the Maxwell model for viscoelastic materials, which is the
most simple, the model was capable of achieve good correlation.
Future works include an investigation of the others viscoelastic
models to obtain a better model and the application of this model
as an algorithm to compensate the hysteresis on a POF sensor for
angle measurements.
Acknowledgment
This research is financed by CAPES [Grant number
88887.095626/2015-01], FAPES [Grant number 67566480], and
Petrobras [Grant number 23068.013529/2012-56].
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