Shape Reconstruction of Post-Buckled Panels in a Wagner-Beam Test-Rig Using Distributed Optical Sensors and Digital Image Correlation

This paper compares out-of-plane displacement measurement techniques between a digital image correlation system and a distributed optical fiber sensor system for shear-loaded panels in a Wagner beam. The digital image correlation system determines the displacement directly and the distributed optical fiber sensors use Ko’s displacement theory for strain-based displacement calculation. In this study, the Wagner beam was shear-loaded and the panel strain was elastic and reversible. This paper shows that the digital image correlation system is state-of-the-art for determining the panel’s out-of-plane displacement. The displacement estimation by the distributed optical fiber system requires a precise setup and an extension of Ko’s displacement theory for this specific testing situation.