Each year numerous structural failures occur due to their fasteners. Structural fasteners can yield because of extreme loading, improper tension, severe environments, vibration or corrosion.

Cleveland Electric Labs Advanced Technologies Group engineers have developed a method to turn virtually any bolt, rivet, stud or screw into a “smart” fastener using the latest state of the art fiber optic sensing technology. Due to fiber optics’ inherent immunity to EMI, RFI, lightning and corrosion the sensors embedded in Brainy Bolts make them the best choice for long term, real-time measurement.

Brainy Bolts (or rivets, studs or screws) contain one or more optical sensors called Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) that are less than one millimeter in diameter. An FBG in a fiber acts like tiny mirrors that reflect different specific wavelengths of light back to the optical interrogator giving each sensor its own unique address. Because of this unique addressing, multiple FBG sensors can be arrayed on a single fiber giving you the ability to network many Brainy Bolts or other optical sensors with limited cabling. Each of these sensors are measured in real-time simultaneously.

The pre-tensioned FBG within the bolt responds to the tension force applied between the head and the nut, thereby creating a tensioning strain on the wall of the central bore. As the bolt is tensioned the FBG insert is stretched causing its wavelength to change versus its normal wavelength. The wavelength changes caused by load factors, elongation, vibration and tension are received by the optical interrogator and then converted into usable measurements.

From large structural fasteners to small industrial fasteners, many types can be converted to Brainy Bolts giving you measurements not previously possible. Please contact us for more information on how your fasteners could become Brainy Bolts – The Fastener with a Brain.