Inherent immunity to electromagnetic interference, light weight, and high data capacity, make optically based control systems attractive candidates to replace their electronic counterparts in many mobile platform applications. Additionally, size differences between optical fibers and metal conductors afford optical fiber data busses a reduced probability of sustaining a direct hit from ballistic or maintenance induced impacts. Drawing on techniques used in smart structure technology, this size reduction can be exploited by integrating the optical data bus with the airframe structure to achieve enhanced protection from external stresses. However, due to the brittle nature of optical fibers, a near impact of extreme thermal stresses may be more likely to induce catastrophic damage to an optical data bus. We demonstrate a technique which reduces the static and dynamic induced strain transferred to a structurally integrated optical fiber. Experimental data shows that this method eliminates nearly all fiber strain due to static loading, and greatly reduces the induced strain from a ballistic impact. The analysis shows that relatively small reductions in a constant stress, applied to an optical fiber, results in sizable increases in the predicted lifetime of the optical fiber.
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