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In this paper, we propose a measurement technique based on local strain measurements to perform real-time reconstruction of the overall structural deformation and the distributed stress field produced by the impact of a body on a water free surface. In particular, we seek establishing a measurement chain capable of acquiring and elaborating the signals at high frequency, so that it can be utilized to study rapidly varying strain fields, such as those occurring in impulsive events. Fiber Bragg gratings are utilized to sense the local structural deformation. Experiments are conducted on flexible plastic wedges with variable deadrise angles impacting on a quiescent fluid surface. The experimental tests are performed in free fall and we explore variations of the entry velocity by varying the drop height. The structural deformation is reconstructed from point-wise strain measurements utilizing a modal reconstruction …