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Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing
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Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 84910

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luca Palmieri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy
Interests: Single- and multi-mode optical fibers for both telecommunication and sensing applications. Distributed measurements and sensors. Electromagnetism. Optical coherence tomography
Prof. Dr. Miguel González Herráez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electronics, University of Alcalá de Henares, 28805 Madrid, Spain
Interests: distributed measurements and sensors; Raman amplification; optical fiber sources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Distributed optical fiber sensors are receiving an ever-increasing interest as they offer the unique and unparalleled ability of mapping diverse physical fields along the area span by an optical fiber. Up to a million of sensing points can be interrogated with a single distributed optical fiber sensor, covering distances than can range from some tens of meters to a few hundreds of kilometers, with a spatial resolution of meters down to millimeters.

This Special Issue aims at collecting both original and review papers on all aspects of distributed optical fiber sensing research, including (but not limited to) Rayleigh, Brillouin and Raman scattering theoretical aspects (e.g. inverse scattering problems, polarization issues, noise modelling, nonlinear effects), novel interrogation schemes (e.g. time, frequency- and correlation-domain interrogation methods, etc.), laboratory and field applications (small- and large-scale experiments), signal processing in distributed optical fiber sensors, specialty fibers, coatings and cables for distributed sensing, etc.

Contributions are invited from the most reputable groups active in this research field. Regular contributions are also welcome.

Dr. Luca Palmieri
Prof. Miguel González Herráez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • optical fibers
  • sensors
  • distributed optical fiber sensors
  • Rayleigh scattering
  • Brillouin scattering
  • Raman scattering
  • optical time-domain reflectometry
  • optical frequency-domain reflectometry
  • Brillouin optical time-domain analysis
  • quasi-distributed optical fiber sensors
  • fiber Bragg gratings

Published Papers (18 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 3673 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Different Methods to Estimate the Effective Spatial Resolution of FO-DTS Measurements Achieved during Sandbox Experiments
by Nataline Simon, Olivier Bour, Nicolas Lavenant, Gilles Porel, Benoît Nauleau, Behzad Pouladi and Laurent Longuevergne
Sensors 2020, 20(2), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20020570 - 20 Jan 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4426
Abstract
For many environmental applications, the interpretation of fiber-optic Raman distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) measurements is strongly dependent on the spatial resolution of measurements, especially when the objective is to detect temperature variations over small scales. Here, we propose to compare three different and [...] Read more.
For many environmental applications, the interpretation of fiber-optic Raman distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) measurements is strongly dependent on the spatial resolution of measurements, especially when the objective is to detect temperature variations over small scales. Here, we propose to compare three different and complementary methods to estimate, in practice, the “effective” spatial resolution of DTS measurements: The classical “90% step change” method, the correlation length estimated from experimental semivariograms, and the derivative method. The three methods were applied using FO-DTS measurements achieved during sandbox experiments using two DTS units having different spatial resolutions. Results show that the value of the spatial resolution estimated using a step change depends on both the effective spatial resolution of the DTS unit and on heat conduction induced by the high thermal conductivity of the cable. The correlation length method provides an estimate much closer to the value provided by the manufacturers, representative of the effective spatial resolutions along cable sections where temperature gradients are small or negligible. Thirdly, the application of the derivative method allows for verifying the representativeness of DTS measurements all along the cable, by localizing sections where measurements are representative of the effective temperature. We finally show that DTS measurements could be validated in sandbox experiments, when using devices with finer spatial resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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16 pages, 5303 KiB  
Article
Distributed Fiberoptic Sensor for Simultaneous Humidity and Temperature Monitoring Based on Polyimide-Coated Optical Fibers
by Pavol Stajanca, Konstantin Hicke and Katerina Krebber
Sensors 2019, 19(23), 5279; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19235279 - 30 Nov 2019
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4295
Abstract
Along temperature, humidity is one of the principal environmental factors that plays an important role in various application areas. Presented work investigates possibility of distributed fiberoptic humidity monitoring based on humidity-induced strain measurement in polyimide (PI)-coated optical fibers. Characterization of relative humidity (RH) [...] Read more.
Along temperature, humidity is one of the principal environmental factors that plays an important role in various application areas. Presented work investigates possibility of distributed fiberoptic humidity monitoring based on humidity-induced strain measurement in polyimide (PI)-coated optical fibers. Characterization of relative humidity (RH) and temperature response of four different commercial PI- and one acrylate-coated fiber was performed using optical backscattering reflectometry (OBR). The study addresses issues of temperature-humidity cross-sensitivity, fiber response stability, repeatability, and the influence of annealing. Acrylate-coated fiber exhibited rather unfavorable nonlinear RH response with strong temperature dependence, which makes it unsuitable for humidity sensing applications. On the other hand, humidity response of PI-coated fibers showed good linearity with fiber sensitivity slightly decreasing at rising temperatures. In the tested range, temperature sensitivity of the fibers remained humidity independent. Thermal annealing was shown to considerably improve and stabilize fiber RH response. Based on performed analysis, a 20 m sensor using the optimal PI-coated fibers was proposed and constructed. The sensor uses dual sensing fiber configuration for mutual decoupling and simultaneous measurement of temperature and RH variations. Using OBR, distributed dual temperature-RH monitoring with cm spatial resolution was demonstrated for the first time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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8 pages, 6002 KiB  
Article
RDTS-Based Two-Dimensional Temperature Monitoring with High Positioning Accuracy Using Grid Distribution
by Can Zhang and ZhongXie Jin
Sensors 2019, 19(22), 4993; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19224993 - 16 Nov 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2061
Abstract
A novel two-dimensional (2D) positioning method based on Raman distributed temperature sensing (RDTS) has been reported to dramatically improve positioning accuracy. Using a well-designed 2D distribution of optical fiber and corresponding algorithms, the heat source can be accurately located without crosstalk; however, there [...] Read more.
A novel two-dimensional (2D) positioning method based on Raman distributed temperature sensing (RDTS) has been reported to dramatically improve positioning accuracy. Using a well-designed 2D distribution of optical fiber and corresponding algorithms, the heat source can be accurately located without crosstalk; however, there is a tradeoff between sensing distance and positioning accuracy. In our experiments, an RDTS system with a spatial resolution of 0.8 m along a 3 km multimode fiber (MMF) is used with specific 2D routing rules and corresponding algorithms. A positioning accuracy of about 0.1 m is obtained without hardware modification, which could be improved through the dense arrangement of fiber; however, this would sacrifice the sensing length. This solution can be used for both flat surfaces and curved surfaces such as pipes or tank surfaces. This scheme can also be extended to three-dimensional positioning using a delicate routing design of sensing fiber. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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14 pages, 9121 KiB  
Article
Monitoring a Heatsink Temperature Field Using Raman-Based Distributed Temperature Sensor in a Vacuum and −173 °C Environment
by Jingchuan Zhang, Peng Wei and Qingbo Liu
Sensors 2019, 19(19), 4186; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19194186 - 26 Sep 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2649
Abstract
A heatsink is a large experimental device which is used to simulate the outer space environment. In this paper, a Raman-based distributed temperature sensor was used for real-time and continuous heatsink temperature monitoring, and a special Raman-based distributed temperature sensing method and system [...] Read more.
A heatsink is a large experimental device which is used to simulate the outer space environment. In this paper, a Raman-based distributed temperature sensor was used for real-time and continuous heatsink temperature monitoring, and a special Raman-based distributed temperature sensing method and system have been proposed. This method takes advantage of three calibration parameters ( Δ α , γ , C ) to calculate the temperature. These three parameters are related to the attenuation of the optical fiber, the Raman translation, and the difference of optoelectronic conversion, respectively. Optical time domain reflectometry was used to calculate the location. A series of heatsink temperature measurement experiments were performed in a vacuum and −173 °C environment. When the temperature dropped to −100 °C, the parameter Δ α was found to vary. A method was proposed to recalculate Δ α and modify the traditional Raman fiber temperature equation. The results of the experiments confirmed the validity of this modified Raman fiber temperature equation. Based on this modified equation, the temperature field in the heatsink was calculated. The Raman-based distributed temperature sensor has potential applications in temperature measurement and judging the occurrence of faults in space exploration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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23 pages, 3319 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Distributed Fiber Optic Vibration Sensing and Simultaneous Temperature Gradient Sensing Using Traditional C-OTDR and Structured Fiber with Scattering Dots
by Konstantin Hicke, René Eisermann and Sebastian Chruscicki
Sensors 2019, 19(19), 4114; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19194114 - 23 Sep 2019
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 5162
Abstract
We present results demonstrating several beneficial effects on distributed fiber optic vibration sensing (DVS) functionality and performance resulting from utilizing standard single mode optical fiber (SMF) with femtosecond laser-inscribed equally-spaced simple scattering dots. This modification is particularly useful when using traditional single-wavelength amplitude-based [...] Read more.
We present results demonstrating several beneficial effects on distributed fiber optic vibration sensing (DVS) functionality and performance resulting from utilizing standard single mode optical fiber (SMF) with femtosecond laser-inscribed equally-spaced simple scattering dots. This modification is particularly useful when using traditional single-wavelength amplitude-based coherent optical time domain reflectometry (C-OTDR) as sensing method. Local sensitivity is increased in quasi-distributed interferometric sensing zones which are formed by the fiber segments between subsequent pairs of the scattering dots. The otherwise nonlinear transfer function is overwritten with that of an ordinary two-beam interferometer. This linearizes the phase response to monotonous temperature variations. Furthermore, sensitivity fading is mitigated and the demodulation of low-frequency signals is enabled. The modification also allows for the quantitative determination of local temperature gradients directly from the C-OTDR intensity traces. The dots’ reflectivities and thus the induced attenuation can be tuned via the inscription process parameters. Our approach is a simple, robust and cost-effective way to gain these sensing improvements without the need for more sophisticated interrogator technology or more complex fiber structuring, e.g., based on ultra-weak FBG arrays. Our claims are substantiated by experimental evidence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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20 pages, 6864 KiB  
Article
Localization of Transient Events Threatening Pipeline Integrity by Fiber-Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing
by Maria-Teresa Hussels, Sebastian Chruscicki, Detlef Arndt, Swen Scheider, Jens Prager, Tobias Homann and Abdel Karim Habib
Sensors 2019, 19(15), 3322; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19153322 - 29 Jul 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3960
Abstract
Pipe integrity is a central concern regarding technical safety, availability, and environmental compliance of industrial plants and pipelines. A condition monitoring system that detects and localizes threats in pipes prior to occurrence of actual structural failure, e.g., leakages, especially needs to target transient [...] Read more.
Pipe integrity is a central concern regarding technical safety, availability, and environmental compliance of industrial plants and pipelines. A condition monitoring system that detects and localizes threats in pipes prior to occurrence of actual structural failure, e.g., leakages, especially needs to target transient events such as impacts on the pipe wall or pressure waves travelling through the medium. In the present work, it is shown that fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in conjunction with a suitable application geometry of the optical fiber sensor allows to track propagating acoustic waves in the pipeline wall on a fast time-scale. Therefore, short impacts on the pipe may be localized with high fidelity. Moreover, different acoustic modes are identified, and their respective group velocities are in good agreement with theoretical predications. In another set of experiments modeling realistic damage scenarios, we demonstrate that pressure waves following explosions of different gas mixtures in pipes can be observed. Velocities are verified by local piezoelectric pressure transducers. Due to the fully distributed nature of the fiber-optic sensing system, it is possible to record accelerated motions in detail. Therefore, in addition to detection and localization of threatening events for infrastructure monitoring, DAS may provide a powerful tool to study the development of gas explosions in pipes, e.g., investigation of deflagration-to-detonation-transitions (DDT). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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9 pages, 5035 KiB  
Article
Measurement Accuracy Enhancement via Radio Frequency Filtering in Distributed Brillouin Sensing
by Cheng Feng, Stefan Preussler, Jaffar Emad Kadum and Thomas Schneider
Sensors 2019, 19(13), 2878; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19132878 - 28 Jun 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3536
Abstract
In this article, we demonstrate the noise reduction and signal to noise ratio (SNR) enhancement in Brillouin optical time-domain analyzers (BOTDA). The results show that, although the main noise contribution comes from the Brillouin interaction itself, a simple low pass filtering on the [...] Read more.
In this article, we demonstrate the noise reduction and signal to noise ratio (SNR) enhancement in Brillouin optical time-domain analyzers (BOTDA). The results show that, although the main noise contribution comes from the Brillouin interaction itself, a simple low pass filtering on the detected radio frequency (RF) signal reduces remarkably the noise level of the BOTDA traces. The corresponding SNR enhancement depends on the employed cut-off frequency of the low pass filter. Due to the enhancement of the SNR, a mitigation of the standard deviation error of the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) has been demonstrated. However, RF filters with low cut-off frequency could lead to distortions on the trace signals and therefore detection errors on a non-uniform BFS. The trade-off between the noise reduction and the signal distortion as well as an optimal cut-off frequency are discussed in detail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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14 pages, 4698 KiB  
Article
Design and Performance Test of Transformer Winding Optical Fibre Composite Wire Based on Raman Scattering
by Yunpeng Liu, Junyi Yin, Yuan Tian and Xiaozhou Fan
Sensors 2019, 19(9), 2171; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092171 - 10 May 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4332
Abstract
Winding overheating is a common fault in a transformer. To detect the temperature, the most widely used method is a point-type measurement, but traditional measurement methods cannot obtain the whole temperature distribution in a transformer. Taking this into consideration, a new method with [...] Read more.
Winding overheating is a common fault in a transformer. To detect the temperature, the most widely used method is a point-type measurement, but traditional measurement methods cannot obtain the whole temperature distribution in a transformer. Taking this into consideration, a new method with which to measure the temperature of transformer windings was proposed. Based on Raman scattering, a new fibre-optic composite winding model was developed. The feasibility of the model was verified by electrical as well as temperature, field simulation and power frequency resistance testing. To assess the practicality and accuracy of the new model, a distributed optical fibre temperature measurement platform was built, and a series of experiments were designed. According to the data collected, the temperature measurement error based on the method could be limited to 1 °C while the positioning accuracy error was within 1 m, which meant that the new approach can satisfy the requirements of transformer winding temperature measurement and locate hot spots in the winding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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9 pages, 1062 KiB  
Article
Distributed Acoustic Sensing of Strain at Earth Tide Frequencies
by Matthew W. Becker and Thomas I. Coleman
Sensors 2019, 19(9), 1975; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19091975 - 27 Apr 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7058
Abstract
The solid Earth strains in response to the gravitational pull from the Moon, Sun, and other planetary bodies. Measuring the flexure of geologic material in response to these Earth tides provides information about the geomechanical properties of rock and sediment. Such measurements are [...] Read more.
The solid Earth strains in response to the gravitational pull from the Moon, Sun, and other planetary bodies. Measuring the flexure of geologic material in response to these Earth tides provides information about the geomechanical properties of rock and sediment. Such measurements are particularly useful for understanding dilation of faults and fractures in competent rock. A new approach to measuring earth tides using fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is presented here. DAS was originally designed to record acoustic vibration through the measurement of dynamic strain on a fiber optic cable. Here, laboratory experiments demonstrate that oscillating strain can be measured with DAS in the microHertz frequency range, corresponding to half-day (M2) lunar tidal cycles. Although the magnitude of strain measured in the laboratory is larger than what would be expected due to earth tides, a clear signal at half-day period was extracted from the data. With the increased signal-to-noise expected from quiet field applications and improvements to DAS using engineered fiber, earth tides could potentially be measured in deep boreholes with DAS. Because of the distributed nature of the sensor (0.25 m measurement interval over kilometres), fractures could be simultaneously located and evaluated. Such measurements would provide valuable information regarding the placement and stiffness of open fractures in bedrock. Characterization of bedrock fractures is an important goal for multiple subsurface operations such as petroleum extraction, geothermal energy recovery, and geologic carbon sequestration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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12 pages, 21606 KiB  
Article
High-Density Distributed Crack Tip Sensing System Using Dense Ultra-Short FBG Sensors
by Xin Gui, Zhengying Li, Xuelei Fu, Changjia Wang, Yiming Wang, Hongli Li and Honghai Wang
Sensors 2019, 19(7), 1702; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19071702 - 10 Apr 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3151
Abstract
Crack generation starts at the crack tip, which bears the highest stress concentration. Under further stress, the crack propagates and leads to severe structural damage. To avoid such damage, the identification of the crack tips, and monitoring of the surrounding stress and strain [...] Read more.
Crack generation starts at the crack tip, which bears the highest stress concentration. Under further stress, the crack propagates and leads to severe structural damage. To avoid such damage, the identification of the crack tips, and monitoring of the surrounding stress and strain fields, are very important. In this work, the location of, and strain distribution monitoring around, the crack tip are achieved using a dense ultra-short (DUS) fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array together with an improved optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) interrogator. The adjacent grating interference correlation algorithm helps overcome the limitation on the demodulation precision, which is imposed by the inherently broad reflection spectra of individual ultra-short gratings. High spatial resolution measurement of the strain profile around the crack tip is performed at different levels of induced strain. Furthermore, the vertical-crossed layout is adopted to avoid the omission of cracks, which usually occurs in the case of the one direction layout. We achieve 1 mm spatial resolution and 7.5 m detection distance. Location of a single crack, multiple cracks, and an oblique crack was realized experimentally by locating the crack tips. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis, verifying the feasibility of the DUS-FBG system for high-density distributed crack tip sensing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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9 pages, 1682 KiB  
Article
A 100-km BOFDA Assisted by First-Order Bi-Directional Raman Amplification
by Thomas Kapa, Andy Schreier and Katerina Krebber
Sensors 2019, 19(7), 1527; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19071527 - 29 Mar 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3477
Abstract
We present, to our knowledge for the first time, a 100-km Brillouin Optical Frequency-Domain Analysis (BOFDA) employing a 200-km fiber loop. Compared to our previous publication, enhanced sensor length, sensor accuracy and spatial resolution are presented. The performance improvements are achieved by applying [...] Read more.
We present, to our knowledge for the first time, a 100-km Brillouin Optical Frequency-Domain Analysis (BOFDA) employing a 200-km fiber loop. Compared to our previous publication, enhanced sensor length, sensor accuracy and spatial resolution are presented. The performance improvements are achieved by applying distributed Raman amplification (DRA) and a digital high-pass filter. We report on temperature measurements over sensing distances of 75 km and 100 km both with a 12.5-m spatial resolution. Temperature changes of 5 ° C have been measured along 75 km sensing fiber. A temperature change of 30 ° C has been detected at 99.5 km. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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12 pages, 1962 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Phase-Shift Pulse Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry
by Tsuneo Horiguchi, Yuki Masui and Mohd Saiful Dzulkefly Zan
Sensors 2019, 19(7), 1497; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19071497 - 27 Mar 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3438
Abstract
Distributed strain and temperature can be measured by using local Brillouin backscatter in optical fibers based on the strain and temperature dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift. The technique of analyzing the local Brillion backscatter in the time domain is called Brillouin optical [...] Read more.
Distributed strain and temperature can be measured by using local Brillouin backscatter in optical fibers based on the strain and temperature dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift. The technique of analyzing the local Brillion backscatter in the time domain is called Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry (BOTDR). Although the best spatial resolution of classic BOTDR remains at around 1 m, some recent BOTDR techniques have attained as high as cm-scale spatial resolution. Our laboratory has proposed and demonstrated a high-spatial-resolution BOTDR called phase-shift pulse BOTDR (PSP-BOTDR), using a pair of probe pulses modulated with binary phase-shift keying. PSP-BOTDR is based on the cross-correlation of Brillouin backscatter and on the subtraction of cross-correlations obtained from the Brillouin scatterings evoked by each phase-modulated probe pulse. Although PSP-BOTDR has attained 20-cm spatial resolution, the spectral analysis method of PSP-BOTDR has not been discussed in detail. This article gives in-depth analysis of the Brillouin backscatter and the correlations of the backscatters of the PSP-BOTDR. Based on the analysis, we propose new spectral analysis methods for PSP-BOTDR. The analysis and experiments show that the proposed methods give better frequency resolution than before. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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10 pages, 3995 KiB  
Article
Performance Optimization for Phase-Sensitive OTDR Sensing System Based on Multi-Spatial Resolution Analysis
by Yuanyuan Shan, Wenbin Ji, Qing Wang, Lu Cao, Feng Wang, Yixin Zhang and Xuping Zhang
Sensors 2019, 19(1), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19010083 - 27 Dec 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3694
Abstract
This paper proposes and demonstrates a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) sensing system with multi-spatial resolution (MSR) analysis property. With both theoretical analysis and an experiment, the qualitative relationship between spatial resolution (SR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the length of the vibration [...] Read more.
This paper proposes and demonstrates a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) sensing system with multi-spatial resolution (MSR) analysis property. With both theoretical analysis and an experiment, the qualitative relationship between spatial resolution (SR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the length of the vibration region has been revealed, which indicates that choosing a suitable SR to analyze the vibration event can effectively enhance the SNR of a sensing system. The proposed MSR sensing scheme offers a promising solution for the performance optimization of Φ-OTDR sensing systems, which can restore vibration events of different disturbance range with optimum SNR in merely a single measurement while maintaining the same detectable frequency range. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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13 pages, 4611 KiB  
Article
A Feasibility Study of Transformer Winding Temperature and Strain Detection Based on Distributed Optical Fibre Sensors
by Yunpeng Liu, Yuan Tian, Xiaozhou Fan, Yanan Bu, Peng He, Huan Li, Junyi Yin and Xiaojiang Zheng
Sensors 2018, 18(11), 3932; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18113932 - 14 Nov 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3147
Abstract
The temperature distribution and deformation of the transformer windings cannot be measured in a distributed manner by the traditional method and failure location cannot be performed. To solve these problems, we present a transformer winding temperature and strain based on a distributed optical [...] Read more.
The temperature distribution and deformation of the transformer windings cannot be measured in a distributed manner by the traditional method and failure location cannot be performed. To solve these problems, we present a transformer winding temperature and strain based on a distributed optical fibre sensing detection method. The design of the optical fibre winding composite model is developed and simulated winding temperature rise test and local deformation test distinguish between measuring the winding temperature and the strain curve. The test results show that the distributed optical fibre can transmit wire strain efficiently. Optical fibres, in the process of winding, have a certain pre-stress. Using the Brillouin–Raman joint measuring method, one can effectively extract the optical fibre temperature and strain information and measure the length of the winding direction of the temperature and strain distribution curve to a temperature measurement precision of ±2 °C and strain detection accuracy of ±50 με. The system can carry out local hot spot and deformation localisation, providing new ideas for the transformer winding state monitoring technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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17 pages, 6727 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of the Performance and Data Processing Rate of an Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer Distributed Sensing System Using A Limited Swept Wavelength Range
by Kunpeng Feng, Jiwen Cui, Yihua Jin, Xun Sun, Dong Jiang, Hong Dang, Yizhao Niu and Jiubin Tan
Sensors 2018, 18(10), 3480; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18103480 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3225
Abstract
A novel optical frequency domain reflectometer (OFDR) processing algorithm is proposed to enhance the measurable range and data processing rate using a narrow swept spectrum range and reducing the time consuming of the process distributed sensing results. To reduce the swept wavelength range [...] Read more.
A novel optical frequency domain reflectometer (OFDR) processing algorithm is proposed to enhance the measurable range and data processing rate using a narrow swept spectrum range and reducing the time consuming of the process distributed sensing results. To reduce the swept wavelength range and simultaneously enhance strain measurable range, the local similarity characteristics of Rayleigh scattering fingerprint spectrum is discovered and a new similarity evaluation function based on least-square method is built to improve the data processing rate and sensing performance. By this method, the strain measurable range is raised to 3000 µε under a highest spatial resolution of 3 mm when the swept spectrum range is only 10 nm and the data processing rate is improved by at least 10 times. Experimental results indicate that a nonlinearity of less than 0.5%, a strain resolution of better than 10 µε, a repeatability at zero strain of below ±0.4 GHz and a full-scale accuracy is lower than 0.85 GHz under a highest spatial resolution of 3 mm can be achieved. Advantages of this method are fast processing rate, large strain measurable range, high SNR, and applicability with current OFDR systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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18 pages, 6242 KiB  
Article
Detection of Leak-Induced Pipeline Vibrations Using Fiber—Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing
by Pavol Stajanca, Sebastian Chruscicki, Tobias Homann, Stefan Seifert, Dirk Schmidt and Abdelkarim Habib
Sensors 2018, 18(9), 2841; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18092841 - 28 Aug 2018
Cited by 107 | Viewed by 11075
Abstract
In the presented work, the potential of fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) for detection of small gas pipeline leaks (<1%) is investigated. Helical wrapping of the sensing fiber directly around the pipeline is used to increase the system sensitivity for detection of weak [...] Read more.
In the presented work, the potential of fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) for detection of small gas pipeline leaks (<1%) is investigated. Helical wrapping of the sensing fiber directly around the pipeline is used to increase the system sensitivity for detection of weak leak-induced vibrations. DAS measurements are supplemented with reference accelerometer data to facilitate analysis and interpretation of recorded vibration signals. The results reveal that a DAS system using direct fiber application approach is capable of detecting pipeline natural vibrations excited by the broadband noise generated by the leaking medium. In the performed experiment, pipeline vibration modes with acceleration magnitudes down to single μg were detected. Simple leak detection approach based on spectral integration of time-averaged DAS signals in frequency domain was proposed. Potential benefits and limitations of the presented monitoring approach were discussed with respect to its practical applicability. We demonstrated that the approached is potentially capable of detection and localization of gas pipeline leaks with leak rates down to 0.1% of the pipeline flow volume and might be of interest for monitoring of short- and medium-length gas pipelines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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Review

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33 pages, 7888 KiB  
Review
Optical Fiber Sensing Cables for Brillouin-Based Distributed Measurements
by Filippo Bastianini, Raffaella Di Sante, Francesco Falcetelli, Diego Marini and Gabriele Bolognini
Sensors 2019, 19(23), 5172; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19235172 - 26 Nov 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 5298
Abstract
Brillouin distributed optical fiber sensing (Brillouin D-FOS) is a powerful technology for real-time in situ monitoring of various physical quantities, such as strain, temperature, and pressure. Compared to local or multi-point fiber optic sensing techniques, in Brillouin-based sensing, the optical fiber is interrogated [...] Read more.
Brillouin distributed optical fiber sensing (Brillouin D-FOS) is a powerful technology for real-time in situ monitoring of various physical quantities, such as strain, temperature, and pressure. Compared to local or multi-point fiber optic sensing techniques, in Brillouin-based sensing, the optical fiber is interrogated along its complete length with a resolution down to decimeters and with a frequency encoding of the measure information that is not affected by changes in the optical attenuation. The fiber sensing cable plays a significant role since it must ensure a low optical loss and optimal transfer of the measured parameters for a long time and in harsh conditions, e.g., the presence of moisture, corrosion, and relevant mechanical or thermal stresses. In this paper, research and application regarding optical fiber cables for Brillouin distributed sensing are reviewed, connected, and extended. It is shown how appropriate cable design can give a significant contribution toward the successful exploitation of the Brillouin D-FOS technique. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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28 pages, 13409 KiB  
Review
Distributed Acoustic Sensing Using Chirped-Pulse Phase-Sensitive OTDR Technology
by María R. Fernández-Ruiz, Luis Costa and Hugo F. Martins
Sensors 2019, 19(20), 4368; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19204368 - 09 Oct 2019
Cited by 92 | Viewed by 9667
Abstract
In 2016, a novel interrogation technique for phase-sensitive (Φ)OTDR was mathematically formalized and experimentally demonstrated, based on the use of a chirped-pulse as a probe, in an otherwise direct-detection-based standard setup: chirped-pulse (CP-)ΦOTDR. Despite its short lifetime, this methodology has now become a [...] Read more.
In 2016, a novel interrogation technique for phase-sensitive (Φ)OTDR was mathematically formalized and experimentally demonstrated, based on the use of a chirped-pulse as a probe, in an otherwise direct-detection-based standard setup: chirped-pulse (CP-)ΦOTDR. Despite its short lifetime, this methodology has now become a reference for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) due to its valuable advantages with respect to conventional (i.e., coherent-detection or frequency sweeping-based) interrogation strategies. Presenting intrinsic immunity to fading points and using direct detection, CP-ΦOTDR presents reliable high sensitivity measurements while keeping the cost and complexity of the setup bounded. Numerous technique analyses and contributions to study/improve its performance have been recently published, leading to a solid, highly competitive and extraordinarily simple method for distributed fibre sensing. The interesting sensing features achieved in these last years CP-ΦOTDR have motivated the use of this technology in diverse applications, such as seismology or civil engineering (monitoring of pipelines, train rails, etc.). Besides, new areas of application of this distributed sensor have been explored, based on distributed chemical (refractive index) and temperature-based transducer sensors. In this review, the principle of operation of CP-ΦOTDR is revisited, highlighting the particular performance characteristics of the technique and offering a comparison with alternative distributed sensing methods (with focus on coherent-detection-based ΦOTDR). The sensor is also characterized for operation in up to 100 km with a low cost-setup, showing performances close to the attainable limits for a given set of signal parameters [≈tens-hundreds of pe/sqrt(Hz)]. The areas of application of this sensing technology employed so far are briefly outlined in order to frame the technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing)
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