Distributed fiber optic sensors for tunnel monitoring:A state-of-the-art review

Distributed fiber optic sensors(DFOSs)possess the capability to measure strain and temperature variations over long distances,demonstrating outstanding potential for monitoring underground infrastructure.This study presents a state-of-the-art review of the DFOS applications for monitoring and assessing the deformation behavior of typical tunnel infrastructure,including bored tunnels,conventional tunnels,as well as immersed and cut-and-cover tunnels.DFOS systems based on Brillouin and Rayleigh scattering principles are both considered.When implementing DFOS monitoring,the fiber optic cable can be primarily installed along transverse and longitudinal directions to(1)measure distributed strains by continuously adhering the fiber to the structure’s surface or embedding it in the lining,or(2)measure point displacements by spot-anchoring it on the lining surface.There are four critical aspects of DFOS monitoring,including proper selection of the sensing fiber,selection of the measuring principle for the specific application,design of an effective sensor layout,and establishment of robust field sensor instrumentation.These four issues are comprehensively discussed,and practical suggestions are provided for the implementation of DFOS in tunnel infrastructure monitoring.

Functional Optical Fiber Sensors Detecting Imperceptible Physical/Chemical Changes for Smart Batteries

The battery technology progress has been a contradictory process in which performance improvement and hidden risks coexist.Now the battery is still a“black box”,thus requiring a deep understanding of its internal state.The battery should“sense its internal physical/chemical conditions”,which puts strict requirements on embedded sensing parts.This paper summarizes the application of advanced optical fiber sensors in lithium-ion batteries and energy storage technologies that may be mass deployed,focuses on the insights of advanced optical fiber sensors into the processes of one-dimensional nano-micro-level battery material structural phase transition,electrolyte degradation,electrode-electrolyte interface dynamics to three-dimensional macro-safety evolution.The paper contributes to understanding how to use optical fiber sensors to achieve“real”and“embedded”monitoring.Through the inherent advantages of the advanced optical fiber sensor,it helps clarify the battery internal state and reaction mechanism,aiding in the establishment of more detailed models.These advancements can promote the development of smart batteries,with significant importance lying in essentially promoting the improvement of system consistency.Furthermore,with the help of smart batteries in the future,the importance of consistency can be weakened or even eliminated.The application of advanced optical fiber sensors helps comprehensively improve the battery quality,reliability,and life.

Quantitative Identification of Delamination Damage in Composite Structure Based on Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors and Model Updating

Delamination is a prevalent type of damage in composite laminate structures.Its accumulation degrades structural performance and threatens the safety and integrity of aircraft.This study presents a method for the quantitative identification of delamination identification in composite materials,leveraging distributed optical fiber sensors and a model updating approach.Initially,a numerical analysis is performed to establish a parameterized finite element model of the composite plate.Then,this model subsequently generates a database of strain responses corresponding to damage of varying sizes and locations.The radial basis function neural network surrogate model is then constructed based on the numerical simulation results and strain responses captured from the distributed fiber optic sensors.Finally,a multi-island genetic algorithm is employed for global optimization to identify the size and location of the damage.The efficacy of the proposed method is validated through numerical examples and experiment studies,examining the correlations between damage location,damage size,and strain responses.The findings confirm that the model updating technique,in conjunction with distributed fiber optic sensors,can precisely identify delamination in composite structures.

MZI/FPI Fiber Optic Dual-parameter Sensor Based on a Double Cone and Air Cavity Structure(Invited)

This paper proposes a Mach Zehnder/Fabry Perot Interferometer(MZI/FPI)fiber sensor based on Single-mode Fiber(SMF)and Hollow-core Fiber(HCF),which has high sensitivity to temperature and lateral loads.The proposed device consists of two single-mode fiber cones formed by manually controlling the fusion splicer and an air cavity formed by fusing a section of hollow-core fiber.The structure of the sensor is a double cone cascaded air cavity.At the beginning of the design,we compared the basic transmission spectra of single cone structure and double cone structure experimentally,and therefore chose to use double cone structure and air cavity cascade.Light undergoes its first reflection at the first interface between the single-mode fiber and the air cavity structure,and its second reflection at the second interface between the air cavity structure and the single-mode fiber.The two reflected light waves produced by the two reflections form FP interference,which can be used to measure lateral loads.The transmitted light is excited through the first cone,and a portion of the core mode light is excited to the cladding,while another portion of the core mode light continues to propagate in the core.The light couples at the second cone,and the cladding mode light couples back into the core,forming MZ interference with the core mode light,which can be used to measure temperature.The use of hollow-core fiber to form an air cavity has little effect on transmitted light,while avoiding the problem of crosstalk in dual parameter measurements.By designing temperature and lateral load experiments,this article verifies the sensitivity characteristics of this sensor to temperature and lateral loads.A significant redshift phenomenon was observed in the temperature experiment.A significant redshift phenomenon also occurred in the lateral load experiment.Through wavelength demodulation,the experimental results show that the wavelength sensitivity of the sensor to temperature is 56.29 pm/℃in the range of 30℃to 80℃.The wavelength sensitivity of the sensor to lateral loads is 1.123 nm/N in the range of 0~5 N.In addition,we have prepared multiple sets of fiber optic sensors with this structure and conducted repeated experiments to verify that the sensing performance of this structure of fiber optic sensors for temperature and lateral load is relatively stable.Also,the different waist diameters of cones will have a certain impact on the transmission spectrum of MZ,while the length of the air cavity will also have a certain impact on the reflection spectrum of FP.This article lists some fiber optic sensors for dual parameter measurement of temperature and lateral load.Compared with the listed sensors,the fiber optic sensor proposed in this article has better sensitivity to temperature and lateral load.And the fiber optic sensor proposed in this article has a simple manufacturing process,low production cost,and good performance,which has certain prospects in scientific research and industrial production.

Determination of the Postmortem Interval Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Fiber Bragg grating(FBG)sensors are often used in monitoring activities and to ensure that environmental parameters satisfy industrial requirements.They offer crucial safety measures in the early detection of hazards due to their greatly reduced size,low weight,flexibility,and immunity to electromagnetic interference.These characteristics make FBGs suitable also for use in relation to the human body for in vivo measurements and long-term monitoring.In this study,recent developments are presented with regard to the utilization of these sensors to measure the so-called post-mortem interval(PMI).Such developments rely on numerical simulations based on the Matlab software and monitoring of the rectal temperature,which is one of the main parameters for estimating the PMI.First,the Matlab software is used to solve the Henssge equation for different ambient temperatures and for different body masses;then a Bragg grating sensors is used for post-mortem dating.The results and their accuracy are discussed.

Dual-channel fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance sensor with cascaded coaxial dual-waveguide D-type structure and microsphere structure

To address the restriction of fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance(SPR) sensors in the field of multi-sample detection, a novel dual-channel fiber-optic SPR sensor based on the cascade of coaxial dual-waveguide D-type structure and microsphere structure is proposed in this paper. The fiber sidepolishing technique converts the coaxial dual-waveguide fiber into a D-type one, and the evanescent wave in the ring core leaks, generating a D-type sensing region;the fiber optic fused ball push technology converts the coaxial dual waveguides into microspheres, and the stimulated cladding mode evanescent wave leaks, producing the microsphere sensing region. By injecting light into the coaxial dual-waveguide middle core alone, the sensor can realize single-stage sensing in the microsphere sensing area;it can also realize dual-channel sensing in the D-type sensing area and microsphere sensing area by injecting light into the ring core. The refractive index measurement ranges for the two channels are 1.333–1.365 and 1.375–1.405, respectively, with detection sensitivities of 981.56 nm/RIU and 4138 nm/RIU. The sensor combines wavelength division multiplexing and space division multiplexing technologies, presenting a novel research concept for multi-channel fiber SPR sensors.

Fiber cladding dual channel surface plasmon resonance sensor based on S-type fiber

Fiber cladding surface plasmon resonance(SPR)sensors have few structures,and a clad SPR sensor based on S-type fiber is proposed in this paper.This new type of fiber cladding SPR sensor was formed by electrofusing an S-shaped structure on the fiber to couple the light in the fiber core to the cladding.In this paper,the effects of fiber parameters on the performance of the sensor were studied by simulation and experiment.Based on the conclusion that the smaller the core diameter is,the closer the working band of the SPR resonance is to long wavelengths,and that the geometric characteristics mean that a multimode fiber can receive the fiber cladding light from a small core diameter few-mode fiber,a dual channel SPR sensor with a double S-type fiber cascade was proposed.In the refractive index detection range of 1.333–1.385refractive index units(RIU),the resonant working band of channel I is 627.66 nm–759.78 nm,with an average sensitivity of 2540.77 nm/RIU,and the resonant working band of channel II is 518.24 nm–658.2 nm,with an average sensitivity of2691.54 nm/RIU.The processing method for the S-type fiber cladding SPR sensor is simple,effectively solving the problem of this type of SPR sensor structure and the difficult realization of a dual channel.The sensor is expected to be used in the fields of medical treatment and biological analysis.

Functionalized Fiber-Based Strain Sensors:Pathway to Next-Generation Wearable Electronics

Wearable strain sensors are arousing increasing research interests in recent years on account of their potentials in motion detection,personal and public healthcare,future entertainment,man-machine interaction,artificial intelligence,and so forth.Much research has focused on fiber-based sensors due to the appealing performance of fibers,including processing flexibility,wearing comfortability,outstanding lifetime and serviceability,low-cost and large-scale capacity.Herein,we review the latest advances in functionalization and device fabrication of fiber materials toward applications in fiber-based wearable strain sensors.We describe the approaches for preparing conductive fibers such as spinning,surface modification,and structural transformation.We also introduce the fabrication and sensing mechanisms of state-of-the-art sensors and analyze their merits and demerits.The applications toward motion detection,healthcare,man-machine interaction,future entertainment,and multifunctional sensing are summarized with typical examples.We finally critically analyze tough challenges and future remarks of fiber-based strain sensors,aiming to implement them in real applications.

Demodulation System for Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors Using Digital Filtering Technique

A discrimination measurement method and demodulation technique for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were presented using digital filtering technique. The system can control a tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter with sawtooth wave voltage generated by digital clock to interrogate FBG sensors. Using the analogue digital converter (ADC), the reflected FBG signals were sampled with synchronous digital clock. With the aid of digital matched filtering technique, the sampled FBG signals were processed to obtain the maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the Bragg wavelength shift from the FBG signals was recovered. The results demonstrate that this system has a scanning range of 1 520 nm-1 575 nm,and the wavelength detection accuracy is less than 2 pm with 1.5 Hz scanning frequency.

Remote structural health monitoring with serially multiplexed fiber optic acoustic emission sensors

Development and testing of a serially multiplexed fiber optic sensor system is described.The sensor differs from conventional fiber optic acoustic systems,as it is capable of sensing AE emissions at several points along the length of a single fiber.Multiplexing provides for single channel detection of cracks and their locations in large structural systems. An algorithm was developed for signal recognition and tagging of the AE waveforms for detection of' crack locations,Labora- tory experiments on plain concrete beams and post-tensioned FRP tendons were pcrlormed to evaluate the crack detection capability of the sensor system.The acoustic emission sensor was able to detect initiation,growth and location of the cracks in concrete as well as in the FRP tendons.The AE system is potentially suitable lot applications involving health monitoring of structures following an earthquake.

A Fiber Optic Sensor for the Simultaneous Measurement of Dual-parameter Based on Hydrogel-immobilized Enzyme Complex

A novel fiber optic sensor based on hydrogel-immobilized enzyme complex was developed for the simultaneous measurement of dual-parameter,the leap from a single parameter detecting fiber optic sensor to a fiber optic sensor that can continuously detect two kinds of parameters was achieved.By controlling the temperature from high to low,the function of fiber sulfide sensor and fiber DCP sensor can be realized,so as to realize the continuous detection of dual-parameter.The different variables affecting the sensor performance were evaluated and optimized.Under the optimal conditions,the response curves,linear detection ranges,detection limits and response times of the dual-parameter sensor for testing sulfide and DCP were obtained,respectively.The sensor displays high selectivity,good repeatability and stability,which have good potentials in analyzing sulfide and DCP concentration of practical water samples.

Resistance Spot Welding Method for Metal-Based Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Aiming at the requirements of installation and work environment of metal-based fiber Bragg grating(FBG)sensor,a resistance spot welding method is presented.Firstly,the effect of welding parameters on welding quality is discussed theoretically,and a suitable resistance spot welding method for the metal-based FBG sensor is proposed for the first time.Then through serial resistance spot welding tests,the feasibility and practicability of the method are verified,and optimal welding parameters for two different tested metals are obtained.Fatigue performance test validates FBG sensors installed by the proposed method with good fatigue properties and long-term stable measurement performance.The research results can provide technical guidance for engineering structure long-term safety monitoring.

Design of a coated thinly clad chalcogenide long-period fiber grating refractive index sensor based on dual-peak resonance near the phase matching turning point

A novel method for designing chalcogenide long-period fiber grating(LPFG) sensors based on the dual-peak resonance effect of the LPFG near the phase matching turning point(PMTP) is presented. Refractive index sensing in a high-refractive-index chalcogenide fiber is achieved with a coated thinly clad film. The dual-peak resonant characteristics near the PMTP and the refractive index sensing properties of the LPFG are analyzed first by the phase-matching condition of the LPFG. The effects of film parameters and cladding radius on the sensitivity of refractive index sensing are further discussed. The sensor is optimized by selecting the appropriate film parameters and cladding radius. Simulation results show that the ambient refractive index sensitivity of a dual-peak coated thinly clad chalcogenide LPFG at the PMTP can be 2400 nm/RIU, which is significantly higher than that of non-optimized gratings. It has great application potential in the field of chemical sensing and biosensors.

Loading Localization by Small-Diameter Optical Fiber Sensors

Structural health monitoring(SHM)in service has attracted increasing attention for years.Load localization on a structure is studied hereby.Two algorithms,i.e.,support vector machine(SVM)method and back propagation neural network(BPNN)algorithm,are proposed to identify the loading positions individually.The feasibility of the suggested methods is evaluated through an experimental program on a carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminate.The experimental tests involve in application of four optical fiber-based sensors for strain measurement at discrete points.The sensors are specially designed fiber Bragg grating(FBG)in small diameter.The small-diameter FBG sensors are arrayed in 2-D on the laminate surface.The testing results indicate that the loading position could be detected by the proposed method.Using SVM method,the 2-D FBG sensors can approximate the loading location with maximum error less than 14 mm.However,the maximum localization error could be limited to about 1 mm by applying the BPNN algorithm.It is mainly because the convergence conditions(mean square error)can be set in advance,while SVM cannot.

Numerical simulation of a truncated cladding negative curvature fiber sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance effect

A refractive index(RI)sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance effect is proposed using a truncated cladding negative curvature fiber(TC-NCF).The influences of the TC-NCF structure parameters on the sensing performances are investigated and compared with the traditional NCF.The simulation results show that the proposed TC-NCF RI sensor has an ultra-wide detection range from 1.16 to 1.43.The maximum wavelength sensitivity reaches 12400 nm/RIU,and the corresponding R^(2)of the polynomial fitting equation is 0.9999.The maximum and minimum resolutions are 2.56×10^(-5)and 8.06×10^(-6),respectively.In addition,the maximum amplitude sensitivity can reach-379.1 RIU^(-1)when the RI is chosen as 1.43.The proposed TC-NCF RI sensor could be useful in biochemical medicine,environmental monitoring,and food safety.

Combined optical fiber interferometric sensors for the detection of acoustic emission

A type of combined optical fiber interferometric acoustic emission sensor is proposed. The sensor can be independent on the laser source and make light interference by matching the lengths of two arms,so it can be used to monitor the health of large structure. Theoretical analyses indicate that the system can be equivalent to the Michelson interferometer with two optical fiber loop reflectors,and its sensitivity has been remarkably increased because of the decrease of the losses of light energy. PZT is powered by DC regulator to control the operating point of the system,so the system can accurately detect feeble vibration which is generated by ultrasonic waves propagating on the surface of solid. The amplitude and the frequency of feeble vibration signal are obtained by detecting the output light intensity of interferometer and using Fourier transform technique. The results indicate that the system can be used to detect the acoustic emission signals by the frequency characteristics.

Modeling, Simulation and Experimental Studies of Refractometric Fiber Optic Sensor

Refractometric fiber optic sensors have a number of applications in industry due to advantages like remote sensing ability, compact size, easy to fit, etc. A refractometric sensor contains a pair of parallel fibers and a gap between the sensor probe and reflector, wherein the liquid whose refractive index is to be measured is filled. This paper describes the importance of mathematical modeling of this sensor. Ray tracing approach is used to model the sensor mathematically. This mathematical model is generalized for any scenario which is useful to avoid tedious trial and error techniques to design the sensor prototype. Mathematical modelling is a useful tool to optimize the gap distance for a detection of refractive index of liquid. The model is developed and analyzed rigorously considering adulteration of diesel by kerosene where refractive index varies from 1.44 to 1.46. Simulation experiments are carried out to optimize the gap distance which is found to be 6.8 mm using both models. Experiments are carried out where sensor probe is fabricated and results are analyzed. It is observed that for suggested gap distance sensor output varies almost linear over the entire range.

Femtosecond laser fabrication of nanograting-based distributed fiber sensors for extreme environmental applications

The femtosecond laser has emerged as a powerful tool for micro-and nanoscale device fabrication. Through nonlinear ionization processes, nanometer-sized material modifications can be inscribed in transparent materials for device fabrication. This paper describes femtosecond precision inscription of nanograting in silica fiber cores to form both distributed and point fiber sensors for sensing applications in extreme environmental conditions. Through the use of scanning electron microscope imaging and laser processing optimization,high-temperature stable, Type II femtosecond laser modifications were continuously inscribed,point by point, with only an insertion loss at 1 d B m~(-1) or 0.001 d B per point sensor device.High-temperature performance of fiber sensors was tested at 1000℃, which showed a temperature fluctuation of ±5.5℃ over 5 days. The low laser-induced insertion loss in optical fibers enabled the fabrication of a 1.4 m, radiation-resilient distributed fiber sensor. The in-pile testing of the distributed fiber sensor further showed that fiber sensors can execute stable and distributed temperature measurements in extreme radiation environments. Overall, this paper demonstrates that femtosecond-laser-fabricated fiber sensors are suitable measurement devices for applications in extreme environments.

Absolute Measurement Fiber-optic Sensors inLarge Structural Monitoring

The security of civil engineering is an important task due to the economic, social and environmental significance. Compared with conventional sensors, the optical fiber sensors have their unique characteristics.Being durable, stable and insensitive to external perturbations,they are particular interesting for the long-term monitoring of civil structures.Focus is on absolute measurement optical fiber sensors, which are emerging from the monitoring large structural, including SOFO system, F-P optical fiber sensors, and fiber Bragg grating sensors. The principle, characteristic and application of these three kinds of optical fiber sensors are described together with their future prospects.

An Optical Fiber Sensor for Simultaneous Measurement of pO2 and pH

Whether in the monitoring of critically ill patients such as shock, respiratory failure, brain injury, or in major anesthesia surgeries, it is necessary to evaluate the patient’s pO2 and pH. An optical fiber sensor presented is capable of monitoring the presence of oxygen partial pressure (pO2) and pH in the real-time. The sensor is based on fluorescence sensing of polymer immobilized in the oxygen/pH-sensitive membranes and covalently attached to the optical fiber probe. The design of this sensor uses LED as light source, which is an excitation light source, inducing specific wavelengths of fluorescence on the oxygen/pH-sensitive membrane. The intensity and lifetime of fluorescence are related to the pO2 and pH. So the pO2 and pH can be measured by the relationship between the pO2/pH values and the intensity and lifetime of fluorescence. The signal conditioning system based on DSP and STM32 was used to store and process data, and display test values. The response of the sensor for pO2 and pH monitoring with nitrogen (N2) as a balancing gas in the laboratory was performed. Finally, the oxygen/pH sensing scheme presented in this work is intended for using in biological, medical and environmental applications.