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.

A bellow pressure fiber optic sensor for static ice pressure measurements

Static ice pressure affects safe operation of hydraulic structures. However, current detection methods are hindered by the following limitations： poor real-time performance and errors owing to the partial pressure of the surrounding wall on traditional electrical resistance strain bellow pressure sensors. We developed a fiber optic sensor with a special pressure bellow to monitor the static ice pressure on hydraulic structures and used the sensor to measure static pressure in laboratory ice growth and melting tests from -30℃ to 5℃. The sensor resolution is 0.02 kPa and its sensitivity is 2.74 × 10-4/kPa. The experiments suggest that the static ice pressure peaks twice during ice growth and melting. The first peak appears when the ice temperature drops to -15℃ owing to the liquid water to solid ice transition. The second peak appears at 0℃ owing to the thermal expansion of the ice during ice melting. The novel fiber optic sensor exhibits stable performance, high resolution, and high sensitivity and it can be used to monitor the static ice pressure during ice growth and melting.

PLASMA RESONANCE FIBER OPTIC SENSOR FOR CURE MONITORING OF EPOXY COMPOSITE

The plasma resonance fiber optic sensor has a research values in theory and is widely used in engineering because of its simple structure and high sensitivity. It is a simple and sensitive method to measure the refractive index with optical fiber plasma wave. We make use of this characteristic to manufacture the plasma resonance fiber optic sensor which can detect the cure of epoxy compo site. We study the method of testing the solutions which have different refractive index with plasma resonance fiber optic sensor. A fiber optic sensing probe which has reliable performance and convenient operation for detecting the refractive index has been designed. The system for detecting the solution refractive index is developed and used to measure the refractive index of epoxy during the different phases in the cure process. Result shows that this system is credible and stable, the parameters tested are in accord with the facts.

AN OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR TECHNIQUE BASED ON SLIGHT DISTURBANCE RADIATION LOSS OF STOCHASTIC WALL

This paper presents an optical sensor technique used in the damage evaluation which is formed by structurally integrated fiber optic reticulate sensors embedded in the composite materials. The fibers are processed by chemical method and their outsides are peeled to form particles of irregular distribution and they differ in size, so the slight disturbance range of stochastic wall are formed in fibers. According to the characteristics of power loss of waveguide mode caused by slight disturbance of stochastic wall and radiative mode transmission, the range of slight disturbance of stochastic wall may be served as the sensitive range of the sensor. On the basis of theory of slight disturbance of stochastic wall of planar optical waveguide, the relation between the corrosion time and the opposite power loss by experiments is investigated. In this paper, the measurement results of object of SIFORS are also presented. The results show that the optical sensor technique may be used in the damage evaluation of an aircraft.

DISTRIBUTED MICROBEND FIBER-OPTIC STRAIN SENSOR

The distributed strain sensor has significant application in real time measurement of strain status for large and important engineering structures such as aircraft, bridge and dam. In this paper, a quasi distributed optical fiber strain sensor system is set up using optical time domain reflect technique. The local strain sensors based on a novel microbend configuration are designed and applied to measure local strains along the optical fiber. As the result of the experimental research, the microbend sensors show high sensitivity, good linearity and repeatability in certain operation range.

A Self-Referenced Fiber-Optic Refractive Index Sensor for Cure Monitoring of Epoxy Composites

A self referenced fiber optic refractive index sensor is developed to measure quantitative cure extent of epoxy. In case the sensor is applied to in situ cure monitoring of epoxy composites, each sensor embedded in different location within the structure is self referenced and can be normalized to a common scale. Therefore, the real time comparative of each sensor’s output becomes possible and variations in the extent of cure at different locations can be monitored. The developed sensor was used to monitor the isothermal cure of an epoxy system. The output of the sensor was compared with the results of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The self referencing function of the sensor is confirmed.

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 2,4-dichlorophenol Analysis based on Optical Composite Oxygen-sensitive Film

A novel fiber optic sensor based on optical composite oxygen-sensitive film was developed for determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol(DCP).The optical composite oxygen-sensitive film consists of tris(2,2’-bipyridyl)dichloro ruthenium(II)hexahydrate(Ru(bpy)3Cl2)as the fluorescence indicator and iron(III)tetrasulfophthalocyanine(Fe(III)PcTs)as bionic enzyme.A lock-in amplifier was used for detecting the lifetime of the composite oxygen-sensitive film by measuring the phase delay of the sensor head.The different variables affecting the sensor performance were evaluated and optimized.Under the optimal conditions(i e,pH 6.0,25℃,Fe(III)PcTs concentration of 5.0×10^-5 mol/L),the linear detection range,detection limit and response time of the fiber optic sensor are 3.0×10^-7-9.0×10^-5 mol/L,4.8×10^-8 mol/L(S/N=3),and 220 s,respectively.The sensor displays high selectivity,good repeatability and stability,which have good potentials in analyzing DCP concentration in practical water samples.

Optical Fiber Grating Sensor for Force Measurement of Anchor Cable

The development of the sensor suitable for measuring large load stress to the anchor cable becomes an important task in bridge construction and maintenance. Therefore, a new type of optical fiber sensor was developed in the laboratory - optical fiber grating sensor for force measurement of anchor cable （OFBFMAC）. No similar report about this kind of sensor has been found up to now in China and other countries. This sensor is proved to be an effective way of monitoring in processes of anchor cable installation, cable cutting, cable force regulation, etc, with the accurate and repeatable measuring results. Its successful application in the tie bar cable force safety monitoring for Wuhan Qingchuan bridge is a new exploration of optical fiber grating sensing technology in bridge tie bar monitoring system.

An Optical Fiber Sensor Probe Using a PMMA/CPR Coated Bent Optical Fiber as a Transducer for Monitoring Trace Ammonia

Ammonia sensors have broad spectrum of applications for industrial process control as well as for environ-mental monitoring. An optical fiber ammonia sensor probe has been developed by using a bent optical fiber having dual poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/chlorophenol red (CPR) coatings as a transducer. This sen-sor probe was tested for monitoring trace ammonia in gas samples using air as sample matrix. The reaction of ammonia with CPR causes a color change of the reagent, which was detected by using fiber optic evanes-cent wave absorption spectrometry as a sensing signal. By adopting a dual layer coating structure, the sensor probe has faster response compared to a sensor using a broadly accepted sensing reagent-immobilized poly-mer coating structure. The sensor developed in this work is sensitive, has a detection limit of 2.7 ppb NH3 in air, which is the most sensitive among the reported optical fiber ammonia sensors to the best knowledge of the authors. The sensor is also reversible and has a response time of 25 minutes. The features of high sensi-tivity, reversibility and reasonable response time make this sensor technique very attractive for air quality monitoring.

Fiber optic strain twin-sensor-array for smart structural health monitoring

A multiplexed white light interferometric fiber optic twin-sensor-array was designed to monitor the structural health of large buildings.In this sensing system,based on a Michelson interferometer,an optical path matching technique is used to demodulate each twin-sensor.Each twin-sensor-array consists of a 2×N sensing element linked by a 3 dB coupler.When one of the twin-sensor is used to measure strain,variations caused by temperature can be compensated for by referencing the other twin-sensor.The multiplexing capacity of the sensing scheme has been analyzed and experimental results with a 2×3 twin-sensor-array are given.

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.

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.

Retro-Reflective Fiber Optic Displacement Sensor for Performance Optimization Using Taguchi Method

Fiber optic displacement sensors are widely used in industry. Retro reflective fiber optic displacement sensor consists of parallel fibers with a reflector at a distance. Light is launched into the transmitting fiber which gets reflected by reflector. This reflected light is collected by the receiving fiber. The received light is function of the displacement of the reflector from the fiber end faces. This paper is targeted to obtain a robust design for the fiber optic displacement sensor (FODS) using well known Taguchi method. The design takes care of all noise parameters within constraints of manufacturing tolerances. The statistical data analysis is performed on the simulated results. The larger the better signal to noise quality characteristics is used to find the effect of control parameters in the data analysis. Taguchi analysis suggests dominant parameters, which affects the sensitivity of the FODS and causes immunity to noise. A source fiber inclination angle is chosen as an adjustment parameter. Other control parameters are used for fine tuning of the FODS design for achieving three qualities viz. best robustness, optimized sensitivity and robustness and best sensitivity.

NOVEL SPECTRUM ABSORPTION OPTICAL FIBER METHANE SENSOR

Based on spectrum principle and analyzing the infrared absorption spectrum ofmethane, a kind of optical fiber methane gas sensor and its system are developed. DFBLD(Distributedfeedback laser diode) in 1 300 nm waveband is used as illuminant and phase-detecting technology isused to carry out harmonic wave detecting the concentration of methane. The sensitivity can arriveat 10^(-5). Experiments results show that the performance targets of the sensor such as sensitivitycan basically satisfy the requests of methane detection.

A Fiber Optic Sensor for Determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol based on Iron(Ⅱ) Phthalocyanine Catalysis

A new fi ber optic sensor based on the oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol（DCP） catalyzed by iron（II） phthalocyanine（Fe（II）Pc） was developed for the determination of DCP. The optical oxygen sensing fi lm containing fl uorescence indicator Ru（bpy）3Cl2 was used to detect the consumption of oxygen in solution. Moreover, a lock-in amplifier was used to determine the lifetime of the sensor head by detecting its phase delay change. The results reveal that the sensor has a linear detection range of 1.0×10^-6- 9.0×10^-5 mol/L and a response time of 5 min. The sensor also has high selectivity, good repeatability and stability. It can be used effectively to determine DCP concentration in real samples.

DISTRIBUTED OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR FOR LONG-DISTANCE OIL PIPELINE HEALTH

A fully distributed optical fiber sensor （DOFS） for monitoring long-distance oil pipeline health is proposed based on optical time domain reflectometry （OTDR）. A smart and sensitive optical fiber cable is installed along the pipeline acting as a sensor, The experiments show that the cable swells when exposed to oil and induced additional bending losses inside the fiber, and the optical attenuation of the fiber coated by a thin skin with periodical hardness is sensitive to deformation and vibration caused by oil leakage, tampering, or mechanical impact. The region where the additional attenuation occurred is detected and located by DOFS based on OTDR, the types of pipeline accidents are identified according to the characteristics of transmitted optical power received by an optical power meter, Another prototype of DOFS based on a forward traveling frequency-modulated continuous-wave （FMCW） is also proposed to monitor pipeline. The advantages and disadvantages of DOFSs based on OTDR and FMCW are discussed. The experiments show that DOFSs are capable of detecting and locating distant oil pipeline leakages and damages in real time with an estimated precision of ten meters over tens of kilometers.

Flexible Optical Waveguide Bent Loss Attenuation Effects Analysis and Modeling Application to an Intrinsic Optical Fiber Temperature Sensor

The temperature dependence of the bending loss light energy in multimode optical fibers is reported and analyzed. The work described in this paper aims to extend an initial previous analysis concerning planar optical waveguides, light energy loss, to circular optical waveguides. The paper also presents à novel intrinsic fiber optic sensing device base on this study allowing to measure temperatures parameters. The simulation results are validated theoretically in the case of silica/silicone optical fiber. A comparison is done between results obtained with an optical fiber and the results obtained from the previous curved optical planar waveguide study. It is showed that the bending losses and the temperature measurement range depend on the curvature radius of an optical fiber or waveguide and the kind of the optical waveguide on which the sensing process is implemented.