Fiber Grating-Based Strain Sensor Array for Health Monitoring of Pipelines

Pipelines are one of the most important modern energy transportation methods,used especially for the transportation of certain dangerous energy media materials such as crude oil,natural gas,and chemical raw materials.New requirements have been put forward for the health monitoring and early security warning of pipelines because of the large-scale and complicated development trend of the pipe network system.To achieve an accurate assessment of the health conditions of pipeline infrastructure,obtaining as many precise operating parameters as possible,particularly at some critical parts of the pipeline,is necessary.Therefore,a novel type of fiber grating strain sensor array is proposed herein to monitor the pipeline hoop strain.The sensor utilizes fiber grating characteristics such as light weight,corrosion resistance,remote transmission,and strong environmental adaptability.The fiber containing the grating measurement points is implanted into the composite material to complete the sensitization encapsulation and protection of the bare fiber grating.The design of the sensor array fulfills the requirements for monitoring pipeline mass data,making it easy to form a pipeline health monitoring sensor network.The sensor sensitivity is researched by using a combination of theoretical and experimental analysis.A sensitivity test,as well as linearity and stability tests,are performed on the sensor.The experimental results show that the average sensitivity of the sensor is 14.86 pm/με,and the error from the theoretical calculation analysis value is 8.75%.Due to its high reliability,good linear response and long-term stability,and the ability to reflect the exact strain change of the outer wall of the pipeline,the designed sensor can support longterm online pipeline monitoring.The fiber grating sensor array network has successfully realized the monitoring of the pipeline’s internal operation by using external strain changes.In addition to the performance benefits,there are other merits associated with the applicability of the sensor namely simple structure,compact size,manufacturing ease,and exterior installation ease.

Experimental Study of Monitoring and Controlling of Composite Cure Process in Autoclave Featured with Fiber Optic Sensor

With the aid of the latest fiber optic sensing technology parameters in the cure process of ther- mosetting resin-matrix composite, such as temperature, viscosity,void and residual stress, can be monitored entirely and efficiently.In this paper, experiment results of viscosity measurement in composite cure process in autoclave using fiber optic sensors are presented. Based on the sensed information, a computer program is utilized to control the cure process. With this technology, the cure process becomes more apparent and controllable, which will greatly improve the cured products and reduce the cost.

Strain measurement of fiber optic sensor surface bonding on host material

Fiber optic sensor has been widely used as a structural health monitoring device by either embedding into or surface bonding onto the structures. The strain of optic fiber induced by the host material is strongly dependent on the bonding characteristics which include the protective coating, adhesive layer and the length of bonding. The strains between the fiber optics and host structure are not exact the same. The existence of the protective coating and adhesive layer would affect the strain measured by the surface bonding optic sensor. The analytical expression of the strain in the optic fiber induced by the host material was presented. The results were validated by the finite element method. The theoretical predictions reveal that the strain in the optical fiber is lower than the strain of host material. Parametric study shows that a long bonding length and high modulus of protective coating would increase the percentage of strain transferring into the optical fiber. Experiments were conducted by using Mach-Zehnder interferometer to measure the strain of the surface bonding optic fiber induced by the host structure. Good agreements were observed in comparison with the experimental results and theoretical predictions.

Engineering approach to in-situ bridge health monitoring with fiber bragg gratings

In this presentation the feasibility and capability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) employed in bridge health monitoring are demonstrated on a real bridge. FBG’s wavelength shift depending on strain variance has been tested. The technique of FBG installation on bridges has been developed. 12 FBG strain sensors and 3 temperature sensors have been successfully embedded in the prestressed concrete box girder during the construction of Heilongjiang Hulan River Bridge. The prestressing tension process and quasi-static loading process of the girder were monitored with those sensors before it was installed onto the bridge. After the bridge was completed, the FBG sensors embedded have been utilized to monitor the strain shift of the beam under quasi-static load, traffic load and temperature. The results show that the traffic fluxes, possible fatigue damage and deflection of the bridge can be revealed conveniently through strain measurements with these FBG sensors, which provide key information for structural health diagnosis. The fact that the FBG strain sensors have withstood the ordeal of harsh construction process and lasted for more than one year proves that their durability and stability can satisfy the requirements for bridge health monitoring. It is also shown that the FBG strain sensor is more adaptive to long-term structural health monitoring than the electric resistance strain gauge.

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.

Distributed optical fiber acoustic sensor for in situ monitoring of marine natural gas hydrates production for the first time in the Shenhu Area,China

The distributed acoustic sensor(DAS)uses a single optical cable as the sensing unit,which can capture the acoustic and vibration signals along the optical cable in real-time.So it is suitable for monitoring downhole production activities in the process of oil and gas development.The authors applied the DAS system in a gas production well in the South China Sea for in situ monitoring of the whole wellbore for the first time and obtained the distributed acoustic signals along the whole wellbore.These signals can clearly distinguish the vertical section,curve section,and horizontal production section.The collected acoustic signal with the frequency of approximately 50 Hz caused by the electric submersible pump exhibit a signal-to-noise ratio higher than 27 dB.By analyzing the acoustic signals in the production section,it can be located the layers with high gas production rates.Once an accurate physical model is built in the future,the gas production profile will be obtained.In addition,the DAS system can track the trajectory of downhole tools in the wellbore to guide the operation.Through the velocity analysis of the typical signals,the type of fluids in the wellbore can be distinguished.The successful application of the system provides a promising whole wellbore acoustic monitoring tool for the production of marine gas hydrate,with a good application prospect.

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.

A Dnal-Mode Bow Tie Optical Fiber Sensor for Measurement of Axial Strain

An optical fiber strain sensor utilizing the mode-mode interference of LP01x,andLR11x,modes in bow tie optical fibers is described.The heterodyne interference caused byfrequency modulation of laser diode（LD） with ramp injection current is used torealize the detection of linear phase.Experimental results show a resolution of about 2%of one fringe corresponding to a strain of 2.9με.m.

DETERMINATION OF INTERNAL STRAIN IN 3-D BRAIDED COMPOSITES USING OPTIC FIBER STRAIN SENSORS

A reliable understanding of the properties of 3-D braided composites is of primary importance for proper utilization of these materials. A new method is introduced to study the mechanical performance of braided composite materials using embedded optic fiber sensors. Experimental research is performed to devise a method of incorporating optic fibers into a 3-D braided composite structure. The efficacy of this new testing method is evaluated on two counts. First, the optical performance of optic fibers is studied before and after incorporated into 3-D braided composites, as well as after completion of the manufacturing process for 3-D braided composites, to validate the ability of the optic fiber to survive the manufacturing process. On the other hand, the influence of incorporated optic fiber on the original braided composite is also researched by tension and compression experiments. Second, two kinds of optic fiber sensors are co-embedded into 3-D braided composites to evaluate their respective ability to measure the internal strain. Experimental results show that multiple optic fiber sensors can be co-braided into 3-D braided composites to determine their internal strain which is difficult to be fulfilled by other current existing methods.

Landslide Monitoring Based on High-Resolution Distributed Fiber Optic Stress Sensor

A landslide monitoring application is presented by using a high-resolution distributed fiber optic stress sensor. The sensor is used to monitor the intra-stress distribution and variations in landslide bodies, and can be used for the early warning of the occurrence of the landslides. The principle of distributed fiber optic stress sensing and the intra-stress monitoring method for landslides are described in detail. By measuring the distributed polarization mode coupling in the polarization-maintaining fiber, the distributed fiber stress sensor with stress measuring range 0 to 15 MPa, spatial resolution 10 cm and measuring range 0.5 km, is designed. The warning system is also investigated experimentally in the field trial.

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.

Complete Phase-strain Model for Interferometric Optical Fiber Sensor

ＣｏｍｐｌｅｔｅＰｈａｓｅ－ｓｔｒａｉｎＭｏｄｅｌｆｏｒＩｎｔｅｒｆｅｒｏｍｅｔｒｉｃＯｐｔｉｃａｌＦｉｂｅｒＳｅｎｓｏｒ￥ＹＡＮＧＪｉａｎｌｉａｎｇ；ＸＩＡＮＧＱｉｎｇ；ＨＵＡＮＧＤｅｘｉｕ（ＨｕａｚｈｏｕｇＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｏｆＳｃｉｅｎｃｅａ...

Distributed Fiber Optic Monitoring and Stability Analysis of a Model Slope under Surcharge Loading

In the discipline of geotechnical engineering, fiber optic sensor based distributed monitoring has played an increasingly important role over the past few decades. Compared with conventional sensors, fiber optic sensors have a variety of exclusive advantages, such as smaller size,higher precision, and better corrosion resistance.These innovative monitoring technologies have been successfully applied for performance monitoring of geo-structures and early warning of potential geohazards around the world. In order to investigate their ability to monitor slope stability problems, a medium-sized model of soil nailed slope has been constructed in laboratory. The fully distributed Brillouin optical time-domain analysis(BOTDA)sensing technology was employed to measure the horizontal strain distributions inside the model slope.During model construction, a specially designed strain sensing fiber was buried in the soil mass.Afterward, the surcharge loading was applied on the slope crest in stages using hydraulic jacks and a reaction frame. During testing, an NBX-6050 BOTDA sensing interrogator was used to collect the fiber optic sensing data. The test results have been analyzed in detail, which shows that the fiber optic sensors can capture the progressive deformation and failure pattern of the model slope. The limit equilibrium analyses were also conducted to obtain the factors of safety of the slope under different surface loadings. It is found that the characteristic maximum strains can reflect the stability of the model slope and an empirical relationship was obtained. This study verified the effectiveness of the distributed BOTDA sensing technology in performance monitoring of slope.

Application of Fiber Optic Sensor Technology in Intelligent Steel Strand

A twisted fiber optic sensor based on intensity modulation is described. The principle and structure of the sensor and the choice of steel strand modules are introduced. The sensor is used to determine the tensile strain and distribution. The experimental results show that the change of the transferring light power has an approximate linear relation with the outer force. The intelligent steel strands with this kind of sensor will have a good application in monitoring the concrete crack and deformation distribution in huge structures such as dams and bridges.

Study on the spectral response of fiber Bragg grating sensor under non-uniform strain distribution in structural health monitoring

Many theoretical studies have been developed to study the spectral response of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) under non-uniform strain distribution along the length of FBG in recent years. However, almost no experiments were designed to obtain the evolution of the spectrum when a FBG is subjected to non-uniform strain. In this paper, the spectral responses of a FBG under non-uniform strain distributions are given and a numerical simulation based on the Runge-Kutta method is introduced to investigate the responses of the FBG under some typical non-uniform transverse strain fields, including both linear strain gradient and quadratic strain field. Experiment is carried out by using loads applied at different locations near the FBG. Good agreements between experimental results and numerical simulations are obtained.

Calibration Technology of Optical Fiber Strain Sensor

As one of the hotspots of sensing technology at present, optical fiber sensor has the characteristics of small size, anti-electromagnetic interference, and easy networking, which plays an irreplaceable role in multiphysics parameter monitoring of complex electromagnetic environments. The precise calibration of the optical fiber strain sensor has great practical value in prolonging the survival rate of the sensor, improving the measurement accuracy, and meeting the needs of long-term monitoring. By reviewing the research status of strain sensor calibration method and fiber optic strain sensor calibration method, the advantages and disadvantages of the main methods are analyzed separately from the static and dynamic perspectives, and the development prospect of the calibration technology of optic fiber strain sensor is summarized.

Design of an Enhanced Sensitivity FBG Strain Sensor and Application in Highway Bridge Engineering

紧张传感器被给，并且而且高取得资格，拉紧传感器的提高的敏感纤维栅栏(FBG ) 的理论设计方法被开发并且制作，谁的察觉到性质对实际应用程序好。有圆柱的壳封装的紧张传感器包含了三管状的结构，由于不平的表面结构，在紧张集中的区域，改进敏感。它能完成埋入紧张测量和表面测量并且有容易的安装的优点。好协议在大小和理论模拟结果之间被获得。在每刻度测试以后， 24 个 FBG 紧张传感器和六个 FBG 温度赔偿传感器在 Yongtaiwen 高速公路在 Diaoshuiyan 桥牌的盒子 girder 的下面上被安装了。最后，我们为高速公路桥建立了一个长期的结构健康系统。

Field monitoring of differential frost heave in widened highway subgrade

In cold regions,the widened subgrade could produce uneven frost heave that is detrimental to the pavement.This study investigates the differential frost heave characteristics in a widened subgrade.The field monitoring system mainly consists of temperature,moisture,and displacement sensors and distributed optical fiber cables for strain measurement.The monitoring results show that the cooling period in the subgrade is longer than the warming period.Water content in the subgrade changes significantly within 0−2 m below the subgrade surface but stabilizes within 2−5 m.The maximum frost heave occurs from February to March.In comparison,the existing subgrade has a longer freezing period and larger heave value,caused by the higher density and water content inside.Water in the existing subgrade migrates into the new one after widening,leading to frost heave reduction in the existing subgrade.Simultaneously,the traffic loads result in the consolidation of the new subgrade,thus reducing the heave value in the second year.In the third year,the water supply from the existing subgrade facilitates the frost heave in the new subgrade.The tensile strain distributions obtained by the distributed optical fiber cables show that the maximum differential frost heave occurs at the joint between the existing and new subgrades.The differential frost heave gradually stabilizes after three years.Finally,an improved frost heave prediction model is developed based on the segregation potential concept and monitoring results.