Evolution mechanism of optical fiber strain induced by multi-fracture growth during fracturing in horizontal wells

A forward model for optical fiber strain was established based on a planar 3D multi-fracture model. Then the forward method calculating distributed fiber strain induced by multi-fracture growth was proposed. Based on this method, fiber strain evolution during fracturing of the horizontal well was numerically simulated. Fiber strain evolution induced by fracture growth can be divided into three stages: strain increasing, shrinkage convergence, and straight-line convergence, whereas the evolution of fiber strain rate has four stages: strain rate increasing, shrinkage convergence, straight-line convergence, and strain rate reversal after pumping stops. Fiber strain does not flip after pumping stop, while the strain rate flips after pumping stop so that strain rate can reflect injection dynamics. The time when the fracture extends to the fiber and inter-well pressure channeling can be identified by the straight-line convergence band of distributed fiber strain or strain rate, and the non-uniform growth of multiple fractures can be evaluated by using the instants of fractures reaching the fiber monitoring well.When the horizontal section of the fiber monitoring well is within the height range of a hydraulic fracture, the instant of the fracture reaching the fiber can be identified;otherwise, the converging band is not apparent. In multi-stage fracturing, under the influence of stress shadow from previous fracturing stages, the tensile region of fiber strain may not appear, but the fiber strain rate can effectively show the fracture growth behavior in each stage. The evolution law of fiber strain rate in single-stage fracturing can be applied to multi-stage fracturing.

Deformation and failure characteristics of sandstone under uniaxial compression using distributed fiber optic strain sensing

This paper investigates the deformation and fracture propagation of sandstone specimen under uniaxial compression using the distributed fiber optic strain sensing(DFOSS)technology.It shows that the DFOSS-based circumferential strains are in agreement with the data monitored with the traditional strain gage.The DFOSS successfully scans the full-field view of axial and circumferential strains on the specimen surface.The spatiotemporal strain measurement based on DFOSS manifests crack closure and elastoplastic deformation,detects initialization of microcrack nucleation,and identifies strain localization within the specimen.The DFOSS well observes the effects of rock heterogeneity on rock deformation.The advantage of DFOSS-based strain acquisition includes the high spatiotemporal resolution of signals and the ability of full-surface strain scanning.The introduction to the DFOSS technology yields a better understanding of the rock damage process under uniaxial compression.

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.

Swelling-Based Chemical Sensing With Unmodified Optical Fibers

We use distributed fiber optic strain sensing to examine swelling of the fiber’s polymer coating.The distributed sensing technique that uses unmodified low-cost telecom fibers opens a new dimension of applications that include leak detection,monitoring of water quality,and waste systems.On a short-range length scale,the technology enables“lab-on-a-fiber”applications for food processing,medicine,and biosensing for instance.The chemical sensing is realized with unmodified low-cost telecom optical fibers,namely,by using swelling in the coating material of the fiber to detect specific chemicals.Although generic and able to work in various areas such as environmental monitoring,food analysis,agriculture or security,the proposed chemical sensors can be targeted for water quality monitoring,or medical diagnostics where they present the most groundbreaking nature.Moreover,the technique is without restrictions applicable to longer range installations.

Research Progress in the Key Device and Technology for Fiber Optic Sensor Network

The recent research progress in the key device and technology of the fiber optic sensor network （FOSN） is introduced in this paper. An architecture of the sensor optical passive network （SPON）, by employing hybrid wavelength division multiplexing/time division multiplexing （WDM/TDM） techniques similar to the fiber communication passive optical network （PON）, is proposed. The network topology scheme of a hybrid TDM/WDM/FDM （frequency division multiplexing） three-dimension fiber optic sensing system for achieving ultra-large capacity, long distance, and high resolution sensing performance is performed and analyzed. As the most important device of the FOSN, several kinds of light source are developed, including the wideband multi-wavelength fiber laser operating at C band, switchable and tunable 2 μm multi-wavelength fiber lasers, ultra-fast mode-locked fiber laser, as well as the optical wideband chaos source, which have very good application prospects in the FOSN. Meanwhile, intelligent management techniques for the FOSN including wideband spectrum demodulation of the sensing signals and real-time fault monitoring of fiber links are presented. Moreover, several typical applications of the FOSN are also discussed, such as the fiber optic gas sensing network, fiber optic acoustic sensing network, and strain/dynamic strain sensing network.