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Special Issue "Sensing with Optical Fibres and Lasers"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 2103

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Natasha Vukovic

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Guest Editor

Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Interests: optical fibres; fibre lasers; fibre tapers; nonlinear optics; microresonators

Dr. Timothy Lee

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Interests: distributed acoustic sensing; fibre sensing; femtosecond laser writing; waveguides; nonlinear optics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical fibre sensors are emerging as a highly versatile and reliable technology for physical, chemical, and biological monitoring, ranging from single-point sensors to optical arrays and distributed fibre sensors over tens of kilometres. Monitoring of the environment, infrastructure, industrial processes, traditional and renewable energy generation, oil and gas, aerospace, and defence have all benefited from the development of such increasingly ubiquitous fibre sensors.

With such enormous interest and rapid research progress, this Special Issue, titled "Sensing with Optical Fibres and Lasers", aims to highlight the recent advances in optical fibres and lasers in applications to sensing, including both fundamental and applied research. We warmly invite submissions on all kinds of optical fibre sensors, with emphasis on novel sensing configurations, fibre designs and materials, modelling methods, sensor data processing, and AI approaches, as well as improvements upon the state-of-the-art performance in sensitivity, bandwidth, noise suppression, and scalability. Research articles, communications and review paper submissions are equally welcome.

Dr. Natasha Vukovic
Dr. Timothy Lee
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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 fibre sensors
distributed fibre sensors
quasi-distributed optical sensors
optical fibre point sensors
special sensing fibres
microstructured fibres
fibre optic components
lasers in sensing applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Monitoring Shaft Vibrations of Hydraulic Turbines

Xavier Sánchez-Botello

and

Sensors 2023, 23(15), 6695; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23156695 - 26 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The structural dynamic response of hydraulic turbines needs to be continuously monitored to predict incipient failures and avoid catastrophic breakdowns. Current methods based on traditional off-board vibration sensors mounted on fixed components do not permit inferring loads induced on rotating parts with enough accuracy. Therefore, the present paper assesses the performance of fiber Bragg grating sensors to measure the vibrations induced on a rotating shaft–disc assembly partially submerged in water resembling a hydraulic turbine rotor. An innovative mounting procedure for installing the sensors is developed and tested, which consists of machining a thin groove along a shaft line to embed a fiber-optic array that can pass through the bearings. At the top of the shaft, a rotary joint is used to extract, in real time, the signals to the interrogator. The shaft strain distribution is measured with high spatial resolution at different rotating speeds in air and water. From this, the natural frequencies, damping ratios, and their associated mode shapes are quantified at different operating conditions. Additionally, the change induced in the modes of vibration by the rotation effects is well captured. All in all, these results validate the suitability of this new fiber-optic technology for such applications and its overall better performance in terms of sensitivity and spatial resolution relative to traditional equipment. The next steps will consist of testing this new sensing technology in actual full-scale hydraulic turbines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensing with Optical Fibres and Lasers)

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Open AccessArticle

Backscattering Echo Intensity Characteristics of Laser in Soil Explosion Dust

and

Sensors 2023, 23(12), 5638; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23125638 - 16 Jun 2023

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Abstract

Soil dust generated by explosions can lead to the absorption and scattering of lasers, resulting in low detection and recognition accuracy for laser-based devices. Field tests to assess laser transmission characteristics in soil explosion dust are dangerous and involve uncontrollable environmental conditions. Instead, we propose using high-speed cameras and an indoor explosion chamber to assess the backscattering echo intensity characteristics of lasers in dust generated by small-scale explosive blasts in soil. We analyzed the influence of the mass of the explosive, depth of burial, and soil moisture content on crater features and temporal and spatial distributions of soil explosion dust. We also measured the backscattering echo intensity of a 905 nm laser at different heights. The results showed that the concentration of soil explosion dust was highest in the first 500 ms. The minimum normalized peak echo voltage ranged from 0.318 to 0.658. The backscattering echo intensity of the laser was found to be strongly correlated with the mean gray value of the monochrome image of soil explosion dust. This study provides experimental data and a theoretical basis for the accurate detection and recognition of lasers in soil explosion dust environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensing with Optical Fibres and Lasers)

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Open AccessCommunication

Curcuma longa-Based Optical Sensor for Hydrochloric Acid and Ammonia Vapor Detection

J. P. Padilla-Martínez

and

Ángel Cruz-Félix

Sensors 2023, 23(12), 5602; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23125602 - 15 Jun 2023

Viewed by 778

Abstract

In this research, we present a prototype optical system that offers significant advances in detecting hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ammonia (NH3) vapors. The system utilizes a natural pigment sensor based on Curcuma longa that is securely attached to a glass surface support. Through extensive development and testing with HCl (37% aqueous solution) and NH₃ (29% aqueous solution) solutions, we have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of our sensor. To facilitate the detection process, we have developed an injection system that exposes C. longa pigment films to the targeted vapors. The interaction between the vapors and the pigment films triggers a distinct color change, which is then analyzed by the detection system. By capturing the transmission spectra of the pigment film, our system allows a precise comparison of these spectra at different concentrations of the vapors. Our proposed sensor exhibits remarkable sensitivity, allowing the detection of HCl at a concentration of 0.009 ppm using only 100 µL (2.3 mg) of pigment film. In addition, it can detect NH₃ at a concentration of 0.03 ppm with a 400 µL (9.2 mg) pigment film. Integrating C. longa as a natural pigment sensor in an optical system opens up new possibilities for detecting hazardous gases. The simplicity and efficiency of our system, combined with its sensitivity, make it an attractive tool in environmental monitoring and industrial safety applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensing with Optical Fibres and Lasers)

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