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New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications

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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: 15 May 2024 | Viewed by 10147

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Prof. Dr. Xingwei Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Interests: fiber optics; photoacoustics; fiber optical sensors; ultrasound
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Xu Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Interests: fiber-optic sensors; non-destructive testing; photoacoustics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fiber-optic sensors have been widely used in the last 40 years and are gaining more and more acceptance for their compact size, immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and survivability in harsh high-temperature/humidity environments. Three distinct waves of fiber-optic sensor development can be identified, with the most successful fiber-optic sensors associated with each. The first wave of sensors were the fiber-optic gyroscopes based on the Sagnac effect and fiber-optic hydrophones based on Mach–Zehnder interferometers. These sensors were developed to the point of practicality, with both commercial and military systems based on them in use today. The second wave of fiber-optic sensors was based upon Fabry–Perot interferometers. A very large number of applications using these sensors have been reported in the literature. The third wave of fiber-optic sensors began with the development of inline Bragg grating optical filters for optical communication purposes. It was soon found that fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) make excellent optical transducers for sensing different physical parameters.

In recent years, a lot of novel concepts and applications have arisen, which include, but are not limited to: a fiber-optic current sensor (FOCS) utilizing the magneto-optic effect (Faraday effect); a long-distance distributed fiber-optic strain/temperature sensing system based on optical scattering along fibers, such as the Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer (BOTDR); and fiber-optic biosensors (FOBSs) for medical diagnoses and treatments.

This Special Issue will focus on both traditional and emerging fiber-optic sensors and their applications. Topics about novel sensor design, advanced manufacturing processes, new signal processing algorithms, field test installations, monitoring, and solutions are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Xingwei Wang
Dr. Xu Guo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

fiber-optic sensors
distributed fiber-optic sensing system
fiber-optic biomedical sensors
photoacoustics
signal processing
FOS manufacturing process

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Blast-Assisted Subsurface Characterisation Using a Novel Distributed Acoustic Sensing Setup Based on Geometric Phases

by Sabahat Shaheen, Konstantin Hicke and Katerina Krebber

Sensors 2024, 24(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24010030 - 20 Dec 2023

Viewed by 622

Abstract

A novel DAS setup based on geometric phases in coherent heterodyne detection is applied for the first time to the characterisation of the Earth’s subsurface. In addition, an optimisation of the proposed setup in terms of its spatial resolution is also presented for the first time. The surface waves are generated by strong blasts of 25 kg of explosives at a dedicated test site. A 10 km dark fiber link in the vicinity of the test site connected to the test setup records the resulting strain signals. The spike-free and low-noise strain data thus obtained minimize post-processing requirements, making the setup a candidate for real-time seismic monitoring. An analysis of the dispersion characteristics of the generated surface waves is performed using a recently reported optimised seismic interferometric technique. Based on the dispersion characteristics, the shear wave velocities of the surface waves as a function of the depth profile of the Earth’s crust are determined using an optimised evolutionary algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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18 pages, 2306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Investigations of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors for Water Pipeline Monitoring

by Manuel Bertulessi, Daniele Fabrizio Bignami, Ilaria Boschini, Marina Longoni, Giovanni Menduni and Jacopo Morosi

Sensors 2023, 23(13), 6205; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23136205 - 06 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2454

Abstract

Water Loss (WL) is a global issue. In Italy, for instance, WL reached 36.2% of the total fresh water conveyed in 2020. The maintenance of a water supply system is a strategic task that requires a huge amount of investment every year. In this work, we focused on the use of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors (DFOS) based on Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) technology for monitoring water pipeline networks. We worked on High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes, today the most widely used for creating water pipelines. By winding and fixing the optic fiber cable on the pipe’s external surface, we verified the ability to detect strain related to pressure anomalies along a pipeline, e.g., those caused by water leakage. We performed two experimental phases. In the first one, we assessed the sensibility of sensor layout on an HDPE pipeline solicited with static pressure. We investigated the viscoelastic rheology of the material by calibrating and validating the parameters of a Burger model, in which Maxwell and Kelvin-Voigt models are connected in series. In the second experimental phase, instead, we focused on the detection of the pressure anomaly produced by leakage in a pipeline circuit set up with running water moved by a pump. The theoretical and experimental studies performed returned overall positive feedback on the use of DFOS for the monitoring of HDPE water pipelines. Future developments will be focused on more detailed studies of this monitoring solution and on the industrial production of “natively smart” HDPE pipes in which DFOS cables are integrated into the pipeline surface during the extrusion process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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12 pages, 4251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Composite Bridge Girders Structure Health Monitoring Based on the Distributed Fiber Sensing Textile

by Rui Wu, Andres Biondi, Lidan Cao, Harsh Gandhi, Sabrina Abedin, Guoqiang Cui, Tzuyang Yu and Xingwei Wang

Sensors 2023, 23(10), 4856; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104856 - 18 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1247

Abstract

Distributed structure health monitoring has been a hot research topic in recent years, and optic fiber sensors are largely developed for the advantages of high sensitivity, better spatial resolution, and small sensor size. However, the limitation of fibers in installation and reliability has become one of the major drawbacks of this technology. This paper presents a fiber optic sensing textile and a new installation method inside bridge girders to address those shortcomings in fiber sensing systems. The sensing textile was utilized to monitor strain distribution in the Grist Mill Bridge located in Maine based on Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA). A modified slider was developed to increase the efficiency of installation in the confined bridge girders. The bridge girder’s strain response was successfully recorded by the sensing textile during the loading tests that involved four trucks on the bridge. The sensing textile demonstrated the capability to differentiate separated loading locations. These results demonstrate a new way of installing fiber optic sensors and the potential applications of fiber optic sensing textiles in structural health monitoring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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13 pages, 10212 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fiber Optic Temperature Sensor System Using Air-Filled Fabry–Pérot Cavity with Variable Pressure

by Hasanur R. Chowdhury and Ming Han

Sensors 2023, 23(6), 3302; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063302 - 21 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2052

Abstract

We report a high-resolution fiber optic temperature sensor system based on an air-filled Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavity, whose spectral fringes shift due to a precise pressure variation in the cavity. The absolute temperature can be deduced from the spectral shift and the pressure variation. For fabrication, a fused-silica tube is spliced with a single-mode fiber at one end and a side-hole fiber at the other to form the FP cavity. The pressure in the cavity can be changed by passing air through the side-hole fiber, causing the spectral shift. We analyzed the effect of sensor wavelength resolution and pressure fluctuation on the temperature measurement resolution. A computer-controlled pressure system and sensor interrogation system were developed with miniaturized instruments for the system operation. Experimental results show that the sensor had a high wavelength resolution (<0.2 pm) with minimal pressure fluctuation (~

0.015

kPa), resulting in high-resolution (

\pm 0.32 ℃

) temperature measurement. It shows good stability from the thermal cycle testing with the maximum testing temperature reaching

800 ℃

. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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14 pages, 5064 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Wavelet Derivative Spectrum Length Method of TFBG Sensor Demodulation

by Sławomir Cięszczyk, Krzysztof Skorupski, Martyna Wawrzyk and Patryk Panas

Sensors 2023, 23(4), 2295; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23042295 - 18 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1266

Abstract

Fibre optic sensors using tilted fibre Bragg grating (TFBG) have high sensitivity for refractive index measurements. In order to achieve good metrological parameters of the measurement, an appropriate method of spectrum demodulation must be used. The method proposed in the article is an improvement of the spectral length algorithm. The spectral length parameter is treated as the sum of the derivative filter responses. In the original version, the first difference of spectrum elements was used, while this article proposes to use the wavelet transform to calculate the numerical derivative approximation. The advantage of this solution is an easy way to select the level of smoothing filtration by changing the scale parameter. The derivation is appropriate even for a relatively low signal-to-noise level. The approximation of the spectral length by the derivative calculated using the wavelet transform eliminates the high-frequency noise of the optical signal. The absolute value of determined spectral derivatives after significant smoothing can be used to estimate the wavelength of the decay of modes. After analyzing experimental data and performing calculations, it turns out that this is a linear method with better resolution than the contour length algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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10 pages, 2565 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sub-Nanometer Acoustic Vibration Sensing Using a Tapered-Tip Optical Fiber Microcantilever

by Chunyu Lu, Mahdi Mozdoor Dashtabi, Hamed Nikbakht, Mohammad Talebi Khoshmehr and B. Imran Akca

Sensors 2023, 23(2), 924; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23020924 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1820

Abstract

We demonstrate a highly sensitive acoustic vibration sensor based on a tapered-tip optical fiber acting as a microcantilever. The tapered-tip fiber has a unique output profile that exhibits a circular fringe pattern, whose distribution is highly sensitive to the vibration of the fiber tip. A piezo transducer is used for the acoustic excitation of the fiber microcantilever, which results in a periodic bending of the tip and thereby a significant output power modulation. Using a multimode readout fiber connected to an electric spectrum analyzer, we measured the amplitude of these power modulations over the 10–50 kHz range and observed resonances over certain frequency ranges. Two types of tapered-tip fibers were fabricated with diameter values of 1.5 µm and 1.8 µm and their frequency responses were compared with a non-tapered fiber tip. Thanks to the resonance effect as well as the sensitive fringe pattern of the tapered-tip fibers, the limit of detection and the sensitivity of the fiber sensor were obtained as 0.1 nm and 15.7 V/nm, respectively, which were significantly better than the values obtained with the non-tapered fiber tip (i.e., 1.1 nm and 0.12 V/nm, respectively). The sensor is highly sensitive, easy to fabricate, low-cost, and can detect sub-nanometer displacements, which makes it a promising tool for vibration sensing, particularly in the photoacoustic sensing of greenhouse gases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications)

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