Abstract
We present a review of the basic operating principles and measurement schemes of standalone and hybrid distributed optical fiber sensors based on Raman and Brillouin scattering phenomena. Such sensors have been attracting a great deal of attention due to the wide industrial applications they offer, ranging from energy to oil & gas, from transportation to structural health monitoring. In distributed sensors, the optical fiber itself acts as a sensing element providing unique measurement capabilities in terms of sensing distance, spatial resolution and number of sensing points. The most common configuration exploits optical time domain reflectometry in which optical pulses are sent along the sensing fiber and the backscattered light is detected and processed to extract physical parameters affecting its intensity, frequency, phase, polarization or spectral content. Raman and Brillouin scattering effects allow the distributed measurement of temperature and strain over tens of kilometers with meter-scale spatial resolution. The measurement is immune to electromagnetic interference, suitable for harsh environments and highly attractive whenever large industrial plants and infrastructures have to be continuously monitored to prevent critical events such as leakages in pipelines, fire in tunnels, structural problems in large infrastructures like bridges and rail tracks. We discuss the basic sensing mechanisms based on Raman and Brillouin scattering effects used in distributed measurements, followed by configurations commonly used in optical fiber sensors. Hybrid configurations which combine Raman and Brillouin-based sensing for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements over the same fiber using shared resources will also be addressed. We will also discuss advanced techniques based on pulse coding used to overcome the tradeoff between sensing distance and spatial resolution affecting both types of sensors, thereby allowing measurements over tens of kilometers with meter-scale spatial resolution.
Highlights
OPTICAL FIBER SENSORS AND SCATTERING PHENOMENAOptical fiber sensors (OFS) have some inherent advantages with respect to electronic sensors
We present a review of the basic operating principles and measurement schemes of standalone and hybrid distributed optical fiber sensors based on Raman and Brillouin scattering phenomena
When the molecules transit to another state E2, the differential energy is absorbed by the material and the scattered Stokes wave with angular frequency ωs has energy less than that of the incident light by an amount given by [6]: E = h(ω − ωs) where h = h 2π, and h= 6.62607004 × 10−34 m2 kg/s is Planck’s constant
Summary
We present a review of the basic operating principles and measurement schemes of standalone and hybrid distributed optical fiber sensors based on Raman and Brillouin scattering phenomena. Such sensors have been attracting a great deal of attention due to the wide industrial applications they offer, ranging from energy to oil and gas, transportation and structural health monitoring. Raman and Brillouin scattering effects allow the distributed measurement of temperature and strain over tens of kilometers with meter-scale spatial resolution. We will discuss advanced techniques based on pulse coding used to overcome the tradeoff between sensing distance and spatial resolution affecting both types of sensors, thereby allowing measurements over tens of kilometers with meter-scale spatial resolution, and address recent advances in measurement schemes employing the two scattering phenomena
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.