Contributed Review: Distributed optical fibre dynamic strain sensing.

Abstract

Extensive research on Brillouin- and Raman-based distributed optical fibre sensors over the past two decades has resulted in the commercialization of distributed sensors capable of measuring static and quasi-static phenomena such as temperature and strain. Recently, the focus has been shifted towards developing distributed sensors for measurement of dynamic phenomena such as dynamic strain and sound waves. This article reviews the current state of the art distributed optical fibre sensors capable of quantifying dynamic vibrations. The most important aspect of Rayleigh and Brillouin scattering processes which have been used for distributed dynamic measurement are studied. The principle of the sensing techniques used to measure dynamic perturbations are analyzed followed by a case study of the most recent advances in this field. It is shown that the Rayleigh-based sensors have longer sensing range and higher frequency range, but their spatial resolution is limited to 1 m. On the other hand, the Brillouin-based sensors have shown a higher spatial resolution, but relatively lower frequency and sensing ranges.