Applications Of Fiber Optic Sensors Research Articles

Distributed fiber optic sensors for structural health monitoring of composite pressure vessels

Abstract In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of our research in the field of distributed fiber optic sensors for structural health monitoring of hydrogen composite pressure vessels. Specifically, we demonstrate how the integration of fiber optic sensors into composite pressure vessels enhances safety while simultaneously reducing maintenance costs. The small size of optical fibers enables their integration into composite structures during the manufacturing process, allowing continuous monitoring and precise detection and localization of structural damages during service life. We also discuss the potential of state-of-the-art signal processing methods and machine learning for advancing predictive maintenance. Our applications of fiber optic sensors demonstrate their potential to contribute significantly to the energy transition towards renewable sources.

Features of Application of Adaptive Interferometric Fiber Optic Sensors of Acoustic Emission to Monitor the Condition of Polymer Composite Materials

Features of Application of Adaptive Interferometric Fiber Optic Sensors of Acoustic Emission to Monitor the Condition of Polymer Composite Materials

Evaluation and optimization of the performance characteristics of fast response fiber optic oxygen gas probes

Even though many different designs for currently available, fluorescence-based fiber optic sensors for measuring oxygen concentration (O2) are well known (and indeed some are commercially available), they often are limited by their response time and long-term stability. This will cause problems in the important industrial applications of fiber optic sensors of this type that are developing, with limitations that are evident, for example, in physiology and other fields where rapid sensor responses are required. Research by a number of groups has discussed various new designs of fiber optical sensors, which have been developed in recent years where the key features of such probes to achieve the performance required are, for example, optimization of design features such as tip shape and coating layer thickness. The research reported in this paper represents an evaluation of such key factors to allow the design of better fiber optic-based sensors for oxygen measurement, where the optimized performance of a new, specially tapered tip O2 sensor designed has been compared with the output of conventional and commercially available probe designs. The performance of a group of such sensors has been analyzed and cross-compared, examining the key features of such a probe including sensor accuracy, response time and overall long-term stability, as well as cross-sensitivity to any temperature changes which may occur in ‘real’ measurement situations.

Application of fiber optic sensors using Machine Learning algorithms for temperature measurement of lithium-ion batteries

Optical fiber sensors using low-coherence interferometry require processing of the output spectrum or interferogram to determine the instantaneous value of the measured quantity, such as temperature, quickly and accurately. Methods based on machine learning are a good candidate for this application. The application of four such methods in an optical fiber sensor of temperature is demonstrated. Using a ZnO-coated sensing interferometer and spectral detection, the sensor is intended for monitoring lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. While the performance of all methods was good, some of them seem to be better suited for this application. Full Text: PDF References B. Wrålsen et al., "Circular business models for lithium-ion batteries - Stakeholders, barriers, and drivers", J. Clean. Prod. 317, 128393 (2021), CrossRef T. Deng et al., "Measuring smartphone usage and task switching with log tracking and self-reports", Mobile Media & Communication 7, 3 (2019), CrossRef Smartphone Subscriptions Worldwide 2027. Statista, DirectLink T. Jerzyński, G. V. Stimson, H. Shapiro, G. Król., "Estimation of the global number of e-cigarette users in 2020", Harm Reduct. J. 18, 109 (2021). CrossRef Battery chemistries, DirectLink Y. Chen, et al., "A review of lithium-ion battery safety concerns: The issues, strategies, and testing standards", J. Energy Chem 59, 83 (2021), CrossRef T. Görgülü, M. Torun, A. Olgun, "A cause of severe thigh injury: Battery explosion", Ann. Med. Surg. 5, 49 (2016) CrossRef T. Maraqa et al., "Too Hot for Your Pocket! Burns From E-Cigarette Lithium Battery Explosions: A Case Series", J. Burn Care Res. 39, 1043 (2018). CrossRef Y. Chen et al., "A review of lithium-ion battery safety concerns: The issues, strategies, and testing standards", J. Energy Chem. 59, 83 (2021), CrossRef Q. Wang et al., "Thermal runaway caused fire and explosion of lithium ion battery", J. Power Sources 208, 210 (2012), CrossRef P. V. Chombo, L. Yossapong, "A review of safety strategies of a Li-ion battery", J. Power Sources 478, 228649 (2020), CrossRef P. Listewnik, M. Bechelany, J. B. Jasinski, M. Szczerska, "ZnO ALD-Coated Microsphere-Based Sensors for Temperature Measurements", Sensors 20, 4689 (2020), CrossRef M. Szczerska, "Temperature Sensors Based on Polymer Fiber Optic Interferometer", Chemosensors 10, 228 (2022), CrossRef M. Kruczkowski et al., "redictions of cervical cancer identification by photonic method combined with machine learning", Sci. Rep. 12, 3762 (2022), CrossRef

Application of end-face fiber optic sensor for thermooptical research

The principles of operation and implementation features of the developed fiber-optic device for pulsed thermoreflectometry based on an external Fabry-Perot interferometer are discussed. The possibility of studying local thermal processes in the near-surface layers of samples by changing the thermal reflection of probing radiation during pulsed laser heating is shown. Comparison of experimental data with modeling calculations showed the predominant influence of the thermal deformation mechanism in the case of metal samples.

Effective splicing technique of different cladding diameter-based optical fibers and performance evaluation.

In this work, the fabrication and sensing performance of fusion structures based on single-mode fiber (SMF) and multimode fiber (MMF) with different cladding diameters are discussed, and the effects of different lengths of MMF and fiber etching on sensing performance are analyzed. First, the transmitted intensity measurement experiment is performed, and the results indicate that the performance of the SMF-MMF-SMF(SMS)-based structure is better for sensing purposes. In addition, the results demonstrate that the performance of etched fiber is better than that of non-etched fiber. The etched fiber structure with lower fiber diameters produces more evanescent waves and is better for sensing purposes. Therefore, the proposed structure has certain development potential as an application of future optical fiber sensors.

Optical fiber sensors in infrastructure monitoring: a comprehensive review

Abstract The purpose of this article is to review and further promote the application of optical fiber sensor technology in infrastructure monitoring. Compared with traditional sensors, optical fiber sensors have low maintenance costs and are small in size; consequently, they have gradually become a future development direction of sensors. This paper introduces the basic principles of several commonly used optical fiber sensors and the progress of optical fiber sensors in the monitoring of physical, mechanical, and chemical parameters and demonstrates the applications of optical fiber sensors in infrastructure.

Fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing in surgical robots: a review

PurposeWith the increasing development of the surgical robots, the opto-mechatronic technologies are more potential in the robotics system optimization. The optic signal plays an important role in opto-mechatronic systems. This paper aims to present a review of the research status on fiber-optic-based force and shape sensors in surgical robots.Design/methodology/approachAdvances of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing techniques in the past 20 years are investigated and summarized according to different surgical requirement and technical characteristics. The research status analysis and development prospects are discussed.FindingsCompared with traditional electrical signal conduction, the phototransduction provides higher speed transmission, lower signal loss and the immunity to electromagnetic interference in robot perception. Most importantly, more and more advanced optic-based sensing technologies are applied to medical robots in the past two decades because the prominence is magnetic resonance imaging compatibility. For medical robots especially, fiber-optic sensing technologies can improve working security, manipulating accuracy and provide force and shape feedback to surgeon.Originality/valueThis is a new perspective. This paper mainly researches the application of optical fiber sensor according to different surgeries which is beneficial to learn the great potential of optical fiber sensor in surgical robots. By enumerating the research progress of medical robots in optimization design, multimode sensing and advanced materials, the development tendency of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing technologies in surgical robots is prospected.

Innovative Photonic Sensors for Safety and Security, Part II: Aerospace and Submarine Applications.

The employability of photonics technology in the modern era's highly demanding and sophisticated domain of aerospace and submarines has been an appealing challenge for the scientific communities. In this paper, we review our main results achieved so far on the use of optical fiber sensors for safety and security in innovative aerospace and submarine applications. In particular, recent results of in-field applications of optical fiber sensors in aircraft monitoring, from a weight and balance analysis to vehicle Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and Landing Gear (LG) monitoring, are presented and discussed. Moreover, underwater fiber-optic hydrophones are presented from the design to marine application.

Applications of fiber optic sensors in traffic monitoring: a review

Instrumenting pavement with fiber optic sensors has recently gained popularity as a part of the digital infrastructure transformation. In this survey, we present some of the recent real-world implementations of fiber optic sensors as real-time traffic monitoring systems. We highlight advantages and limitations of the surveyed instrumentations. We identify preferred range of values for some of the key design parameters that are necessary for durability and accurate weighing of individual axles. These parameters include strain resolution, scanning rate, installation depth, spatial resolution, and sensor orientation. Some of the studies report excellent results in terms of vehicle axle count, weight, and speed achieving accuracy levels above 90% with single digit margin of error. Lastly, we draw attention to some of the outstanding challenges from technical, operational, and scalability points of views.

Review on Optical Fiber Sensors for Hazardous-Gas Monitoring in Mines and Tunnels

Gas monitoring in mines and tunnels is the key to ensuring safe production. Nowadays, optical fiber gas sensors depend on the advantages of non-electrical signal transmission, anti-electromagnetic interference, corrosion resistance, and small size, has aroused the interests of researchers. In this direction, this paper reviews optical fiber sensors for monitoring common hazardous gases (nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide) in mines and tunnels. The adaptability of optical fiber sensors and the characteristics of different optical sensing principles (interferometers, fiber Bragg grating, long-period fiber grating, surface plasmon resonance, and evanescent field) are first discussed. As foundations, the characteristics and sources of various gases, as well as the sensing principles of optical fiber gas sensors, are summarized. Then, the application of optical fiber sensors in hazardous-gas monitoring is discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future trends of optical fiber gas sensors are concluded.

Peculiar features of application of fiber-optic sensors for monitoring systems of railways

Peculiar features of application of fiber-optic sensors for monitoring systems of railways

Low Temperature Sensor Based on Etched LPFG with Different Materials Coating

A low temperature sensor based on etched Long Period Fiber Grating LPFG is proposed and demonstrated. A chemically etched LPFG sensor coated with (Indium In, Aluminum Al, Silver Ag, Palladium Pd and Titanium Ti) embedded within a build low temperature setup. The sensor investigation was carried out under temperature range of 20℃ to -150℃; and the resonance wavelength shift was collected with different cooling rates of (10, 15, 20, 25℃/min) in order to investigate the effect of cooling rates on the sensor performance. However, the experimental results show that 10 mm LPFG sensor with grating period of 400 µm offer temperature sensitivity of 1.5 times, 2 times, 2.5 times, 3 times and 3.5 times higher than bare LPFG for Ti-coated LPFG, Pd-coated LPFG, Ag-coated LPFG, Al-coated LPFG and In-coated LPFG respectively. The maximum measuring error is less than ±0.5℃, which confirms the effectively using of LPFG sensor in cryogenic application. Moreover, the overall resonance wavelength shifts are 1.213 nm, 1.532 nm, 1.935 nm, 2.015 nm, 2.397 nm and 2.671 for bare LPFG, Ti-coated LPFG, Pd-coated LPFG, Ag-coated LPFG, Al-coated LPFG and In-coated LPFG sensors respectively. According to the cooling rates, the results illustrate that as cooling rate increase, the sensor sensitivity decrease due to the sensor response. For more investigations, simulation work is carried out using MATLAB and the sensor shows a good agreement results between experimental and simulation measurements. It is worth to mention that the main findings will essentially contribute to choose suitable materials for coating LPFG for low temperature sensing purposes and will increase the existing knowledge about optical fiber sensor applications.

Heat treatment and polymer coating effect on Rayleigh scattering based fiber optic temperature measurement

This study experimentally investigates the effect of heat treatment on Rayleigh scattering based distributed single-mode fiber optic temperature measurement. A finite element model was established to investigate the effect of thermal expansion of coatings on the optical fiber core strains and thus, temperature sensitivity before the coatings soften and melt away. A theoretical derivation for the fiber core strains, using Lame equations, was performed to validate the accuracy of the finite element model. It was found that the one-time heat treatment eliminates the hysteresis effect and stabilizes the Rayleigh scattering based fiber optic temperature measurement up to 1000 °C. The typical dual-layer coating effect on the temperature sensitivity of the Rayleigh frequency shift can be neglected at high temperatures in civil engineering application. Numerical parametric studies are performed to design coatings of fiber optic temperature sensors. The present study is promoting distributed fiber optic temperature sensor development and application.

Low temperature characteristics of FBG with free arc shape for low temperature monitoring

It is important to monitor the iced condition for operating wind turbine blades. However, most sensors are difficult to be used in this quite cold and lightweight environment. Although the fiber bragg grating (FBG) is a good candidate for the case. With the change of the temperature, the thermal expansion coefficient and thermo-optical coeffecient of FBG material will affect the accuracy of characteristics of FBG sensor. Aiming at the application of fiber optic sensor in low temperature environment and ultrathin requirement, the low temperature characteristics of FBG sensor with free arc shape package has been studied. The low temperature calibration experiments of two packaged FBG samples are tested from -35°C ~20°C in a constant temperature freezer with alcohol tank. The effects of low temperature characteristics of two FBGs packaged with free straight and arc shape tubes are compared. The results show that arc shape can effectively reduce the repeatability error and improve its accuracy due to providing possible low temperature contracting of the optical fibers. Flat arc shape makes it possible to package ultrathin FBG temperature sensor.

Multichannel Fiber Optic SPR Sensors: Realization Methods, Application Status, and Future Prospects

AbstractFiber optic sensors based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have demonstrated outstanding performance in biomedical, environmental monitoring, public safety, and other aspects, which provide powerful platforms for qualitative detection and quantitative analysis of molecular interactions. Among them, multichannel fiber optic SPR sensor has become a core tool in parallel detection scenarios due to the superiorities of compensating for nonspecific binding and environmental fluctuations and implementing multianalyte determination. The realization methods of multichannel sensing revolve around fiber microstructures, enhancement by materials, and hybrid fiber. The applications of multichannel fiber optic SPR sensors are demonstrated in sensing of liquid refractive index (RI), RI and temperature, biochemical molecules, and physical parameters. This review thoroughly analyzes and compares the structure, excitation effect, sensing performance, and the advantages and disadvantages of each type of multichannel fiber optic SPR sensor. Even though there are still some challenges, such as insufficient sensing channels and difficulty in fabrication, in their advancement, efforts in multidiscipline including developing high‐performance sensitive films and innovating micro–nano fabrication processes will overcome these bottlenecks. Lastly, the future development directions of multichannel fiber optic SPR sensors from principle, structure, and material aspects are discussed.

Brief Review on Optical Fiber Sensing for the Power Grid

In this work, a brief review on the application of fiber optic sensors on power grid apparatus is presented. Power transformers, which are the nodes between electrical transmission lines, are the most expensive, critical and one of the central units of this network. The failure of electrical machines compromises the whole grid leading to power outages and income losses. Thus, constant monitoring of structural health and operating conditions of core infrastructures is sought. With different types of sensors either on the market or in the literature, it is possible to measure physical parameters that make this equipment more reliable.

Temperature sensing of π-PSFBG with ITO film coated by PLD method

In this article the temperature sensing properties of π–phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (π-PSFBG) were investigated. Surface coating is one of the commonly used modification methods for fiber gratings, which can improve its sensing performance and even enable it to sense more physical quantities. In this article, we aim to study the effect of coating on the temperature sensing performance of π-PSFBG. Indium tin oxide (ITO) films are widely used in the optoelectronics industry due to their unique combination of electrical conduction and optical transparency. In this paper, the ITO film was coated on the surface of π-PSFBG by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method to improve its sensing performance. In the practical application of fiber optic sensors, multiple sensors are often used simultaneously, which leads to the mutual interference superposition between the spectra. In this case, the stable extraction of the sensing signal is a problem worth considering. The sensing stability of several interference optical paths and cascaded optical paths before and after π-PSFBG coating is investigated and compared. After the surface is coated with a layer of 0.19 µm thick ITO film, the temperature sensing sensitivity of π-PSFBG is increased by about 15%. It was found that the coating of ITO film enhanced the stability of π-PSFBG in various optical paths.

High-precision calibration for strain and temperature sensitivities of Rayleigh-scattering-based DOFS at cryogenic temperatures

Under extreme conditions such as cryogenic temperatures, the application of optical fiber sensors inevitably encounters significant challenges, which include the calibrations associated with the thermal problems of sensor placement and heat sinking and the nonlinear dependence of cryogenic temperatures. Thus, fundamental investigations involving high-precision calibrations of the strain and temperature at cryogenic temperatures are essential. To this end, in this study, the thermo-optic coefficient, temperature and strain sensitivity coefficients for a Rayleigh-scattering-based distributed optical fiber sensor (DOFS) were calibrated. This experiment was implemented using a self-built low-temperature test device, and the calibration study was conducted over a large cryogenic temperature range, from 77 K to room temperature. The results indicated that the strain sensitivity coefficient of the Rayleigh-scattering-based DOFS is temperature-independent, whereas the temperature sensitivity coefficient has a significantly nonlinear temperature dependence and is associated with the coating polymer layers of the fiber. The coefficients and fitting functions were obtained over a large range of cryogenic temperatures, which indicated the invaluable properties of optical fibers in practice. Furthermore, the strain and temperature of an aluminum beam under thermal and bending loads were measured. The results indicated good agreement between the optical fibers and strain gauges, which verified the availability and reliability of Rayleigh-scattering-based distributed optical fibers in cryogenic environments.

Modeling and Optimization of Laser Cladding Fixation Process for Optical Fiber Sensors in Harsh Environments.

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the poor shear resistance of the bare optical fiber whose coating layer falls off due to harsh conditions, such as on aero-engines and the marine environment, the coaxial powder feeding laser cladding method (CPFLCM) is proposed to connect the optical fiber sensor and the substrate. The concentration field model of the powder flow is established in sections, the effective number model of particles and the corresponding laser attenuation rate are obtained. Through simulation, the influence of relevant parameters of laser cladding on the temperature field was analyzed, and the accurate parameters of laser cladding were optimized. Finally, the temperature rise trajectory of the substrate temperature field was verified by using the fiber grating temperature sensor. Through experiments, the quality of the molten pool and the optical transmission loss of the optical fiber sensor were analyzed, and the consistency of the simulation optimization parameters was verified. Through this paper, it can be concluded that the proposed CPFLCM can realize the effective connection of the optical fiber sensor to the substrate. It is of great significance in the application of optical fiber sensors in harsh environments of oceans and aerospace.