Optical Fibre-based Sensor Research Articles

Glucose concentration determination by means of fluorescence emission spectra of soluble and insoluble glucose oxidase: some useful indications for optical fibre-based sensors

By using soluble and insoluble glucose oxidase, the changes in intrinsic emission fluorescence in the visible spectral region were studied as a function of glucose concentration. Insoluble glucose oxidase (GOD) was obtained by entrapment in a gelatine membrane or by covalent attachment on an agarose membrane grafted with hexamethylendiamine. The intensity of the fluorescence emission peak at 520 nm or the value of the integral fluorescence area from 480 to 580 nm were taken as physical parameters representative of the glucose concentration during the enzyme reaction. By using these parameters, linear calibration curves for glucose concentration were obtained. The extension of the calibration curve and the sensitivity of the adopted systems were found to be dependent on the enzyme state (free or immobilized) and on the immobilization method. In particular, it was found that the extent of the linear range of the calibration curves is increased of one order of magnitude when the glucose oxidase is immobilized, while the sensitivity of the measure is decreased of one order of magnitude by the immobilization process. Measures carried out by using the integral fluorescence area resulted more sensitive than those obtained with the peak size. Useful indications for the construction of optical fibre-based sensors were drawn from the reported results.

Investigation of strain transfer to a sensor protection system embedded in concrete using finite element analysis

Optical fibre-based sensor systems are being used increasingly in civil engineering applications where structural integrity monitoring is of interest or concern. This paper reports on an optimisation scheme for an optical fibre-based sensor protection system designed to protect and enhance the strain-transfer characteristic when it is embedded in concrete. The sensor protection system consisted of a stainless steel tube with specified flange designs. Three flange designs were considered: disc, cone and inverted cone. Non-linear finite element analysis incorporating contact logic was performed to select and optimise the shape and dimensions of the flange. The analysis showed high stress concentrations in the vicinity of the flanges. However, this effect was localised and was not transmitted to the intended location of the sensor. The results showed that all three flange designs were effective but the 5 mm diameter disc-shaped flange gave the best results in terms of the magnitude and symmetry of the shear stress at the tube-concrete interface.

Processing of polymer composites: an optical fibre-based sensor system for on-line amine monitoring

Advanced fibre reinforced composites used for primary and secondary load-bearing applications are generally made with multi-component resin systems. The thermal, mechanical and chemical properties of the composites are strongly influenced by the cure state of the resin which is itself influenced by the degree of mixing of the various components in the resin and their stoichiometric ratio. This paper reports on the development of an optical fibre sensor system as part of a clean filament winding process. The function of the sensor system is for monitoring: (i) the amine concentration and (ii) the extent of mixing in an amine/epoxy based thermoset. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to assess the influence of mixing efficiency on the enthalpy of the cure reaction.

A multi-purpose optical fibre sensor design for fibre reinforced composite materials

This paper reports on the evaluation of a multi-functional extrinsic Fabry - Pérot optical fibre-based sensor design. The sensor was constructed using multimode and single mode optical fibres and a precision bore capillary tube. Fusion joints were used to secure the optical fibres into the capillary tube. The separation between the cleaved end-faces of the optical fibres defined the cavity length for the Fabry - Pérot sensor and the distance between the fusion joints defined the gauge length for this strain and temperature sensor. The sensor design was modified to: (i) monitor the progress of cure in an epoxy/amine resin system; (ii) detect the ingress of moisture in a cured epoxy/amine resin system; (iii) monitor the vibration characteristics of a pre- and post-impact damaged carbon fibre reinforced epoxy panel; and (iv) discriminate between strain and temperature measurements. The feasibility of using this type of sensor for cure monitoring, strain, temperature, residual stress measurements and damage detection in advanced fibre reinforced composites is demonstrated.