A fibre-optic low-coherence quasi-distributed strain sensing system with multi-configurations

Abstract

A Michelson-based fibre optic low-coherence interferometric quasi-distributed sensing system is proposed, permitting absolute length measurement in the sensor array. The main part of the sensing system is a fibre optic 3×3 star coupler. The architecture of the fibre optic sensor can easily be realized as a linear sensor array, twin sensor arrays or a loop sensor array. The proposed sensing scheme will be useful for the measurement of strain distribution. An important application could be deformation sensing in smart structures. Experimentally, a six-sensor array has been demonstrated.

Crosstalk analysis of the in-line quasi-distributed low-coherence low-finesse Fabry–Pérot fiber-optic interferometric sensors

“…Quasi-distributed fiber-optic sensors have been extensively used in many applications such as distributed strain [1,2], temperature [3], and pH [4] measurements, water leak detection [5], optical path length variation [6], structural health monitoring [7], etc. A low-finesse intrinsic Fabry-Pérot interferometer can be employed as a typical sensing element, [8].…”