4 Applications of Fiber Optic Sensor That You Should Know

Posted by Lase Optics on February 8th, 2021

Summary:

Fiber optic sensors are sensing devices that generally use fiber optic technology for measuring physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, strain, acceleration, voltages, and many others. This device uses an optical fiber as the sensing element, called an intrinsic sensor, or uses it for transforming signals from the remote sensor to the signal processing module. In this article, we will discuss some applications of fiber optic sensors that you should know.

Body:

Fiber optic sensing is a technology that has been around for several years. But in the last few years, it has been adopted in an increasing number of environments and applications. There are several methods that are used for gathering the data by using the transmission, reflection, and scattering properties of fibers.

Each process is chosen to serve an application depending on the distance, accuracy, and speed of the measurement needed. A fiber optic sensor is immune to electromagnetic interference. They are able to handle extreme conditions, so they are gaining popularity as the sensor of choice for a wide range of industries. Here are some fiber optic sensing applications that you should know.

1. Application of Acoustic Sensing

Acoustic sensing is a technology that is generally used for monitoring all sorts of sensitive applications from oil to the gas pipeline to railway tracks, military bases, and international borders too. Recently, it is also found that this technology serves for tracking. This system deploys fiber optic underground and also uses sharp pulses of laser light, basically of a narrow band and low phase noise.

When sounds are transmitted through the ground, they can cause very small vibrations in the cable, and so can be sensed. This is also used to detect leaks in offshore pipelines, while fibers sense the changing of the acoustic pitch of the surrounding water. It is also used for determining the presence of gas bubbles in oil pipes, which in turn can be interpolated into flow data.

2. Application for Temperature Sensing

Measuring temperature is also a similar idea to acoustic sensing. A system pulses laser light through a fiber optic cable and detects the amount and the type of light reflected back to until. By using a sophisticated algorithm, this light backscatter is converted into temperature data. The system can consider the change in temperate and also pinpoint the location of a thermal event to within one meter. It is widely used in oil and gas industries for monitoring in real-time down whole temperatures and also long pipelines for leaks. The low power and optical nature of the sensing make it the ideal choice for hazardous flammable materials or harsh environments such as arctic conditions or deserts.

3. Application for Strain and Pressure Sensing

A strained system helps to locate ground movements near pipelines including landslides, erosion, or seismic activity with a resolution. It is also used for monitoring underground tunnels or in cities for monitoring local structures although major close-by excavations might be undertaken. Monitoring can be done incessantly with one interrogator looking at various channels by using an arrangement of switches and circulators.

4. Application for Intruder Detection

Fiber sensing is able to pick up little vibrations. It can also combine some of the sensing methods described above. It can be constructed into a range of intruder detection applications. Fiber can be combined into a fence, trench, or pipeline to the system that can detect and identify locations of disturbances.

Conclusion:

These are some fiber optic sensing applications that everybody should know. You can find a reliable fiber optic supplier to get a high-quality fiber optic sensor, laser coupling, and many others.

About the Author:

The author is associated with a premier supplier of fiber optic products that are specialized in lensed fibers, tapered fibers, shaped fibers for the commercial and research marketplace including laser pigtail, semiconductor lasers coupling, optical systems, fiber fence security, and telecommunication applications. The company is a fiber optic sensor and single-mode lensed fiber manufacturer for biomedical, defense, R & D, lensed fiber probes, and arrays for other applications.