Refractive index and temperature sensors based on no-core fiber cascaded with long period fiber grating

A kind of compact fibre-optic sensor based on no-core fibre (NCF) cascaded with a strong coupling long-period fibre grating (LPFG) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing mechanism is based on the Mach–Zehnder-like interference between the core fundamental mode and cladding mode of the fibre structure. The NCF and LPFG are used as the mode exciter and combiner, respectively. Due to the particular properties of the strong coupling LPFG, the measurements of refractive index (RI) and temperature with high sensitivity are realized by monitoring the transmission spectrum with intensity and wavelength interrogation techniques, respectively. The achieved RI sensitivity reaches ?580.269 dB/RIU in the range of 1.436–1.454 and the temperature sensitivity reaches 27.2 pm/°C.     

Multi-measurement scheme for a fiber-optic sensor based on a single long-period grating

In this paper, we present and discuss a scheme to perform simultaneous measurement of multi-perturbations using a single Long-Period Grating (LPG). It was shown that different spectral shifts in the resonant bands of the transmitted spectrum of an LPG sensor can be used for measuring concurrent perturbations. The functioning mechanism of this multi-parameter sensing scheme is discussed and used to perform simultaneous sensing of temperature, mechanical strain and refractive index variations.     

Effects of fibre grating parameters on the spectral characteristics of cascaded long- and short-period gratings

Using coupled-mode theory combined with the transfer matrix method, this paper presents the impact of fibre grating parameters(grating period, grating length and average index modulation) and the separation between long-period fibre grating and fibre Bragg grating (FBG) on the reflection spectra of cascaded long-and short-period grating (CLBG). Two grating periods and two grating lengths have only impact on the two reflection peaks. The two resonance wavelengths shift towards the longer wavelength when the period of FBG decreases. Further, we study the sensing characteristics of coated CLBG. By analysing the relationship between the refractive index sensitivity and the thin film parameters (film refractive index and film thickness), the optimized parameters for the coated CLBG used as film sensor were obtained. Data simulation shows that the resolution of the refractive index of this coated CLBG film sensor is predicted to be 10^?6. This implies that the coated CLBG has an important application value in sensing and measurement field.     

Superimposed long period fiber grating-based refractive index sensor

A superimposed long period fiber grating design proposed for refractive index sensing is shown to be superior to conventional dual resonance and turnaround point gratings and can operate at any chosen wavelength region by appropriate design. Numerical simulations carried out on standard single mode fibers show that such sensors can operate over a wide refractive index range (1.33–1.42) exhibiting a high sensitivity of ～500–1545?nm/RIU, yielding ～10^?6–10^?7 refractive index change corresponding to the resonance relative shift of 1?pm with potential applications to chemical and biological industries. The proposed scheme can also discriminate between refractive index and temperature changes.     

Optical fibre sensors for health monitoring of bonded repair systems

In the aircraft industry the use of externally bonded composite repairs has become an accepted way of repairing fatigue, or corrosion, damaged metallic structural components. However, current NDI and damage assessment techniques for composite repairs are passive and generally performed on ground. The challenge is to develop new techniques utilising recent analytical and experimental tools. This report examines the use of optical fibre sensors. Optical fibres offer a means of monitoring the load transfer process in these repairs, and can therefore be used to provide an indication of the integrity of the repair. This paper describes the use of an array of fibre Bragg grating strain sensors (FBGs) for the in situ monitoring of bonded repairs to aircraft structures and, in particular, the monitoring of crack propagation beneath a repair. In this work the FBGs have been multiplexed using a combination of wavelength and spatial techniques employing a tunable Fabry–Pérot (FP) filter to track individual gratings. The multiplexed FBGs were then surface-mounted on a boron–epoxy unidirectional composite patch bonded to an aluminium component. The sensors were located so as to monitor the changing stress field associated with the propagation of a crack beneath the patch. The ability of relating experimental results to sensor readings is then confirmed using both a thermo-elastic scan of the patch and 3D finite element analysis.     

Torsion sensor based on two cascaded long period fiber gratings fabricated by CO2 laser pulse irradiation and HF etching technique respectively

A novel torsion sensor is proposed, which is composed of one long period fibre grating and one asymmetrically corrugated long period fibre grating based on the high-frequency CO₂ laser pulses technology and burning fibre coating and etching cladding technology, respectively. By combing the advantages of the two aforementioned elements, a sensitivity of 331.7 and 310.3 pm/(rad/m) towards clockwise and anticlockwise direction, respectively, is reached in the experiments.     

人体测温光纤光栅温度传感器的研制

针对医疗行业对人体测温的需要,研制了一种以裸光纤Bragg光栅为传感元件的光纤光栅温度传感器,并对其温度特性进行了研究.采用恒温水浴对工作波长为1 557 nm和1 547 nm附近的2只光纤光栅传感器进行温度定标.结果表明,在34～48℃范围内,光纤光栅的中心波长随温度的变化呈现良好的线性关系,相关系数分别为0.998 3和0.997 4,光纤光栅温度传感器的测温标准偏差分别为0.239℃和0.245℃,可应用于医疗中人体温度的实时监测.     

Simulation and experiment of packaging of the fibre Bragg grating sensors using brazing/soldering methods

Abstract

To manufacture fibre Bragg grating (FBG) transducer, finite element model simulation and experimental verification of packaging of the FBG by brazing/soldering were investigated. The packaging processes and their impacts on the wavelength change of FBG were analysed. Simulation results showed that the Bragg wavelength of packaged FBG shifted down a level of ~10 nm. For experimental verification, temperature sensitivity of the packaged FBG was enhanced about twice of the bare FBG, while its spectrum was well preserved. The Bragg wavelength was shifted down a level of ~10 nm which was in accordance with the simulation.     

毛细铜管封装的内嵌式镀金光纤布拉格光栅温度和应力传感器

为了实现复杂、恶劣环境下工程机械表面无损的应力监测方式,实现对大型工程机械的实时动态监测,提出了基于磁控溅射技术的光纤布拉格光栅(FBG)应力传感器封装方法。并对完全嵌套(整个栅区嵌套毛细铜管)和两端嵌套(栅区两端嵌套毛细铜管)两种封装方法开展了研究。从理论分析和有限元仿真的角度比较了传感器的增敏效果,前后结果一致。制备了传感器实物并进行了温度、应力和对比实验。仿真实验结果表明,该模型下FBG传感器能提高约7.5%的灵敏度。温度实验表明第二种封装结构的温度反馈相关系数R2达到了0.99948,在30℃～80℃范围内呈现良好的线性度;应力实验的相关系数R2也达到0.99924,灵敏度为6.14 pm/MPa,在该实验搭建的解调系统下精度达到0.05 MPa,可以快速、精确地解调应力。对比实验表明,光栅解调仪组成的监测系统比应变片组成的监测系统具有更高的精度,最大偏差值减小了59.8%。嵌套毛细铜管的金属化方式结合有机胶固定的封装结构简单、灵敏度和精度高,可以满足大型工程机械表面无损实时健康监测的需求。     

用于钢筋混凝土梁的光纤光栅应变传感器

在变形测定器中,光纤Bragg光栅被粘贴于内管的两端,这两端的距离确定了传感器的量规长度。为了测量拉应变和压应变,该光纤光栅必须保持处于与可能的最大压应变相等的永久性拉应变。将光纤Bragg光栅贴于H154梁的混凝土表面和H158梁的钢筋表面,以分别检测拉应变和压应变。当钢筋混凝土梁受到千斤顶的加载时,它的应变可由光纤Bragg光栅的反射Bragg波长的偏移量获得。实验表明,作为一种绝对检测器件,光纤Bragg光栅为钢筋混凝土梁提供了有效监测,其中,拉应变~1000me,而压应变~1500me。     

一种简单的计算机零位光栅设计方法

光栅扭矩传感器采用零位光栅提供绝对零位信号，以防止掉电时数据出错。在零位光栅设计过程中，采用了阈值法，即采用计算机随机产生栅线序列，经计算通过阈值判断以获得所需要的零位栅线序列。该方法可以大大减小编程的复杂性及难度，减小编程量，同时保证设计结果具有光通量大和对比度高的特点，并能满足实际应用的需要。     

Theoretical investigation on the temperature characteristics of liquid-cladding micro/nanofiber Bragg grating

Based on the functions of the effective refractive index of fundamental mode in step-index fiber, a theoretical mode about the Bragg wavelength shift of micro/nanofiber Bragg grating (MNFBG) is presented. The numerical simulation results demonstrate, for a MNFBG with given radius, the Bragg wavelength shifts to short wavelength as ambient temperature increases, and the reason results from the effective index decreasing with the increase of ambient temperature. Moreover, with the reduction of fiber-core radius, as well as the increase of ambient index and its thermo-optic coefficient, the temperature sensitivity, linearity and linear response range of the temperature-dependent Bragg wavelength shift are improved obviously. Especially for a MNFBG with fiber radius smaller than 0.5?μm, the linearity of Bragg wavelength shifting with temperature will be close to the theoretical limit, and the temperature sensitivity is proportional to the thermo-optic coefficient of the ambient liquid. Compared with the temperature properties of conventional fiber Bragg grating (FBG), all the results will provide much theoretical guides for FBG applied in fiber sensing and communication.     

Design,fabrication, and testing of fiber Bragg grating sensors for cryogenic long-range displacement measurement

It is essential to measure the shrinkage/expansion and positioning/aligning of magnets and to control valve displacement which plays a vital role in experiments like the Karlsruhe tritium neutrino experiment beam tube and Cryo pumps. Hence, a displacement sensor which, over a long working range, can be operated under extreme environmental conditions needs to be developed. Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) have been considered to be excellent sensor elements useful for a variety of applications. This paper will discuss a long range displacement sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings for cryogenic temperature applications. The cryo pump inlet valve control requirements have been taken as example specifications for sensor design. To achieve the development goal, a proper signal transducer and sensor package were designed. A study of the strain transmission of surface-bonded FBG was conducted. The influence of bonding thickness and bonding length was reported. The design, fabrication, and performance were tested at low temperature of around 77 K. The sensor performance was found to be satisfactory at both room temperature and 77 K and linearly for long-range displacement of 550 mm with 14 pm/mm sensitivity and 0.142 mm accuracy.     

纤维复合材料层合板内埋光纤光栅传感器的保护技术

内埋的光纤Bragg光栅（FBG）传感器的存活率及测试精度是其在线监测纤维增强树脂基复合材料制备和服役状态的重要前提。采用[90₁₁/0₁₁]的碳纤维预浸料铺层方式,在层合板0°和45°方向的典型位置埋入FBG温度和应变传感器,采用模压成型工艺制备复合材料层合板。在异向铺排（光纤光栅方向与碳纤维方向不同）的45°方向光纤光栅传感器内埋于碳纤维预浸料层间的过程中,对其采用4种不同的保护方式。通过对比实验结果发现:当对异向铺排的FBG传感器不采取保护措施时,在加热加压复合材料时光纤光栅容易失活;整层铺设同向预浸料以保护异向铺排的FBG传感器的方式改变了具有特定铺层参数复合材料的力学性能;采用窄长条同向预浸料上下包埋保护FBG传感器的方式增大了应变光栅测量结果的系统误差;采用窄长条同向预浸料上下包埋并在邻近铺层开凹槽的保护方式能明显提高内埋光纤光栅的存活率及测试精度。      

Optical fibre-based sensors for distributed strain monitoring of asphalt pavements

Strain distribution of asphalt pavement varies in transverse and longitudinal directions, and distresses, such as cracks, ruts and settlements, often occur randomly, which can be efficiently measured by distributed optical fibre sensing technology. As bare optical fibre is weak to resist shear and torsion forces during pavement construction, the protective technique is required. Therefore, a flexible asphalt-mastic packaged optical fibre sensor was developed in this research for distributed strain monitoring of asphalt pavement. Theoretical analysis on strain transfer of the optical fibre-based sensors embedded in asphalt pavement was conducted to improve the design of the protective layer and remove the strain transfer error. Afterwards, laboratory tests on the asphalt concrete beam were carried out to validate the performance of the sensor. Finally, the proposed sensors were applied to detect the in situ performance of urban asphalt pavement under temperature and traffic loads. The results indicate that the proposed optical fibre sensor detects the distributed strain of asphalt pavement effectively, and the in situ data show significant effects of temperature and traffic loads on asphalt concrete course. This research contributes to the full-scale monitoring and health assessment of large-span pavement.     

基于光纤光栅传感器的结构故障定位方法

提出了一种实现结构故障定位和故障实时监测的新方法.该方法利用光纤光栅传感网络测量结构应变,得到结构的挠度矩阵,分析故障前后挠度矩阵变化,计算得出故障定位向量,进而确定损伤区域,实现了结构故障准确定位和健康状况实时监测.实验结果表明,上述方法大大提高了故障定位的准确度和实时性.     

Sensitivity of embedded fibre optic Bragg grating sensors to disbonds in bonded composite ship joints

The potential application of embedded fibre optic Bragg grating strain sensors for the health monitoring of adhesively bonded composite ship joints is investigated in this paper. Bragg grating sensors were embedded at various locations along the interface of adhesively bonded glass-reinforced plastic composite joints with artificially introduced disbonds to assess their capability to detect bond-line damage under in-plane shear and through-thickness tension. Finite element (FE) models indicated that the presence of the disbond significantly altered the bond-line strain distribution under such loads. The embedded sensors successfully detected this effect, and the sensor measurements compared well to FE predictions. However, the experimental measurements of the magnitude of the strain at the tips of the disbonds showed significant variations, presumably due to its high sensitivity to defect edge conditions which could not be experimentally controlled with a high degree of repeatability. Both the FE models and the experimental results showed that the effect of disbond damage was localised, more so under in-plane shear than through-thickness tension. This would necessitate the use of an optimised sensor array and pattern recognition algorithm for the reliable detection of an arbitrary disbond.     

Femtosecond pulse delivery using a chirped long-period grating of multi-mode fiber for mode conversion

A period-chirped long-period fiber grating (CLPFG), using ordinary multi-mode fiber (MMF), for broadband mode conversion (60 nm bandwidth of coupling efficiency >90%) has been proposed. Through using such a MMF-CLPFG, a broad-spectrum pulse can be converted into LP ₀₂ for femtosecond pulse distortion-free delivery in MMF. The simulation shows that the pulse suffers less nonlinear distortion than that in a single-mode fiber. In addition, the negative pre-chirp introduced by MMF-CLPFG can offset the linear and positive SPM-induced frequency chirp and thus compress the pulse. Using this scheme, an initial 18 kW peak power 75 fs pulse distortion-free delivery in MMF has been numerically demonstrated.