Long-range displacement sensor based on SMS fiber structure and OTDR

Abstract

This paper presents a long-range displacement measurement method by using a single-multi-single mode (SMS) fiber structure, attached to a flexible plate between two permanent poles and the optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)-based interrogator. The SMS fiber structure sensors are prepared with two different configurations, i.e. straight and sinusoidal configurations. It is demonstrated that the displacement sensor can perform a displacement measurement with a range from 0 mm to 150 mm with a resolution of 0.159 mm. The sinusoidal configuration provides a better sensitivity than the straight configuration. The proposed sensor offers a low cost, and it can be implemented for quasi-distributed displacement measurement which is suitable for civil structure monitoring.

Keywords

Displacement sensor / SMS fiber structure / OTDR

References

[1] Lee B. Review of the present status of optical fiber sensors. Optical Fiber Technology, 2003, 9(2): 57-79.

[2] Majumder M, Gangopadhyay T K, Chakraborty A K, Dasgupta K, Bhattacharya D K. Fibre Bragg gratings in structural health monitoring—present status and applications. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2008, 147(1): 150-164.

[3] Gnewuch H, Smeu E, Jackson D A, Podoleanu A G. Long range extensometer for civil structure monitoring using fibre Bragg gratings. Measurement Science and Technology, 2005, 16(10): 2005-2010.

[4] Hill K O, Meltz G. Fiber Bragg grating technology fundamentals and overview. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 1997, 15(8): 1263-1276.

[5] Zhao Y, Liao Y. Discrimination methods and demodulation techniques for fiber Bragg grating sensors. Optics Lasers in Engineering, 2004, 41(1): 1-18.

[6] Đonlagić D, Završnik M. Fiber-optic microbend sensor structure. Optics Letters, 1997, 22(11): 837-839.

[7] Kumar A, Varshney R K, Kumar R. SMS fiber optic microbend sensor structures: effect of the modal interference. Optics Communications, 2004, 232(1–6): 239-244.

[8] Wu Q, Hatta A M, Wang P, Semenova Y, Farrell G. Use of a bent single SMS fiber structure for simultaneous measurement of displacement and temperature sensing. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2011, 23(2): 130-132.

[9] Hatta A M, Semenova Y, Rajan G, Farrell G. A voltage sensor based on a singlemode-multimode-singlemode fiber structure. Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 2010, 52(8): 1887-1890.

[10] Wu Q, Hatta A M, Semenova Y, Farrell G. Use of a single-multiple-single-mode fiber filter for interrogating fiber Bragg grating strain sensors with dynamic temperature compensation. Appied Optics, 2009, 48(29): 5451-5458.

[11] Hatta A M, Permana H E, Setijono H, Kusumawardhani A, Sekartedjo. Strain measurement based on SMS fiber structure sensor and OTDR. Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 2013, 55(11): 2576-2578.

[12] Hatta A M, Indriawati K, Bestariyan T, Humada T, Sekartedjo. SMS fiber structure for temperature measurement using an OTDR. Photonics Sensors, 2013, 3(3): 262-266.

[13] Pinto N M P, Frazao O, Baptista J M, Santos J L. Quasi-distributed displacement sensor for structural monitoring using a commercial OTDR. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 2006, 44(8): 771-778.

[14] Tripathi S M, Kumar A, Varshney R K, Kumar Y, Marin E, Meunier J P. Strain and temperature sensing characteristics of single-mode-multimode-single-mode structures. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2009, 27(13): 2348-2356.

[15] Hatta A M, Semenova Y, Wu Q, Farrell G. Strain sensor based on a pair of single-mode-multimode-single-mode fiber structures in a ratiometric power measurement scheme. Applied Optics, 2010, 49(3): 536-541.