Distributed fiber-optic pressure sensor based on Bourdon tubes metered by optical frequency-domain reflectometry

Chen Zhu; Yiyang Zhuang; Yizheng Chen; Rex E. Gerald; Jie Huang

doi:10.1117/1.OE.58.7.072010

3 April 2019 Distributed fiber-optic pressure sensor based on Bourdon tubes metered by optical frequency-domain reflectometry

Chen Zhu, Yiyang Zhuang, Yizheng Chen, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 58, Issue 7, 072010 (April 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.58.7.072010

Abstract

We report a distributed fiber-optic pressure sensor based on Bourdon tubes using Rayleigh backscattering metered by optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR). In the proposed sensor, a piece of single-mode fiber (SMF) is attached to the concave surfaces of Bourdon tubes using a thin layer of epoxy. The strain profiles along the concave surface of the Bourdon tube vary with applied pressure, and the strain variations are transferred to the attached SMF through the epoxy layer, resulting in spectral shifts in the local Rayleigh backscattering signals. By monitoring the local spectral shifts of the OFDR system, the pressure applied to the Bourdon tube can be determined. By cascading multiple Bourdon tubes and correspondingly attaching SMF sections (i.e., a series of SMF-modified Bourdon tubes), distributed pressure measurements can be realized. Three Bourdon tubes are employed to demonstrate the proposed spatially distributed sensing scheme. The experimental results showed that linear relationships between spectral shift and pressure were obtained in all three SMF-Bourdon tubes (i.e., at three spatial locations). It is expected that the proposed sensing device, the SMF-Bourdon tube, can be used in applications where distributed/multipoint pressure measurements are needed.

Citation Download Citation

Chen Zhu, Yiyang Zhuang, Yizheng Chen, Rex E. Gerald, and Jie Huang "Distributed fiber-optic pressure sensor based on Bourdon tubes metered by optical frequency-domain reflectometry," Optical Engineering 58(7), 072010 (3 April 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.58.7.072010

Received: 1 November 2018; Accepted: 15 March 2019; Published: 3 April 2019

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