Reduction of the effect of temperature in a fiber optic distributed sensor used for strain measurements in civil structures

Hiroshige Ohno; Yasuomi Uchiyama; Toshio Kurashima

doi:10.1117/12.349763

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31 May 1999 Reduction of the effect of temperature in a fiber optic distributed sensor used for strain measurements in civil structures

Hiroshige Ohno, Yasuomi Uchiyama, Toshio Kurashima

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Proceedings Volume 3670, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Sensory Phenomena and Measurement Instrumentation for Smart Structures and Materials; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.349763
Event: 1999 Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1999, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

We report on an approach for reducing the effects of temperature in a fiber optic distributed sensor. This technique employs a sensing fiber and a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR). The BOTDR has been proposed for measuring both strain and optical loss distribution along optical fibers by accessing only one end of the fiber. The BOTDR analyzes changes in the Brillouin frequency shift caused by strain. This device can measure distributed strain with an accuracy of better than plus or minus 60 X 10^-6 and a high spatial resolution of up to 1 m over a 10 km long fiber. However, temperature fluctuations have an adverse effect on the accuracy with which the Brillouin frequency shift can be measured because the shift changes with temperature as well as with strain. This has meant that both spatial and temporal fluctuations in temperature must be compensated for when a fiber optic distributed sensor is used for continuous strain measurements in massive civil structures. We describe a method for the simultaneous determination of distributed strain and temperature which separates strain and temperature in a fiber optic sensor.

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Hiroshige Ohno, Yasuomi Uchiyama, and Toshio Kurashima "Reduction of the effect of temperature in a fiber optic distributed sensor used for strain measurements in civil structures", Proc. SPIE 3670, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Sensory Phenomena and Measurement Instrumentation for Smart Structures and Materials, (31 May 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.349763

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