Damage monitoring of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics with Michelson interferometric fiber-optic sensors

This paper presents the application of a Michelson interferometric fiber-optic sensor for monitoring the damage of fiber-reinforced plastics. A Michelson interferometric fiber-optic sensor was mounted on the surface of unidirectionally aligned carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Response of the interference signal to either dynamic or static loading was investigated. Specimen being impacted, the optical interference signal dropped suddenly and then oscillated. The tensile test was performed with the measurement of optical interference signal, strain as well as acoustic emission. Both fast Fourier transform and digital filter processing of the optical interference signal were carried out to characterize the damage signal from the fiber-optic sensor. The optical interference signal whose frequency ranged from tens to hundreds Hz occurred when the specimen was damaged. It was shown that real-time information comparable to acoustic emission (AE) data could be obtained from Michelson interferometric fiber-optic sensor through a digital filtering technique. The Michelson interferometric fiber-optic sensor proved to be effective for monitoring the damage processes of the material studied.     

光纤压力传感器微机控制与数据处理系统

本文介绍的光纤压力传感器微机控制与数据处理系统是以8098单片机为核心,配上适量的外围电路所构成。该系统直接利用8098单片机芯片内的A/D模拟输入通道和脉宽调制(PWM)功能来进行数据采集和输出控制信号。该系统还方便地实现与微型打印机的联接,以便将采集的数据保存。整个系统结构简单,成本低,可靠性高,实时控制和测试功能较强,有良好的工业应用价值。     

Detection of Impact Damage in Carbon Fiber Composites Using an Electromagnetic Sensor

This article presents a comprehensive experimental study of impact damage detection for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites using an electromagnetic (EM) sensor with coupled spiral inductors (CSI). Two representative types of damage are detected and evaluated, i.e., barely visible impact damage (BVID) and delamination. A multifrequency inspection is performed, where the resultant images indicate the potential of the CSI sensor in the characterization of damage extent. The accuracy and efficiency of the CSI sensor are compared with the open-ended waveguide imaging, near-field microwave microscopy, microwave time-domain reflectometry, the complementary split-ring resonator, and ultrasonic scanning. Applications and limitations of these nondestructive testing (NDT) methods for identifying impact damage are discussed. There is a free edge effect on the electromagnetic signal, which is illustrated for the first time with the proposed EM technique. Detection of the air gap produced by inserting a thin piece into a machined subsurface groove is carried out. It is found that the developed CSI sensor is able to accurately resolve the location and extent of the air gap. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensor could offer an alternative relatively low cost method that can be fully automated for structural monitoring of aircraft and other composite structures.     

Large-scale remotely interrogated arrays of fiber-optic interferometric sensors for underwater acoustic applications

The fiber-optic interferometric acoustic sensor array has established itself as a potential alternative to the conventional sonar array based on electroceramic transducers. In this paper, we discuss all the aspects of a large-scale fiber-optic interferometric sensor array. We review the basic operating principles of the fiber-optic interferometric sensor, signal processing, and multiplexing techniques, we present results from a noise model for a full size system, and we determine the benefit of incorporating a remotely-pumped optical amplifier in the array. As a practical example we describe the design and construction of a prototype array with 96 hydrophones incorporating a remotely pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifier, called the fiber-optic bottom mounted array, which is based on a dense wavelength division and time division multiplexed architecture. These arrays have applications in military sonar and seismic surveying.     

Fiber-optic temperature sensor based on interaction of temperature-dependent refractive index and absorption of germanium film

The interaction of a large temperature-dependent refractive index and a temperature-dependent absorption of semiconductor materials at 1550 nm can be used to build a very sensitive, film coated fiber-optic temperature probe. We developed a sensor model for the optical fiber-germanium film sensor. A temperature sensitivity of reflectivity change of 0.0012/°C, corresponding to 0.1°C considering a moderate signal processing system, over 100°C within the temperature regime of -20°C to 120°C, has been demonstrated by experimental tests of the novel sensor. The potential sensitivity and further applications of the sensor are discussed.     

基于通信光缆的光纤油气管线预警系统

提出了一种以光纤分布式扰动传感器为核心,通过随油气管线一同敷设的标准通信光缆为传感介质的新型光纤管线预警系统.该系统利用激光干涉的原理对扰动信号进行实时探测,从而实现对挖掘、偷盗和第三方破坏等事件导致的扰动的实时监测和定位,从而达到管线安全预警的功能.该预警系统成功研制后分别在津唐输油处石油管线和杭州至嘉兴天然气管线进行了多次外场测试,该系统能在长达60 km的管线上实现250 m的定位精度,具有很好的定位稳定性.其测试结果表明:与传统油气管线监测手段相比,该系统具有无需外场供电、本质安全、灵敏度高,监测距离长、可定位以及可预警监测等技术优势,是未来油气管线监测的发展趋势.     

干涉型光纤传感器的分集消偏振衰落技术的信号处理

对干涉型光纤传感器的分集检测消偏振衰落技术进行了理论分析，提出了将各路信号平方后相加的信号处理方式，使之能实现单元及阵列的实时消偏振衰落信号检测。通过理论计算，可以使干涉信号幅度波动小于4.7dB，并得出三路检偏是分集检测的最简取的结论，通过信号处理电路，能够在信噪比略有降低的情况下消除偏振衰落的影响，实现进一步光纤传感器的消偏振衰落，并设计了用于阵列的分集检测的实现方式。     

Inertial sensor technology trends

This paper presents an overview of how inertial sensor technology is applied in current applications and how it is expected to be applied in nearand far-term applications. The ongoing trends in inertial sensor technology development are discussed, namely interferometric fiber-optic gyros, micro-mechanical gyros and accelerometers, and micro-optical sensors. Micromechanical sensors and improved fiber-optic gyros are expected to replace many of the current systems using ring laser gyroscopes or mechanical sensors. The successful introduction of the new technologies is primarily driven by cost and cost projections for systems using these new technologies are presented. Externally aiding the inertial navigation system (INS) with the global positioning system (GPS) has opened up the ability to navigate a wide variety of new large-volume applications, such as guided artillery shells. These new applications are driving the need for extremely low-cost, batch-producible sensors     

Counting signal processing and counting level normalization techniques of polarization-insensitive fiber-optic Michelson interferometric sensors

A counting signal processing technique of the fiber-optic interferometric sensor is proposed. The technique is capable of counting the numbers of the maximum and minimum of the output interferometric signal in a specific time duration, and it can be used as the basis to distinguish the sensing phase signal. It can also be used as a signal detector on applications such as intrusion detection. All sensors are subject to aging of the optical components and bending loss, and therefore the output signal of each sensor may vary with time. We propose a counting level normalization technique to compensate for these variations and to obtain the correct counting numbers.     

A novel time-domain method of analysis of pulsed sine wave signals

Sine wave packs are used in the nondestructive evaluation of materials, most commonly in the form of ultrasonic waves. An example of such methods is the use of electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) in the evaluation of metallic structures. Reflected EMAT signals are often highly polluted by noise. Elimination of noise and extraction of peak amplitude are important signal processing tasks associated with the analysis of EMAT signals. This paper presents a method of noise elimination and information extraction for pulsed sinusoids. The functionality of the proposed method is exemplified through noise reduction and peak detection of EMAT signals. The proposed method offers a simple and robust technique of signal analysis which is suitable for real-time industrial applications since it requires a relatively low level of computational resources.     

磁流变弹性体压缩模式动态力学性能测试

磁流变弹性体是一种新型的磁流变材料,已被成功地应用于变刚度器件设计中。为了评价磁流变弹性体材料性能,迫切需要建立一套磁流变弹性体性能测试系统。利用电磁振动台的线性扫频功能,采用激光位移传感器同步获取测试系统在不同磁感应强度下测试系统的激励与响应信号,通过系统的运动力学模型和相关理论计算,实现压缩模式下的磁流变弹性体刚度与阻尼性能的测试。该测试系统的建立为研制高性能的磁流变弹性体提供了动态压缩模式下的评价手段。     

An FPGA-based open platform for ultrasound biomicroscopy

Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) has been extensively applied to preclinical studies in small animal models. Individual animal study is unique and requires different utilization of the UBM system to accommodate different transducer characteristics, data acquisition strategies, signal processing, and image reconstruction methods. There is a demand for a flexible and open UBM platform to allow users to customize the system for various studies and have full access to experimental data. This paper presents the development of an open UBM platform (center frequency 20 to 80 MHz) for various preclinical studies. The platform design was based on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) embedded in a printed circuit board to achieve B-mode imaging and directional pulsed-wave Doppler. Instead of hardware circuitry, most functions of the platform, such as filtering, envelope detection, and scan conversion, were achieved by FPGA programs; thus, the system architecture could be easily modified for specific applications. In addition, a novel digital quadrature demodulation algorithm was implemented for fast and accurate Doppler profiling. Finally, test results showed that the platform could offer a minimum detectable signal of 25 μV, allowing a 51 dB dynamic range at 47 dB gain, and real-time imaging at more than 500 frames/s. Phantom and in vivo imaging experiments were conducted and the results demonstrated good system performance.     

An enhanced fiber-optic temperature sensor system for powertransformer monitoring

The paper deals with a sensor for temperature measurements in fluids. The sensor is based on a fiber-optic sensing element and on microcontroller-based signal processing hardware. The physical principle behind its operation is briefly reviewed, and its application to power transformer hot-spot temperature measurement is reported. Laboratory experimental results are given for both sensor characterization and measurements carried out on a 25-kVA oil-cooled power transformer     

Fiber-optic strain-gauge manometer up to 100 MPa

A practical realization of a novel pressure transducer utilizing a fiber-optic strain sensor and an active element configured to simulate an infinite cylinder with free ends is described. The deformation of such a cylinder depends uniquely on pressure acting from its inside and is independent of the stress resulting from the attachment of the device to the pressure system. The fiber-optic strain sensor is permanently bound to the external surface of the cylinder and as such is fully isolated from the high pressure region. The sensing element of the device consists of a highly birefringent (HB) polarization-maintaining optical-fiber strain gauge. The device was characterized at ambient temperatures for pressure up to 100 MPa. The sensor has inherent advantages such as immunity to electromagnetic interference, safety, direct compatibility with optical data transmission systems, simplicity and cost-effectiveness. It does not require any fiber-optic leadthrough and has significantly increased sensitivity (around 0.1 MPa^-1) compared to similar devices based on electrical strain gauges     

Application of Metamaterial Surface Plasmon and Waveguide for Robotic-Arm Based Structural Health Monitoring

Several electromagnetic (EM) metamaterial designs and their variants, such as localized surface plasmons (LSPs), with ultra sensing capabilities for structural health monitoring (SHM) have emerged in the last few years. These LSPs, in a confined configuration with the ‘engineering structure under inspection’ generate a unique diagnosable surface plasmons/wave as output, when subjected to input EM waves in the near fields. This paper presents a procedure to enhance the output surface wave zone by adopting them in a non-confining configurations. A novel procedure of transferring ‘surface waves’ from within the confined boundaries of LSP to far-off distance along a guided path is presented. This is achieved for both confined and non-confined configurations to monitor displacements as small as \(1/100\mathrm{th}\) of a mm and as large as tens of cms, respectively, highlighting the wider scope for real world applications. In experiments, the input EM waves were supplied by the vector network analyser, and the output surface waves were collected by the same via a 2D robotic scanner, controlled using custom software. Metallic specimens in confined configuration such as ‘aluminium’ shell and beam were used for monitoring “angular” and “vertical” deformations. Further, non-metallic specimens in non-confined configurations such as ‘rubber’ bicycle tube and ‘concrete’ blocks were used for monitoring “pressure” and “horizontal” displacements. Flexibility of a LSP sensor allowed its easy attachment to various specimens by bending and twisting which ranged from linear \((0^{\circ })\) to double bent \((180^{\circ })\) shapes. This paper provides a window of opportunity for SHM application of bendable metamaterials using waveguides and robots.     

Fiber-Optic Sensor for Web Velocity Measurement

The design and development of a new fiber-optic sensor for measuring the velocity of a continuous material (also called a web) in material processing systems is described. The development of the proposed sensor is based on the dual beam laser Doppler velocimetry technique and the unique properties of different types of optical fibers. The developed sensor is capable of measuring the true web transport velocity as opposed to the existing methods which infer web transport velocity based on the roller angular speed. Since the sensor design utilizes fibers, signal processing can be performed away from the measurement area, and as a result the sensor can be used in harsh environments within the web processing line. The proposed sensor has been constructed and experiments have been conducted on an experimental web platform. The performance of the sensor is evaluated for a range of web velocities and different web materials. Sensor design, its construction, and a representative sample of the results are presented and discussed.     

Miniature all-fiber Fabry-Perot sensor for simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature

This article presents a miniature, high-sensitivity, all-silica Fabry-Perot fiber-optic sensor suitable for simultaneous measurements of pressure and temperature. The proposed sensor diameter does not exceed 125 μm and consists of two low-finesse Fabry-Perot resonators created at the tip of an optical fiber. The first resonator is embodied in the form of a short air cavity positioned at the tip of the fiber. This resonator utilizes a thin silica diaphragm to achieve the sensor's pressure response. The second resonator exploits the refractive index dependence of silica fiber in order to provide the proposed sensor's temperature measurement function. Both resonators have substantially different lengths that permit straightforward spectrally resolved signal processing and unambiguous determination of the applied pressure and temperature.     

System model identification of a Fabry-Perot fiber optic sensingsystem

A Fabry-Perot fiber optic temperature sensing system is presented in this paper. It uses a Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) to transform the environmental temperature into modulated reflected light. This light is directed to a patented light cross-correlator that locates the position of the maximum interference fringe intensity, which is detected by a linear CCD array. Therefore, the actual observed data is the position of the CCD pixel detecting the maximum interference fringe intensity rather than the light intensity itself. Consequently, this sensing mechanism is tolerant to the loss of light power that may result from external effects. Based on an analysis of the entire sensing system, a theoretical dynamic model was developed, which shows that the system dynamic response depends on the heat transfer process in the sensor head and the signal processing in the signal conditioner. An experimental method was developed to validate the theoretical model. Two empirical dynamic models are also obtained from the experimental data. Comparing the theoretical model with the empirical models, the poles result from the heat transfer process in the sensor head     

A programmable real-time system for development and test of new ultrasound investigation methods

In vitro and/or in vivo experimental tests represent a crucial phase in the development of new ultrasound (US) investigation methods for biomedical applications. Such tests frequently are made difficult by the lack of flexibility of general purpose instruments and commercial US machines typically available in research laboratories. This paper presents a novel, real-time development system specifically designed for US research purposes. Main features of the system are the limited dimensions (it is based on a single electronic board), the capability of transmitting arbitrary waveforms to two probes, of storing the received radio-frequency (RF) echo data in a file and/or of processing them in real-time according to programmable algorithms. As an example of application, results of simultaneous hemodynamic and mechanic investigations in human arteries are reported. However, the high system flexibility and portability make it suitable for a large class of US applications.     

Submillimeter Crack Detection With Brillouin-Based Fiber-Optic Sensors

Submillimeter crack is detected with a dedicated fiber-optic strain cable, a 1-m-spatial-resolution (w) distributed Brillouin sensor and an advanced signal processing technique. The signal processing approach consists in spectrum shape analysis and multiple peaks detection.