Fiber Optic Sensors for Multiparameter Monitoring Of Large Scale Assets

Determining the operational performance and health of large-scale assets often require the continuous monitoring of a wide range of parameters, from strain, temperature and pressure to vibration and sound. In many situations, it is highly desirable from cost and system robustness point of view to have a centralized data acquisition and analytics for the entire asset. For such applications, fiber optics becomes an ideal option, owing to its inherent characteristics: long distance and lossless data transmission, ability to multiplex and chain multiple sensors, cheaper cabling and passive (electricity-free) sensors. Here, we present a portfolio of fiber optic sensors, based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology, which includes strain, temperature and pressure gauges as well as accelerometers and acoustic detectors. Using novel techniques to leverage the inherent strain and temperature sensitivity of FBGs, for example, drift-free high resolution temperature compensated pressure gauges have been designed and demonstrated. In another example, accelerometers that operate with constant sensitivities from static (0 Hz) to dynamic (kHz) frequency range provide ability to record both tilt and vibration from single sensors, wellsuited for machine and structure monitoring.