Fiber optic sensing is used mainly for monitoring and measuring of large functioning units. As an example could be building of pipelines, rigs/wells, transport infrastructure.
Fiber Optic Sensing Advantages
One of the main advantages of fiber optic sensing is intrinsically safe cable wiring, running without the need of electrical power supply at place of measurement, high sensitivity and accuracy and ability to monitor measured areas on-line. Out of optical cable it is therefore possible to make for example 50 kms long thermometer showing temperature profile along the pipeline.
Fiber optic sensing allows either less accurate but virtually continuous distribution measurement or more accurate point measurement of physical quantities such as vibration, temperature, extension, mechanical straining and many more.
Following technologies can be used for measuring:
DAS – Distributed acoustic sensing
DTS – Distributed temperature sensing
DTSS – Distributed temperature and strain sensing
FBG - Fiber Bragg grating – point temperature measuring, mechanical strain, deformation, tiltometer, accelerometer and similar
