A novel type of distributed fiber optic sensor for petroleum hydrocarbon leak detection based on the measurement of transmitted and Rayleigh backscattered power is presented. The sensor structure includes a sensitive polymer, which reversibly expands in hydrocarbon presence and induces the bending losses in the fiber. The location of the loss region is determined from unique relationships between normalized transmitted and Rayleigh backscattered powers for different positions of the disturbance along the test fiber. The localization of a strong disturbance with an estimated accuracy of +/- 1 m along a 2.844 km-length single-mode fiber was demonstrated.

Date Published: 27 June 2002
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 4694, Smart Structures and Materials 2002: Smart Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems, (27 June 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.472639

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4694:
Smart Structures and Materials 2002: Smart Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems
Daniele Inaudi; Eric Udd, Editor(s)