Cost-effective optical fiber gas leakage detector around buried pipelines

摘要

Due to their high mechanical and corrosion resistance, low signal attenuation, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, optical fibers have demonstrated their high potential in various sensors applications such as health monitoring of structural pieces when they are placed under constrain, vibration or temperature variation. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of a low cost interrogation device, based on the computation on the evolution of the center of mass of interference pattern of a few-mode optical fiber, to detect the presence of a leak around a buried pipeline. The results obtained are in agreement with the theory (nitrogen expanding) and in good relation with other sensors as thermocouples and fiber Bragg gratings.