Miniature Optical Fiber Pressure Sensor With Exfoliated Graphene Diaphragm

A miniature high temperature, high frequency, fiber optic pressure sensor capable of operation above 1000K and frequencies above 1MHz has been developed and tested. The sensor accuracy, pressure resolution, temporal resolution and high temperature capability were first demonstrated through a series of laboratory experiments. The sensors were then tested on the forebody and inside the combustor of a full-scale X-51 configuration at fully duplicated flight conditions in the LENS II reflected shock tunnel at the CUBRC facility in Buffalo, NY. The pressure sensors displayed good run-torun repeatability and durability during the 10 run test program. Forebody and tar combustor pressure measurements respectively displayed a ω -0.8 and ω -1 decay in the power spectrum for frequencies related to fluctuations within the log layer. At low frequency, the spectra were essentially flat. In the combustor, a significant increase in the power-law decay was observed for combusting runs. On the forebody, good spectral agreement was obtained at moderate frequencies between the fiber optic and Kulite piezoresistive pressure sensors. This sensing technology enables improved measurement capabilities during ground testing where high frequency pressure measurements in high temperature high speed flows are required.

Urodynamic analysis is the predominant method for evaluating dysfunctions in the lower urinary tract. The exam measures the pressure during the filling and voiding process of the bladder and is mainly interested in the contraction of the bladder muscles. The data arising out of these pressure measurements enables the urologist to arrive at a precise diagnosis and prescribe an adequate treatment. A technique based on two optical fiber pressure and temperature sensors with a resolution of better than 0.1 cm H₂O (∼10 Pa), a stability better than 1 cm H₂O/hour, and a diameter of 0.2 mm in a miniature catheter with a diameter of only 5 Fr (1.67 mm), was used. This technique was tested in vivo on four patients with a real-time urodynamic measurement system. The optical system presented showed a very good correlation to two commercially available medical reference sensors. Furthermore, the optical urodynamic system demonstrated a higher dynamic and better sensitivity to detect small obstructions than both pre-existing medical systems currently in use in the urodynamic field.

High sensitivity fiber optic pressure sensor is in great demand in in all aspects due to its advantages. However, the current high sensitivity optical fiber pressure sensor has the problems of large size and high cost. An optical fiber pressure sensor based on all-silica Fabry-Perot interference has been proposed in this paper. The sensor consists of single mode fiber, silica capillary and diaphragm made of coreless optical fiber. The diameter of the sensor is only 125 μm. With precise control of diaphragm thinning, the diaphragm thickness of F-P sensor is only 1.477 μm, the sensor manufactured in this way has sensitivity with 12.586 rad/MPa. The sensor is ease of manufacturing and low cost. Static calibration shown the advantages of the sensor are high sensitivity, good linearity, repeatability, reliability and low hysteresis.

This paper presents an optical fibre pressure and temperature sensor (OFPTS) system, which is adapted for use as a urodynamic pressure measurement system (UPS) for differential pressure measurement with temperature compensation. The OFTPS is based on a Fabry Perot interferometer (FPI), which acts as a pressure sensor and includes an embedded fibre Bragg grating (FBG) for temperature measurement. The sensor system is evaluated in a lower urinary tract (LUT) simulator, which simulates the bladder, rectum and detrusor muscle. The system was benchmarked against a commercially available urodynamic system, at the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) Urology Clinic. Both systems demonstrate a high correlation with a relative pressure variation of less than ±2.8cmH₂O for abdominal and ±4cmH₂O for vesical pressure. The repetitive measurement of the OFPTS system in the LUT simulator against the commercial system demonstrated the high repeatability. Furthermore, the low fabrication cost makes the OFPTS a potentially interesting instrument for urodynamic and other medical applications.

PDMS-based liquid-core optical fiber fluorescence pressure sensor

Optical fiber pressure sensors have been developed for use on a structurally-adaptive `smart wing'; further details of the design, fabrication and testing of the smart wing concept are presented in companion papers. This paper describes the design, construction, and performance of the pressure sensor and a combined optical and electronic signal processing system implemented to permit the measurement of a large number of sensors distributed over the control surfaces of a wing. Optical fiber pressure sensors were implemented due to anticipated large electromagnetic interference signals within the operational environment. The sensors utilized the principle of the extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) already developed for the measurement of strain and temperature. Here, the cavity is created inside a micromachined hollow-core tube with a silicon diaphragm at one end. The operation of the sensor is similar to that of the EFPI strain gage also discussed in several papers at this conference. The limitations placed upon the performance of the digital signal processing system were determined by the required pressure range of the sensors and the cycle time of the control system used to adaptively modify the shape of the wing. Sensor calibration and the results of testing performed are detailed.

Optical fibre pressure sensors have potential performance advantages over electrical sensors in measuring rapid transients such as shock waves from explosive blasts. We report the development of micromachined optical fibre Fabry–Pérot pressure sensors using a silicon dioxide or nitride diaphragm and detail the fabrication stages of the sensor body and diaphragm. The planar technology used is based on silicon deep etching and direct fusion bonding of silicon wafers. Test results for both types of diaphragm are presented. Sensors with rise times better than 3 µs, range 0.1 to 1 MPa and resolution ∼500 Pa have been demonstrated in explosives trials. Despite the difference in the sign of stress for the two diaphragm types, both demonstrated excellent high-speed response to explosively generated air shocks.

A novel diaphragm-based miniature optical fiber pressure sensor has been shown to work at temperatures up to 700/spl deg/C with a sensitivity of 2.93 nm/psi and a resolution of 0.01 psi (68.9 Pa). A passive temperature compensation scheme was used to reduce the temperature dependence to 0.0076 psi//spl deg/C (52.4 Pa//spl deg/C). The sensor exhibited a linear response in the available testing range from 0 to 200 psi (1.38 MPa), and being composed entirely of fused silica, the sensor's structure is very reliable, corrosion resistant, and immune to electromagnetic interference.

A diaphragm-type pressure sensor consisting of two optical fibers for SF6 gas circuit breaker is described. The lights from two IR LEDs are mixed and put into a transmitting fiber. A receiving fiber receives the reflected light from the diaphragm and the reference light. The ratio of the reflected signal and the reference signal warrants precision of the measurement in even the presence of external fluctuations. The pressure measuring system has the measurement accuracy 3% of full scale over a pressure range of 0.1-3.0 MPa. The optical fiber pressure sensor is compared with a semiconductor pressure transducer by means of measuring the pressure in SF6 gas circuit breaker.

Ultra-long and large-diameter underwater bored piles are widely used in deep-water bridge foundations; however, key construction parameters such as concrete surface elevation and tremie conduit embedment depth are still largely measured manually, resulting in low levels of automation and limited data traceability. Accurate monitoring of these parameters is essential to ensure construction quality and prevent defects such as pile breakage or mud inclusion. This study aims to develop an intelligent monitoring system to achieve real-time and automated measurement of concrete pouring height and conduit embedment depth during underwater pile construction. An integrated intelligent sensing system was developed combining fiber Bragg grating (FBG) pressure sensors, distributed fiber optic temperature sensing (DTS), RFID-based conduit counting, and a PLC-controlled automated monitoring device. Laboratory experiments and field tests were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of fiber optic pressure and temperature sensing for detecting the concrete interface. Laboratory tests demonstrated that fiber optic pressure and temperature sensors can effectively identify the interface between mud, laitance, and concrete during pouring. Field experiments showed that concrete level monitoring based on intelligent sensing achieved an error ranging from 0.25 m to 0.5 m, while dynamic tracking of the concrete surface achieved accuracy within approximately 0.3 m. The system was successfully applied in the Hangzhou Bay Cross-Sea Bridge project, confirming its reliability in engineering practice. The proposed monitoring system significantly improves the automation and informatization of underwater bored pile construction. Compared with traditional manual sounding methods, it provides higher monitoring frequency, improved accuracy, and real-time data transmission through a cloud platform, enabling traceable management of concealed works. The system offers a practical and cost-effective solution for intelligent construction of deep foundations and supports the digital transformation of pile foundation engineering.

We present in this paper an optical fiber pressure and temperature sensor (OFPTS) with multi Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) array. The sensor based on an extrinsic Fabry Perot interferometer and is fabricated from silica glass. A femtosecond laser (FSL) was used to inscribe multiple FBGs proximately close to the diaphragm, parallel to each other. This concepts allows a chain of FBGs with miniature active length which can be a significant important tool for medical application, like radio frequency ablation (RFA) cancer treatment.

A novel all-silica fiber optic Fabry-Perot (FP) pressure sensor with pressure leading-in tube based on microbubble structure is developed and experimentally demonstrated. The FP cavity is formed by fixing the end face of the single-mode fiber (SMF) parallel to the outer surface of the microbubble, in which the microbubble with a diameter of about 318 μm is constructed at the end of silica hollow tube. When external pressure is transmitted on the inner surface of the microbubble by the pressure leading-in tube, the FP cavity length changes with the diameter of microbubble. Experimental results show that such a sensor has a linear sensitivity of approximately 4.84 nm/MPa at room temperature over the pressure range of 1.1 MPa; the sensor has a very low temperature coefficient of approximately 2 pm/°C from room temperature to 600°C. The sensor has advantages of extremely low temperature coefficient, compact structure, and small size, which has potential applications for measuring pressure in high-temperature environment.

Low cost, rugged and reliable fiberoptic sensors are being developed to meet the needs of geotechnical engineers. The primary emphasis has been on load and pressure sensors, including pore water pressure sensors. The microbend sensors developed have been tested in the laboratory up to water pressures of 100 psi and loads of 50 lb. Accuracy of sensor measurements are within 5% and is being improved upon. Sensors with larger range or more sensitivity can easily be built without changing the basic sensor design. A semi-automated calibration and testing system was developed to characterize the sensors. In this paper we describe some of the applications for the sensors, their construction, characterization system, and experimental performance.

A sensor to measure rapidly changing pressures in an explosive air blast requires high bandwidth and high spatial resolution. For such an application a low-cost, electrically isolated sensor is particularly attractive. We describe an optical fibre-based pressure sensor that meets these requirements. The sensor is subjected to an experimental explosive-blast measurement test and the results are discussed with respect to the sensor performance and compared with a simple blast-wave model and conventional pressure transducers.

By employing the surface and bulk micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) techniques, we design and demonstrate a simple and miniature optical Fabry-Perot interferometric pressure sensor, where the loaded pressure is gauged by measuring the spectrum shift of the reflected optical signal. From the simulation results based on a multiple cavities interference model, we find that the response range and sensitivity of this pressure sensor can be simply altered by adjusting the size of sensing area. The experimental results show that high linear response in the range of 0.2-1.0 Mpa and a reasonable sensitivity of 10.07 nm/MPa (spectrum shift/pressure) have been obtained for this sensor.