The use of fiber optics in sensor applications provides a variety of benefits and can be utilized within harsh environments where electronic sensors are unable to perform. This is because fiber optics use light wavelength for each sensor, which is immune to electromagnetic interference, radiation, high voltage electricity, and varying ranges of temperature (i.e. cryogenic and high temperatures). Sources estimate that the fiber optic sensor market will reach $2.39 billion by 2025, this is mainly due to their ability to be utilized in industry sectors such as oil & gas, infrastructure, civil engineering, and power & utility. Here at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Chen has developed a variety of innovations based around fiber optics. These innovations focus on improving the effectiveness and accuracy of fiber optics, as well as, their versatility for applications in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), hydrogen gas sensing, and metal oxide sensing.
Description
The innovations detail the use of Fiber Bragg grating, Rayleigh backscattering, Brillouin backscattering, Raman backscattering, and other methods of increasing the efficacy of fiber optics. Dr. Chen’s research employs distributed fiber-sensing schemes to fiber optics for detecting both physical parameters (i.e. radiation, temperature, strain, pressure) and chemical information (i.e. hydrogen concentration). Other techniques proposed include altering the refractive index of certain metal oxides and the integration of fiber optic sensors seamlessly within already existing electrical cable networks.
Applications
• Hydrogen gas leak detection in cryogenic applications (i.e. liquid hydrogen fuel).
• Monitor and control fuel gas stream within SOFC units.
• Creating “Smart system” capabilities from preexisting electrical cable networks (i.e. nuclear systems, commercial, and/or residential).
• Real-time measurements for Chemical and Bio-sensing.
• Data processing and communications for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) installations.
Advantages
• Lower cost than electrical sensors.
• High spatial resolution.
• No loss in sensor performance within harsh conditions (room temperature to 800oC).
• Increased accuracy in cryogenic environment.
• Fiber components and parameters can be freely adjusted for specialized functionalities.
Invention Readiness
Prototype
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7239778B2
