Distributed fibre optic sensing for event detection
US9002149B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 12, 2009 |
| Grant date | Apr 7, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 24, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M11/3109
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fiber optic sensing method and apparatus for determining location and direction information of disturbances occurring in the environment of a sensor optical fiber are provided. The method comprises launching optical pulses into at least one polarisation eigenmode of a polarisation maintaining fiber as the sensor optical fiber, detecting temporal speckle patterns of light backscattered from the at least one polarisation eigenmode of the fiber, comparing the temporal speckle patterns to determine the location and direction information of a disturbance in the environment of the sensor optical fiber. The location information may be a distance along the fiber, and the direction information may be a direction radially from the axis of the fiber. The apparatus or instrument may be used to detect disturbance over long distances such as pipes, pipelines, or wells. Other applications include detecting intruders entering a controlled area.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.