We report on recent results obtained with a fiber optic hydrophone based on the intensity modulation of the laser light in a FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) under the influence of the sound pressure. In order to control the behavior of the hydrophone in terms of sensitivity and bandwidth, FBGs have been coated with proper materials, characterized by different elastic modulus and shapes. In particular, new experiments have been carried out using a cylindrical geometry with two different coating, showing that the sensitivity is not influenced by the shape but by the transversal dimension and the material characteristics of the coating.
This work deals with the fabrication, prototyping, and experimental validation of a fiber optic thermo-hygrometer-based soil moisture sensor, useful for rainfall-induced landslide prevention applications. In particular, we recently proposed a new generation of fiber Bragg grating (FBGs)-based soil moisture sensors for irrigation purposes. This device was realized by integrating, inside a customized aluminum protection package, a FBG thermo-hygrometer with a polymer micro-porous membrane. Here, we first verify the limitations, in terms of the volumetric water content (VWC) measuring range, of this first version of the soil moisture sensor for its exploitation in landslide prevention applications. Successively, we present the development, prototyping, and experimental validation of a novel, optimized version of a soil VWC sensor, still based on a FBG thermo-hygrometer, but able to reliably monitor, continuously and in real-time, VWC values up to 37% when buried in the soil.
The aim of this work is to demonstrate the efficiency of fiber Bragg grating sensors to be used for in situ railway monitoring and train tracking applications. In the specific case, FBGs (Fiber Bragg Gratings) sensors have been bonded to rails in order to perform two different kinds of measurements: dynamic strain to analyze the characteristic frequency response of the rail and train tracking (speed and rail deformation when loaded by running trains). The efficiency of the sensing system has been verified in terms of significance of the information retrieved by the sensing data resolution and the high speed response. The obtained results confirm the real possibility to adopt fiber optic sensors based on FBG technology as excellent devices to ensure multipoint monitoring of railway structures taking advantages of the typical peculiarities of FBG such as long distance interrogation, easy multiplexing, electromagnetic interferences immunit
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