Efficient Acoustic-Optical Fiber Coupling for Enhanced Sensor Response
Abstract
In this three-year program, the research team designed, fabricated, characterized and optimized acoustic couplers for the distributed fiber optic acoustic sensing systems. Exhaustive theoretical analyses and experimental work was performed to evaluate a number of different designs to include metallic and fused silica splayed fiber coupler, tapered fiber couplers, split, side-slot, biconical and bi-exponential and wire horn couplers; multiple welding, polishing and adhesive techniques were also investigated. An improved FBG-based acoustic detection system was designed and constructed for automatic environmental compensation and advanced signal processing schemes were demonstrated to enhance acoustic detection. A 2.7 times coupling efficiency enhancement was demonstrated with a metallic splayed wire coupler. All milestones were met and two intellectual property disclosures were submitted to Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) for consideration for filing with the United States Patent Office.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 18, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1211436
Entities
People
- Gary Pickrell