Mathematical methods for enhancing distributed acoustical sensing and fibre optics devices

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Distributed acoustical sensing (DAS) is an advanced sensing technology that provides remote, real-time access to closely-spaced data collection sites spread across tens of kilometres of linear infrastructure, including pipelines, railways, infrastructure perimeters, and in geophysical surveying. The DAS system works by converting a single optical fibre into tens of thousands of individual highly-sensitive vibrational sensors. Utilizing optical fibres results in a system that is immune to electromagnetic or radio frequency interface, requires no power along the entire sensing length, and is relatively inexpensive to deploy over large distances.****Applications for the sensing system include securing facility perimeters from third party intrusion, monitoring railway lines, railway right-of-ways, pipelines, oil field facilities, and specific implementations for well production and hydraulic fracturing operations. DAS systems are useful in a diverse range of applications that depend on the detection of vibrations in installations spread across large geological areas.****This project addresses the mathematical and computational challenges that arise in advancing the DAS technology, the solution of which will lead to valuable commercial innovations for our partner company Fotech Inc. Three areas are the principle focus in this project. 1. The use of DAS in seismic exploration and monitoring of hydrocarbon reservoirs (land-based oil and gas). 2. Identification of equipment degradation or failure on rail lines through DAS monitoring. 3. Self-mapping of the DAS infrastructure, to compute the real physical location of the DAS cable, allowing for more accurate imaging and event identification. Mathematical techniques to be developed include novel signal processing algorithms, time-frequency methods including wavelets and Gabor transforms, computational inverse problems, and machine learning. **************