SBIR Phase I: Fiber Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensor

该小型企业创新研究第一期项目旨在开发分布式声发射监测技术。这项新技术将使用单根光纤电缆提供实时声学监测，同时还将生成分布式温度信息。低物理轮廓使其可嵌入且侵入性最小。该技术的设计成本低，这确保了其大规模商业化的潜力。在第一阶段的研究中，将建立一个原型传感器系统，并应用于演示高灵敏度的声学检测。重点将是技术的可行性证明。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括开发多个工业部门高度期望的传感器技术。这种潜在的低成本技术将使传感器的大规模部署成为可能，从而彻底改变许多应用中使用的传感方法。声波特征的准确定位和定量将直接有利于地震油气勘探。分布式声学监测将寻求立即实施在多区生产的气体威尔斯，重油蒸汽辅助重力排水操作监测和出油管水合物，规模和腐蚀监测。大跨度、实时声学监测也为管道健康监测提供了可行的手段。该技术的另一个受益者将是电力变压器内的分布式局部放电（PD）检测。希望新的传感技术将大大提高操作安全性，同时降低这些行业的整体成本。成功的示范，提出的传感原理也将阐明一些其他传感应用需要高速，密集多路复用操作。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a distributed acoustic emission monitoring technology. The new technology will provide real-time acoustic monitoring using a single fiber optic cable, distributed temperature information will also be generated simultaneously. The low physical profile renders it embeddable and minimally intrusive. The technology is designed to be low-cost, which ensures its wide-scale commercialization potential. In this Phase I research, a prototype sensor system will be built and applied to demonstrate highly sensitive acoustic detection. The focus will be on feasibility proof of the technology. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the development of a sensor technology that is highly desired in multiple industrial sectors. The potentially low-cost technology will enable large-scale deployment of the sensor to revolutionize the sensing methodology used in a number of applications. Accurate locating and quantifying of acoustic signatures will directly benefit seismic oil & gas exploration. Distributed acoustic monitoring will seek immediate implementation in multi-zone production in gas wells, heavy oil steam-assisted gravity drainage operation surveillance and flowline hydrates, scale and corrosion monitoring. Long-span, real-time acoustic monitoring also provides a viable means for pipeline health monitoring. Another beneficiary of the technology will be distributed partial discharge (PD) detection within power transformers. It is hoped that the new sensing technology will dramatically improve the operation safety while reduce the overall cost of such industries. Successful demonstration of the proposed sensing principle will also shed light on a number of other sensing applications requiring high-speed, densely-multiplexed operations.