Quasi-distributed hydrostatic pressure sensor based on a polarization-maintaining fiber

Kalugin E.E., Kulikov N.А., Strigalev, V.E., Mukhtubaev A.B.

For Russian citation (Opticheskii Zhurnal):

Калугин Е.Э., Куликов Н.А., Стригалев В.Е., Мухтубаев А.Б. Квазираспределенный датчик гидростатического давления на двулучепреломляющем волокне // Оптический журнал. 2026. Т. 93. № 11. С. 74–84. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-11-74-84

Kalugin E.E., Kulikov N.A., Strigalev V.E., Mukhtubaev A.B. Quasi-distributed hydrostatic pressure sensor based on a polarization-maintaining fiber [in Russian] // Opticheskii Zhurnal. 2026. V. 93. № 11. P. 74–84. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-11-74-84

For citation (Journal of Optical Technology):

Abstract:

Subject of research. Quasi-distributed hydrostatic pressure measurement system. Objective. Development and experimental validation of a quasi-distributed fiber-optic sensor network based on birefringent optical fiber for unambiguous monitoring of hydrostatic pressure profiles. Methods. The transformation of compressive force into the polarization extinction ratio of linearly polarized radiation within a birefringent optical fiber is described using the general theory of coupled polarization modes. The conversion of fluid pressure into local transverse compression of the birefringent optical fiber is executed by a custom-designed sensing element system. Numerical evaluation of the polarization extinction ratio was performed via low-coherence interferometry. Main results. The validity of applying low-coherence interferometry to hydrostatic pressure measurement was analyzed. A method was proposed to extend the hydrostatic pressure measurement range up to 300 kPa. This method eliminates the phase ambiguity in the pressure dependence of the polarization extinction ratio by utilizing a designed system of sensing elements with two sections featuring distinct orientations of the birefringent optical fiber’s polarization axes relative to the compressive force vector. The developed quasi-distributed system was implemented to determine hydrostatic pressure with an error not exceeding 16.7 kPa. Practical significance. The proposed method for extending the hydrostatic pressure measurement range enables the precise detection of minute pressure variations. The developed quasi-distributed system is well-suited for integration into laboratory research and industrial technological processes for fluid pressure monitoring.

Keywords:

polarization-maintaining fiber, hydrostatic pressure, polarization extinction ratio, fiber-optic sensor, polarization Michelson interferometer, polarization mode coupling

Acknowledgements:

this work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant № 25-12-20017, and by the St. Petersburg Science Foundation.

OCIS codes: 060.2370, 060.2420, 120.3180, 120.5475

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