Partial Discharge Condition Monitoring System Measurement Techniques

To measure physical parameters like displacement, pressure, temperature etc. in environment which is challenging which may suffer from microwave or electromagnetic interference is usually solved by making use of Fiber optics sensing. Apart from being extremely perfect, there are many other advantages of Fiber optics sensors. These benefits are:

• 1  They are very highly précised.
• 2   They are very intrinsic and electrically safe.
• 3   They are minimally invasive as they use Nano technology.
• 4   They are immune to radio frequencies.
  

5.      Microwave radiation and electromagnetic interferences.

These optic sensors use two types of measurement techniques which are Fiber brag and fabric Perrot.

Fiber-Perot Sensors:

These sensors work on the principal of reflection of light between two surfaces. These sensors help in measuring force, load, displacement, strain, refractive index, pressure and temperature. The light source in passed through multi-mode optical fiber. Through the 2 reflecting surfaces the light is bounced so many times till it reaches the sensor tip. This helps in measuring the physical parameters.

Fiber-Bragg Sensors:

In this sensor measurement technology, the refractive index in periodically altered to filter various wavelengths. This information is used for decoding sensor measurement. This technology is also called as Partial Discharge Condition Monitoring System. This technology allows measuring displacement, pressure, temperature and more that could be placed in various hazardous environments the information is carried by the sensor to data acquisition and signal conditioner system from one end to the other end of the fiber.

This technology allows connection between multiple sensors which can be connected from a single fiber. This is called daisy chain style. The other end of the sensor sends the information of measurement to optical bandwidth which is already predefined. These sensors are suited well in situations where multiple measurement points are required. But if you use this technique in big structures like civil engineering projects, tall buildings, tunnels and bridges then there are certain key physical parameters which should be noted properly. Multiplexing capability in single optic Fiber is also offered by this technique. These sensors can easily locate the measurement units from 10km away also.

These sensors are used for various applications. These applications can be seen in three different markets which are energy markets, aerospace and defense market, process control and medical market.  In medical market it is use for:

1.      Cardiac guide wire which is mounted for pressure monitoring.

• 1       Intrauterine pressure monitoring.
  
• 2       Intracranial pressure monitoring.
  
• 3       Intravascular blood pressure monitoring
  
• 4       Patient monitoring in MRI.
  

6.      They are also used in two ways i.e. disposable or standard. (Disposable sensors are used for meeting regulatory requirements like for avoiding cross contamination or spread of infection to operators or in equipment and cleaning validation).

In Aerospace & defense market it is used for characterization of electro explosive devices i.e. high speed temperature. In process control market it is used for strain and pressure measurement, temperature, refractive index for industrial environment. In Energy market it is used for electrical power transformer in hot spot winding temperature monitoring.