Abstract

In this paper, we present a truly distributed sensing modality based on a cascaded weak reflector coaxial cable structure (CWR-CCS) for large strain measurements. Compared to an optical fiber, a coaxial cable is much more robust and has a larger strain capability to survive harsh conditions, which may enable important applications in structural health monitoring. By drilling serial shallow holes into a commercial flexible coaxial cable perturbing the local impedance along its axial direction, CWRs along the coaxial cable are introduced due to impedance mismatch, forming the CWR-CCS. Gating a certain number of sequential reflectors in the time-domain reflection signal of the CWR-CCS followed by Fourier transform, a localized multi-beam interferometer is revealed, which serves as a point sensor. By monitoring the spectral shift of the multi-beam interferometer, localized disturbances can be determined. By sliding the time gate along the entire coaxial cable, distributed sensing is realized. Large strain measurements (up to 18000 με) are conducted to verify the utility of the proposed CWR-CCS as a sensing modality. The proposed distributed sensing configuration has the advantages of ease of fabrication, robustness, large strain survivability, and ease of signal interrogation.

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Publication Status

Early Access

Keywords and Phrases

cascaded weak reflector; Coaxial cable sensor; Coaxial cables; distributed strain sensing; large strain measurement; microwave device; Optical fiber cables; Optical fiber sensors; Reflection; Sensors; Strain; Time-domain analysis

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1558-1748; 1530-437X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2024

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