The brake linkage of a hoisting machine is a very important component determining the safety of
the hoisting machine’s entire braking system. It is subject to weekly inspections. However, an efficiency
test of brake performance is carried out every 6 months. Once every 3 years, a test must be carried out by
an appraiser who pays particular attention to the executive and control components of the brakes as well
as the strain - brake system and brake release components. The legal provisions regulating the testing
of braking system linkages are not precise. So far, the control has been based on random measurement
of strains using electrical resistance strain gauges stuck to the surface of the linkage. A new method
for measuring the strains of the linkage has been proposed in the work. It is based on fibre optic strain
sensors with Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBG). They are mounted using specially designed and tested holders
for mounting on the brake linkage. They provide quick assembly and the measurement of strain in the
direction parallel to the axis of the linkage. The structure of the holder also allows for the measurement
in 4 positions turned every 90 relative to one another. Such a measurement enables a comprehensive
analysis of strains and stresses in the brake linkage. In the work, it was shown that there is a complex
state of strain and stress in the brake linkage. The previous procedures for linkage testing are inadequate
in relation to this condition. An experimental and numerical method was proposed to assess the state
of linkage stress. It should constitute the basis for the decision of the appraiser to allow the linkage for
further use. The method proposed in the work also allows for continuous measurements of linkage strains
as well as dynamic braking tests.
An optimal sensor placement methodology is implemented and herein proposed for SHM model-assisted design and analysis purposes. The kernel of this approach analysis is a genetic-based algorithm providing the sensor network layout by optimizing the probability of detection (PoD) function while, in this preliminary phase, a classic strain energy approach is adopted as well established damage detection criteria. The layout of the sensor network is assessed with respect to its own capability of detection, parameterized through the PoD. A distributed fiber optic strain sensor is adopted in order to get dense information of the structural strain field. The overall methodology includes an original user-friendly graphical interface (GUI) that reduces the time-to-design costs needs. The proposed methodology is preliminarily validated for isotropic and anisotropic elements.
The low-frequency optical-signal phase noise induced by mechanical vibration of the base occurs in field-deployed fibers. Typical telecommunication data transfer is insensitive to this type of noise but the phenomenon may influence links dedicated to precise Time and Frequency (T&F) fiber-optic transfer that exploit the idea of stabilization of phase or propagation delay of the link. To measure effectiveness of suppression of acoustic noise in such a link, a dedicated measurement setup is necessary. The setup should enable to introduce a low-frequency phase corruption to the optical signal in a controllable way. In the paper, a concept of a setup in which the mechanically induced acoustic-band optical signal phase corruption is described and its own features and measured parameters are presented. Next, the experimental measurement results of the T&F transfer TFTS-2 system’s immunity as a function of the fibre-optic length vs. the acoustic-band noise are presented. Then, the dependency of the system immunity on the location of a noise source along the link is also pointed out.
The paper presents a construction of a system for measurements of pH, concentration of calcium ions and concentration of heavy metal ions in water. Three fiber optic sensors in flow configuration were designed and tested. The system is fully automatic and can be used for water quality monitoring.
This paper focuses on automatic locking of tracking filters used in optical frequency transfer systems. General concept of such a system is briefly described and the problems with its automatic startup, originating in the use of the analog phase locked loop to filter weak, received signal, are discussed. A supervisory circuitry and algorithm to solve these problems is proposed. The frequency of the signal to be filtered is measured indirectly and the output frequency of the tracking filter is monitored. In the case of lack of synchronism (i:e: after the startup) a significant difference of these frequencies is measured and the supervisory algorithm forces the filter to tune into the right frequency and then allows it to synchronize. A system with the proposed solution was implemented and tested experimentally on a fiber optic link with high attenuation and multiple optical connectors. Transient signals during locking were recorded to investigate the system’s behavior in real environment. The system was evaluated in the link causing synchronization losses every 17 min on average. During measurements over 3 days, the whole system was synchronized for over 99.98% of time despite these difficult conditions.
The aim of this work was to induce permanent birefringence both in typical liquid crystal cells and photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) by photo-polymerization. For this purpose three different liquid crystalline materials, namely E7, 5CB, and 6CHBT were combined with a mixture of RM257 monomer and a UV sensitive initiator with the percentage weight less than 10%. Due to the photo-polymerization process it was possible to achieve polymer-stabilized liquid crystal orientation inside LC cells and micro-sized cylindrical glass tubes. In particular, periodic change in spatial molecular orientation was achieved by selective photo-polymerization. Successful results obtained in these simple geometries allowed for the experimental procedure to be repeated in PCFs leading to locally-induced permanent birefringence in PCFs.
This paper deals with an issue of a rotational motion impact on a construction and presents civil engineering applications of a fiber optic rotational seismograph named Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring. It has been designed for a long- term building monitoring and structural rotations’ recording. It is based on the Sagnac effect which enables to detect one-axis rotational motion in a direct way and without any reference system. It enables to detect a rotation component in the wide range of a signal amplitude from 10-8 rad/s to 10 rad/s, as well as a frequency from DC to 1000 Hz. Data presented in this paper show the behavior of a reinforced concrete frame construction on different floors. Several measurements were carried out by placing the applied sensor on different floor levels of a building. The laboratory and in-situ measurements confirmed that Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring is an accurate and suitable device for applications in civil engineering.
An interferometric structure based on a Dual-Resonance Long-Period Grating (DRLPG) within a Fiber Loop Mirror (FLM) is presented in this paper. Its purpose is to measure the refractive index (RI) of liquid analytes. The grating is the RI sensing probe, while the FLM serves as a band-pass filter. Due to the high extinction ratio of the FLM, amplitude measurements can be obtained, allowing implementation of the differential interrogation method to establish the sensitivity of the device. The use of a polarization controller makes it possible to fine-tune the interferometric peaks with respect to the two notches of the DRLPG. Precisely aligned configuration produces a maximum sensitivity of 3871.5 dB/RIU within the RI range of 1.3333 up to 1.3419 with linear sensor response.