2. Distributed Fiber Optic Acoustic Emission Sensor

A distributed / multiplexed fiber optic sensor has been developed for detection of Acoustic Emission signals emanating from various points of large structural systems. Among the advantages of the fiber optic based sensing over the PZT based sensors is distributed sensing capability, and operations in environments with electromagnetic and electrical interferences.

Fig.1 Fiber optic distributed acoustic emission sensor setup

Fig.2 Typical acoustic emission signals from single channel and the distributed system.