Distributed sensing in an optical fiber network
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsDavid Andrew Barfoot, Michel Joseph LeBlanc, Neal Gregory Skinner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A distributed optical fiber sensing system is provided. The system can include an interrogator, a transmission optical fiber, a sensing optical fiber, and a reflector. Each of the transmission optical fiber and the sensing optical fiber includes at least one circulator. The reflector is optically coupled to the transmission optical fiber for sensing separate regions along the sensing optical fiber.
Claims21
(canceled)
The system of claim 7, wherein the sensing optical fiber is divided into the separate regions, each region having a smaller length than a total length of the sensing optical fiber.
The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one circulator is a three-port circulator.
The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one circulator is a four-port circulator and is coupled to both the transmission optical fiber and the sensing optical fiber.
(canceled)
A system comprising:
- an interrogator that includes an optical transmitter and an optical receiver;
- a transmission optical fiber and a sensing optical fiber, each of the transmission optical fiber and the sensing optical fiber including at least one circulator;
- and
- a reflector optically coupled to the transmission optical fiber with which separate regions along the sensing optical fiber are sensed,
- wherein the reflector includes a plurality of reflectors, each reflector of the plurality of reflectors being associated with a separate region and with a distinctive optical wavelength,
- wherein the reflector associated with a first wavelength is responsive to an optical signal in the first wavelength from the optical transmitter by reflecting a reflected optical signal that includes the optical signal to a first circulator preceding the reflector along the transmission optical fiber and is transparent to optical signals of wavelengths other than the first wavelength by allowing the optical signals to pass through the reflector, wherein the first circulator is responsive to the reflected optical signal by routing the reflected optical signal to a second circulator of the sensing optical fiber for creating a backscatter optical signal with a selected region to be sensed and that is received by the optical receiver and measured.
A method, comprising:
- transmitting an optical signal having a selected optical wavelength associated with a desired region onto a transmission optical fiber;
- reflecting the optical signal by a reflector of the transmission optical fiber and that is associated with the selected optical wavelength to generate a reflected optical signal;
- routing, by a circulator that immediately precedes the reflector, the reflected optical signal to a sensing optical fiber divided into multiple regions that includes the desired region;
- routing the reflected optical signal into the desired region to generate a backscatter signal;
- and
- receiving the backscatter signal from the sensing optical fiber for measuring a parameter of the desired region.
A system comprising:
- a transmission optical fiber;
- a sensing optical fiber divided into separate regions;
- a reflector associated with an optical wavelength and coupled to the transmission optical fiber;
- and
- a circulator immediately preceding the reflector for routing a reflected optical signal from the reflector to a selected region of the separate regions in the sensing optical fiber with which the selected region can be sensed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.