Sensitivity enhancement of fiber optic FBG sensor for acoustic emission

A fiber optic Bragg grating based acoustic emission sensor system is developed to provide on-line monitoring of cracks or leaks in reactor vessel head penetration of nuclear power plants. Various type of fiber Bragg grating sensor including the variable length of sensing part was fabricated and prototype sensor system was tested by using PZT pulser and pencil lead break sources. In this study, we developed a cantilever type fiber sensor to enhance the sensitivity and to resonant frequency control. Two types of sensor attachment were used. First, the fiber Bragg grating sensor was fully bonded to the surface using bonding agent. Second one is that one part of fiber was partially bonded to surface and the other part of fiber will be remained freely. The resonant frequency of the fiber Bragg grating sensor will depend on the length of sensing part. Various kinds of resonant type fiber Bragg grating acoustic emission sensors were developed. Also several efforts were done to enhance the sensitivity of FBG AE sensor, which include FBG spectrum optimization and electrical and optical noise reduction. Finally, based on the self-developed acquisition system, a series of tests demonstrate the ability of the developed fiber sensor system to detect a pencil lead break event and continuous leak signal.