Vibration distribution measuring system, vibration waveform analysis method, vibration waveform analyzing device, and analyzing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11920974-B2
Application number	US-201915734115-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 23, 2019
Priority date	Jun 4, 2018
Publication date	Mar 5, 2024
Grant date	Mar 5, 2024

Abstract

A vibration distribution measurement system includes a frequency sweep light source that outputs frequency sweep light, an optical splitter that splits the frequency sweep light into probe light and local light, an optical mixer that mixes backscattered light from the sensing fiber as signal light with the local light, the backscattered light being obtained by causing the probe light to be incident on the sensing fiber, and an analysis unit that analyzes a beat signal obtained from output light of the optical mixer. The analysis unit estimates a distance offset from a measurement result obtained by measuring a distribution waveform of the signal light by measuring the beat signal at a measurement time sufficiently shorter than a cycle of the vibration of the sensing fiber, and measures a distribution of a vibration at any position by compensating for the distance offset.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vibration distribution measurement system for measuring a distribution of a vibration applied to a sensing fiber, the system comprising:
a frequency sweep light source configured to output frequency sweep light;
an optical splitter configured to split the frequency sweep light into probe light and local light;
an optical mixer configured to mix backscattered light from the sensing fiber as signal light with the local light, the backscattered light being obtained by causing the probe light to be incident on the sensing fiber; and
an analysis unit comprising a processor, the analysis unit configured to analyze a beat signal obtained from output light of the optical mixer,
wherein the analysis unit estimates a distance offset from a measurement result obtained from a distribution waveform of the beat signal by measuring the beat signal at a measurement time sufficiently shorter than a cycle of the vibration at the sensing fiber, and measures a distribution of a vibration at any position by using the distance offset
wherein the distribution waveform is an electric field waveform at each distortion measurement interval defined from a light incident end and obtained by Fourier transforming the beat signal from the sensing fiber.

2. The vibration distribution measurement system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the analysis unit estimates the distance offset due to the vibration by using cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and a reference waveform, and corrects a distance of a distortion measurement interval.

3. The vibration distribution measurement system according to claim 2 ,
wherein a distribution waveform of the sensing fiber in a vibration state is used as the reference waveform for a vibration having a cycle longer than a frequency sweep time of the frequency sweep light.

4. The vibration distribution measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the distance offset represents fluctuation of a distance from the light incident end to the distortion measurement interval due to the vibration, and being calculated from a frequency offset, the frequency offset being from a peak of autocorrelation in a reference waveform to a peak of a cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and the reference waveform; and
the reference waveform is one of the distribution waveforms within the distortion measurement interval to be measured.

5. A vibration waveform analysis method of, by a computer, analyzing a waveform of a vibration applied to a sensing fiber, the method including analyzing a distribution waveform of a beat signal obtained by mixing backscattered light from the sensing fiber as signal light with local light, the backscattered light being obtained by causing probe light to be incident on the sensing fiber, the probe light and the local light being obtained by splitting frequency sweep light, the method comprising:
estimating a distance offset due to a vibration by using cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and a reference waveform, and correcting a distance from a light incident end to a vibration measurement interval,
wherein the distribution waveform is an electric field waveform at each vibration measurement interval and obtained by Fourier transforming the beat signal from the sensing fiber;
obtaining a frequency offset to calculate the distance offset at a measurement time, the frequency offset being from a peak of autocorrelation in the reference waveform to a peak of the cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and the reference waveform; and
obtaining the waveform of the vibration based on the distance corrected by the distance offset.

6. An analysis program causing a computer to execute the vibration waveform analysis method described in claim 5 .

7. The vibration waveform analysis method of claim 5 , wherein the reference waveform is one of the distribution waveforms within the vibration measurement interval to be measured; and
the distance offset represents fluctuation of the distance from the light incident end to the vibration measurement interval due to the vibration.

8. A vibration waveform analysis device for analyzing a waveform of a vibration applied to a sensing fiber, the device analyzing a distribution waveform of a beat signal obtained by mixing backscattered light from the sensing fiber as signal light with local light, the backscattered light being obtained by causing probe light to be incident on the sensing fiber, and the probe light and the local light being obtained by splitting frequency sweep light, the device comprising:
a processor configured to estimate a distance offset due to a vibration by using cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and a reference waveform, and correct a distance from a light incident end to a vibration measurement interval;
wherein the distribution waveform is an electric field waveform at each vibration measurement interval and obtained by Fourier transforming the beat signal from the sensing fiber;
the processor further configured to obtain a frequency offset to calculate the distance offset at a measurement time, the frequency offset being from a peak of autocorrelation in the reference waveform to a peak of the cross-correlation between the distribution waveform and the reference waveform; and
obtain the waveform of the vibration based on the distance corrected by the distance offset.

Assignees

• Nippon Telegraph & Telephone

Inventors

• Okamoto Tatsuya
• Iida Daisuke
• Toge Kunihiro
• Manabe Tetsuya

Classifications

• G01H9/004 Primary

  using fibre optic sensors (light guides per se G02B6/00, acousto-optical devices specially adapted for gating or modulating in optical wave guides G02F1/125) · CPC title

• G01D5/353

  influencing the transmission properties of an optical fibre · CPC title

• G01D5/35358 Primary

  using backscattering to detect the measured quantity · CPC title