Our fiber optic sensing solutions can be found across multiple industries and locations. In this post we will share how our products are applied for structural health monitoring of a bridge, wind turbine blades, partial discharge detection and underwater acoustics.
When we monitor bridge health
Our NovaFAZ SHM solution is FBG based measuring system and a must-have when a combination of actionable data with a long-term system’s reliability is required. Bridge KW51 located in Belgium, is a 117m long railway bridge close to the city Leuven in Belgium. It had NovaFAZ SHM system installed over a year to monitor dynamic macrostrain. Read more about the project in the paper by Anastasopoulos D., De Roeck G. and Reynders E.P.B. here.
When we monitor partial discharge
World’s only fiber optic Acoustic Emission system OptimAE is capable of detecting ultrasonic early signs of fatigue using patented fiber technology. As fiber optic is completely passive, OptimAE PD is perfectly suitable to detect partial discharges in high voltage fields, as it is immune to electromagnetic interference. Having OptimAE as a real time guard, you ensure partial discharge detection at an earliest stage when standard checks would not give sufficient info.
When we monitor blades of wind turbine
Fiber optic solutions from Optics11 can also be found in the fields of wind turbines. Monitoring blades of wind turbine for possible deformation and cracks and being able to detect them as early as possible helps asset owners to plan maintenance and prevent severe damage.
Lubomir Curilla – our head of production had a chance to put his foot inside a wind turbine and climb 80 meter ladder to reach the blades. Our system was located right in the wind turbine, spinning together with the blades while sensors were distributed on the blades surface. As the solution is purely optical, it is safe under unstable weather conditions (eg. protected against lighting) and does not require electricity at the sensing locations.
When we equip submarines with optical thin-line array detection system
OTADES as the most recent releases in our product portfolio, is a result of collaboration between Optics11, Dutch ministry of Defense (Defensie Materieel Organisatie) and TNO for the last years. Its main purpose is to facilitate primary mission of submarines: surveillance and intelligence by using acoustic towed arrays to detect any possible threats. Fiber optic arrays allowed us to significantly decrease the size of the array, ensure its complete passiveness to liquids, electromagnetic interference and complete safety of using it underwater. The project has received recognition from the NMT – Netherlands Maritime Technology centre and nominated as the top 3 innovations in the maritime industry in the Netherlands. Read more about OTADES here
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