ISSN: 2277-405X
A Comparative Review of Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors for Temperature and Strain Measurement
Paper ID: IJATRD-2026-00039
DOI :
DOI: https://doi.org/10.67750/ijatrd.v3.i2.39Keywords:
Keywords:
Abstract:
Abstract
Distributed optical fiber sensors (DOFS) are an optical fibre stretched into a distributed measurement instrument capable of providing temperature and strain measurements throughout the fibre at thousands of points along its length, from metres to more than one hundred kilometres. This review aims to make a comparative analysis of three main DOFS families based on Rayleigh, Brillouin and Raman scattering, as well as the prevailing interrogation schemes: optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR), phase-sensitive OTDR (φ-OTDR), optical frequency-domain and backscatter reflectometry (OFDR/OBR), Brillouin optical time-domain analysis and reflectometry (BOTDA/BOTDR), and Raman distributed temperature sensing (DTS). In each modality, the physical mechanism of operation, the measurement equations that govern it, and the trade-offs between spatial resolution, sensing range, sensitivity and acquisition speed will be discussed. A consolidated performance comparison, an operating-envelope map and a technology–application suitability analysis are provided which will help select the appropriate technique for a particular deployment. Recent developments of pulse coding, distributed amplification, and machine learning based signal processing are reviewed, and the remaining challenges of temperature–strain cross-sensitivity, system cost, and calibration are discussed.
How to Cite
Palhewar, S. (2026, September 29).
A Comparative Review of Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors for Temperature and Strain Measurement.
https://ijatrd.org/en/article/2026-00039
References:
References
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