Optical Fibre Sensors for Distributed Process Monitoring
topic
Distributed optical fibre sensing uses Brillouin or Raman scattering measurements along sensing fibres routed through textile machinery to measure temperature or strain distributions at every point along the fibre length, providing spatially continuous process monitoring for stenter oven temperature distribution, heated roll surface temperature profiles, and tension distribution in wide-web processing equipment where discrete sensor arrays provide inadequate spatial resolution.
Role
Provides spatially resolved process parameter measurement along extended machine dimensions that discrete sensor arrays cannot achieve economically, enabling the detection of localised temperature non-uniformities in stenters and heated rolls that would cause locally different fabric treatment effects manifesting as visible across-width quality variation, with distributed sensing being particularly valuable for identifying hot and cold spots in wide finishing equipment where sensor count for adequate discrete coverage would be prohibitive.