Distributed Temperature Sensing for Automatic Blast Detection

Fires in tunnels, whether resulting from collisions, bombs, or other sources, are extremely hazardous. Authorities need immediate notification of the problem to provide quick assistance to passengers and prevent additional collisions. One solution is to place temperature sensors along the length of the tunnel; these sensors can be used to detect blasts and issue an alarm. Placing sensors in a tunnel is challenging, however. Long tunnels require many sensors, which can be prohibitively expensive. After an explosion, the sensor environment is extremely harsh, and the tunnel itself presents challenges to wireless signal transmission. Intelligent Fiber Optics Systems, Corp., IFOS, proposes to meet the demands of this sensing challenge using fiber optic distributed temperature sensors, DTS. In DTS, an optical fiber is used as a distributed sensing element. Fiber-based DTS is extremely robust and can be used in harsh environments. As a passive optical device, it does not require power, and is immune to electromagnetic interference, EMI. DTS is cost-effective and easy to install, and can quickly identify and monitor significant hot spots and their locations in the tunnel, providing key information to rescue and evacuation personnel.