Grant: Idea to Innovation

Inspired by the fact that optics and photonics have been declared as key technologies for the 21st century by both the American Research Council and the European Union, the Engineering Directorate of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has identified the development of optical sensors for engineering systems as one of the strategic areas. To address this challenging area of interest, the research group at the University of Waterloo has invented a novel optical sensor that enables simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain at one location of physical domains. This NSERC-I2I project aims at the enhancement and standardization of the developed dual-parameter fiber sensor to make it ready for testing in real-world applications, e.g., measurement of temperature/strain in harsh environment of turbine generators. The need to measure multiple physical parameters (e.g., Temperature and pressure) of production/processing/structural systems is of prime importance to many sectors. This requirement can be addressed through the developed dual-parameter optical fiber sensor, which would enable the monitoring of two physical parameters at one location that usually be done by two regular bulky sensing systems. This alternative can potentially simplify measurement systems and save tremendous amount of money for end-users. The proposed developments will focus on six key objectives: (i) optimization of the sensor design; (ii) development of test rig for sensor calibration; (iii) development of protocols for sensor packaging; iv) development of interactive software for data collection; v) performance evaluation in real world applications; and vi) guidelines for mass production of the developed dual-parameter sensor. The invented sensor would offer a new optical-based fiber sensor to market. It could potentially reduce the development costs for many engineering systems where the potential of miniaturization of the systems would be promoted. This sensor can potentially be used in many sectors such as, but not limited to, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, defence and oil/gas industries.