Design and performance characterization of a fibre optical sensor for liquid level monitoring

In order to continuously monitor liquid level in petroleum and chemical industries, a fibre optical sensor based on a microbend effect was designed and manufactured. The sensor is composed of a sensing diaphragm with a hard center, a microbend modulator (a pair of tooth plates), sensing and reference fibres, adjusting bolts, a stainless steel housing, emitting/detecting devices and signal processing circuits. To reduce the effect of temperature, the diaphragm is directly machined instead of welded onto the housing. To eliminate the fluctuation of light source, a reference fibre configured in parallel with the sensing fibre is introduced. Also, the cost was lowered by using standard communication optical fibres. Test results show that this sensor is suited for applications of liquid level measurement especially in fields where electrical isolation and/or electro magnetic interference (EMI) resistance are strictly required.