Robotic fiber optic internal deployment tool for pipeline integrity monitoring

摘要

In recent years, optical fiber sensing has emerged as an attractive technology for spatially and temporally distributed monitoring of various types of infrastructure, including pipelines. This technology can provide information such as distributed temperature, corrosion, acoustic, strain, and even vibrations which can be used in real-time monitoring of operational processes or to identify early signatures of impending faults or failures. In this paper, we successfully demonstrate the installation of fiber optic cable inside a pipeline using a long-distance robotic Fiber Optic Deployment Tool (FODT). The FODT is a self-contained semiautonomous robotic device that can propel in a range of pipe diameters to install a fiber optic cable inside the pipeline. It can be controlled remotely, and the current version offers a maximum installation speed of 15 feet/minute. In this demonstration, a distributed fiber cable was installed in a 50’ long, 8.25″ inner diameter steel pipe. The proposed FODT, when combined with distributed sensing, will be an attractive and promising technology for monitoring of oil and gas, water pipelines, and the structural health of pipeline rehabilitation systems.