Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage

A tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) hydrogen sensor coated with a palladium (Pd) membrane by the electroless plating method is proposed in this paper. A uniform layer of Pd metal is fabricated in aqueous solutions by the chemical coating method, which is used as the sensitive element to detect the c...

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Main Authors: Jiachen Yu, Zhenlin Wu, Xin Yang, Xiuyou Han, Mingshan Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4478
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author Jiachen Yu
Zhenlin Wu
Xin Yang
Xiuyou Han
Mingshan Zhao
author_facet Jiachen Yu
Zhenlin Wu
Xin Yang
Xiuyou Han
Mingshan Zhao
author_sort Jiachen Yu
collection DOAJ
description A tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) hydrogen sensor coated with a palladium (Pd) membrane by the electroless plating method is proposed in this paper. A uniform layer of Pd metal is fabricated in aqueous solutions by the chemical coating method, which is used as the sensitive element to detect the change of the surrounding refractive index (SRI) caused by hydrogen absorption. The change in SRI causes an unsynchronized change of the cladding modes and the Bragg peak in the TFBG transmission spectrum, thereby eliminating the cross-sensitivity due to membrane expansion and is able to simultaneously monitor the presence of cracks in the pipe, as well as the hydrogen leakage. By subtracting the wavelength shift caused by fiber expansion, the change of SRI, i.e., the information from the H<sub>2</sub> level, can be separately obtained. The drifted wavelength is measured for the H<sub>2</sub> concentration below the hydrogen explosion limit between 1% and 4%. The chemical-based coating has the advantages of a low cost, a simple operation, and being suitable for coating on long fiber structures. The proposed sensor is able to detect the H<sub>2</sub> signal in 5 min at a 1% H<sub>2</sub> concentration. The proposed sensor is proved to be able to monitor the hydrogen level without the cross-sensitivity of temperature variation and expansion strains, so could be a good candidate for security applications in industry.
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spelling doaj.art-6a09066077274cc8beb5c88c675e2cd52022-12-22T04:22:20ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-12-011812447810.3390/s18124478s18124478Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen LeakageJiachen Yu0Zhenlin Wu1Xin Yang2Xiuyou Han3Mingshan Zhao4School of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, ChinaSchool of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, ChinaDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UKSchool of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, ChinaSchool of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, ChinaA tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) hydrogen sensor coated with a palladium (Pd) membrane by the electroless plating method is proposed in this paper. A uniform layer of Pd metal is fabricated in aqueous solutions by the chemical coating method, which is used as the sensitive element to detect the change of the surrounding refractive index (SRI) caused by hydrogen absorption. The change in SRI causes an unsynchronized change of the cladding modes and the Bragg peak in the TFBG transmission spectrum, thereby eliminating the cross-sensitivity due to membrane expansion and is able to simultaneously monitor the presence of cracks in the pipe, as well as the hydrogen leakage. By subtracting the wavelength shift caused by fiber expansion, the change of SRI, i.e., the information from the H<sub>2</sub> level, can be separately obtained. The drifted wavelength is measured for the H<sub>2</sub> concentration below the hydrogen explosion limit between 1% and 4%. The chemical-based coating has the advantages of a low cost, a simple operation, and being suitable for coating on long fiber structures. The proposed sensor is able to detect the H<sub>2</sub> signal in 5 min at a 1% H<sub>2</sub> concentration. The proposed sensor is proved to be able to monitor the hydrogen level without the cross-sensitivity of temperature variation and expansion strains, so could be a good candidate for security applications in industry.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4478optical fiber hydrogen sensorpalladium membraneelectroless platingtilted fiber Bragg grating
spellingShingle Jiachen Yu
Zhenlin Wu
Xin Yang
Xiuyou Han
Mingshan Zhao
Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
Sensors
optical fiber hydrogen sensor
palladium membrane
electroless plating
tilted fiber Bragg grating
title Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
title_full Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
title_fullStr Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
title_full_unstemmed Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
title_short Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Using Chemical Plating of a Palladium Membrane for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage
title_sort tilted fiber bragg grating sensor using chemical plating of a palladium membrane for the detection of hydrogen leakage
topic optical fiber hydrogen sensor
palladium membrane
electroless plating
tilted fiber Bragg grating
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/12/4478
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