Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading

Due to the exponential growth in offshore renewable energies and structures such as floating offshore wind turbines and wave power converters, the research and engineering in this field is experiencing exceptional development. This emergence of offshore renewable energy requires power cables which a...

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Main Authors: Monssef Drissi-Habti, Neginhal Abhijit, Manepalli Sriharsha, Valter Carvelli, Pierre-Jean Bonamy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/7/2444
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author Monssef Drissi-Habti
Neginhal Abhijit
Manepalli Sriharsha
Valter Carvelli
Pierre-Jean Bonamy
author_facet Monssef Drissi-Habti
Neginhal Abhijit
Manepalli Sriharsha
Valter Carvelli
Pierre-Jean Bonamy
author_sort Monssef Drissi-Habti
collection DOAJ
description Due to the exponential growth in offshore renewable energies and structures such as floating offshore wind turbines and wave power converters, the research and engineering in this field is experiencing exceptional development. This emergence of offshore renewable energy requires power cables which are usually made up of copper to transport this energy ashore. These power cables are critical structures that must withstand harsh environmental conditions, handling, and shipping, at high seas which can cause copper wires to deform well above the limit of proportionality and consequently break. Copper, being an excellent electric conductor, has, however, very weak mechanical properties. If plasticity propagates inside copper not only will the mechanical properties be affected, but the electrical properties are also disrupted. Constantly monitoring such large-scale structures can be carried out by providing continuous strain using fiber-optic sensors (FOSs). The embedding of optical fibers within the cables (not within the phase) is practiced. Nevertheless, these optical fibers are first introduced into a cylinder of larger diameter than the optical fiber before this same fiber is embedded within the insulator surrounding the phases. Therefore, this type of embedding can in no way give a precise idea of the true deformation of the copper wires inside the phase. In this article, a set of numerical simulations are carried-out on a single phase (we are not yet working on the whole cable) with the aim of conceptualizing the placement of FOSs that will monitor strain and temperature within the conductor. It is well known that copper wire must never exceed temperatures above 90 °C, as this will result in shutdown of the whole system and therefore result in heavy maintenance, which would be a real catastrophe, economically speaking. This research explores the option of embedding sensors in several areas of the phase and how this can enable obtaining strain values that are representative of what really is happening in the conductor. It is, therefore, the primary objective of the current preliminary model to try to prove that the principle of embedding sensors in between copper wires can be envisaged, in particular to obtain an accurate idea about strain tensor of helical ones (multi-parameter strain sensing). The challenge is to ensure that they are not plastically deformed and hence able to transport electricity without exceeding or even becoming closer to 90 °C (fear of shutdown). The research solely focuses on mechanical aspects of the sensors. There are certainly some others, pertaining to sensors physics, instrumentation, and engineering, that are of prime importance, too. The upstream strategy of this research is to come up with a general concept that can be refined later by including, step by step, all the aspects listed above.
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spelling doaj.art-833a8f72534f4f0fb60c309b325d313b2023-11-30T23:58:59ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-03-01227244410.3390/s22072444Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile LoadingMonssef Drissi-Habti0Neginhal Abhijit1Manepalli Sriharsha2Valter Carvelli3Pierre-Jean Bonamy4COSYS Department, Université Gustave Eiffel, Champs/Marne, F-77447 Marne-la-Valleée, FranceCOSYS Department, Université Gustave Eiffel, Champs/Marne, F-77447 Marne-la-Valleée, FranceCOSYS Department, Université Gustave Eiffel, Champs/Marne, F-77447 Marne-la-Valleée, FranceDepartment A.B.C., Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, ItalyMEDYSYS, 91400 Orsay, FranceDue to the exponential growth in offshore renewable energies and structures such as floating offshore wind turbines and wave power converters, the research and engineering in this field is experiencing exceptional development. This emergence of offshore renewable energy requires power cables which are usually made up of copper to transport this energy ashore. These power cables are critical structures that must withstand harsh environmental conditions, handling, and shipping, at high seas which can cause copper wires to deform well above the limit of proportionality and consequently break. Copper, being an excellent electric conductor, has, however, very weak mechanical properties. If plasticity propagates inside copper not only will the mechanical properties be affected, but the electrical properties are also disrupted. Constantly monitoring such large-scale structures can be carried out by providing continuous strain using fiber-optic sensors (FOSs). The embedding of optical fibers within the cables (not within the phase) is practiced. Nevertheless, these optical fibers are first introduced into a cylinder of larger diameter than the optical fiber before this same fiber is embedded within the insulator surrounding the phases. Therefore, this type of embedding can in no way give a precise idea of the true deformation of the copper wires inside the phase. In this article, a set of numerical simulations are carried-out on a single phase (we are not yet working on the whole cable) with the aim of conceptualizing the placement of FOSs that will monitor strain and temperature within the conductor. It is well known that copper wire must never exceed temperatures above 90 °C, as this will result in shutdown of the whole system and therefore result in heavy maintenance, which would be a real catastrophe, economically speaking. This research explores the option of embedding sensors in several areas of the phase and how this can enable obtaining strain values that are representative of what really is happening in the conductor. It is, therefore, the primary objective of the current preliminary model to try to prove that the principle of embedding sensors in between copper wires can be envisaged, in particular to obtain an accurate idea about strain tensor of helical ones (multi-parameter strain sensing). The challenge is to ensure that they are not plastically deformed and hence able to transport electricity without exceeding or even becoming closer to 90 °C (fear of shutdown). The research solely focuses on mechanical aspects of the sensors. There are certainly some others, pertaining to sensors physics, instrumentation, and engineering, that are of prime importance, too. The upstream strategy of this research is to come up with a general concept that can be refined later by including, step by step, all the aspects listed above.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/7/2444smart compositestrainfiber optic sensor (FOS)cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)multi-axial strainssmart energy transport cable
spellingShingle Monssef Drissi-Habti
Neginhal Abhijit
Manepalli Sriharsha
Valter Carvelli
Pierre-Jean Bonamy
Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
Sensors
smart composite
strain
fiber optic sensor (FOS)
cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)
multi-axial strains
smart energy transport cable
title Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
title_full Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
title_fullStr Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
title_full_unstemmed Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
title_short Concept of Placement of Fiber-Optic Sensor in Smart Energy Transport Cable under Tensile Loading
title_sort concept of placement of fiber optic sensor in smart energy transport cable under tensile loading
topic smart composite
strain
fiber optic sensor (FOS)
cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)
multi-axial strains
smart energy transport cable
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/7/2444
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