City Research Online

Abstract

An operational, Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)-based sensing system, specifically designed to monitor conditions in a harsh industrial environment is reported. The sensors used were placed inside tanks with high levels of methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) gases and high relative humidity in the North Head sewage treatment plant in Sydney, Australia. The sensor system was developed primarily to monitor the effect of >98% relative humidity and temperature changes on the corrosion rates of various materials inside the tanks. Data have been obtained from the use of the system for eight months: these have been correlated with key climate data including the changing weather conditions experienced during the continued monitoring activity. The sensor system specifically developed has been shown to be sufficiently robust to work well, and safely, in such a harsh environment (due to the gaseous H 2 S and CH 4 present) with no signs of deterioration of the sensors or of the signals obtained from the system. The remote operation through flexible data transmission has allowed continuous and up-to-date monitoring of the conditions inside the tanks.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Publisher Keywords:	Fibre Bragg grating, humidity sensor, anaerobic digester
Subjects:	T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
Departments:	School of Science & Technology > Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

Export

Downloads