Bandweaver utilise fiber optic sensing technology in their solutions. This technology section will explain the DTS and DAS systems used by Bandweaver.

Fiber Optic Sensing Technology Explained

Distributed Temperature Sensing

Distributed temperature sensing systems or DTS systems are fiber optic based instruments which measure temperature along the length of the fiber optic cable. Essentially, they turn the entire length of cable into a sensor. The unique feature of a distributed temperature sensing system is that it provides a continuous (or distributed) temperature profile along the length of the sensing cable rather than discrete sensing points which must be pre-determined.

DTS systems contain a pulsed laser which sends in an approximately 1m pulse into the fibre optic.  As the pulse travels along the length of the fiber optic, it interacts with the glass. Due to imperfections in the glass, some of the original laser pulse is reflected back to towards the DTS system. By analysing the reflected light, the DTS is able to calculate the temperature and the location of the event.

Bandweaver manufacture two DTS systems; FireLaser and T-Laser.

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Distributed Acoustic Sensing

Distributed acoustic sensing systems or DAS systems are similar to DTS systems, however, these fiber optic optoelectronic instruments measure acoustic interactions along the length of a fiber optic sensing cable. The unique feature of a distributed acoustic sensing system is that it provides a continuous (or distributed) temperature profile along the length of the sensing cable and not at discrete sensing points. Typically DAS technology uses a standard telecoms fiber optic cable and specialised fibers are only required at elevated temperatures. The sensing fiber is typically based on single-mode fibers although there are some specialised applications that use multimode sensing fibers.

Bandweaver’s DAS system is Horizon.

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