Comparative Study of Distributed Acoustic Sensing Responses in Telecommunication Optical Cables

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) leverages optical fibers for acoustic monitoring.
• Telecom cable construction impacts DAS performance due to varying strain transfer efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally compare the DAS signal amplitudes of three commercial telecommunication optical cables.
• To identify which cable types are most suitable for DAS-based monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Benchtop testing with a Rayleigh backscattering-based interrogator.
• Controlled laboratory conditions to isolate strain-induced variations.
• Comparative analysis of signal amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Main Results:

• Microcable demonstrated the highest spatial peak amplitude (up to 0.029 a.u.) and SNR (up to 79).
• Duct cable yielded lower amplitude (0.00268 a.u.) with a mean SNR of approximately 32.
• Anti-Rodent cable showed low amplitude (0.0018 a.u.) but high mean SNR (≈111) due to a low noise floor in specific runs.

Conclusions:

• Cable construction significantly influences DAS signal characteristics.
• Microcable is a promising candidate for DAS applications requiring high signal amplitude and SNR.
• Findings aid in selecting appropriate telecom cables for effective DAS deployments.