Uncertainty Analysis and Metrological Validation of Raman Distributed Temperature Measurements in a Full-Scale Test...

Raman Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) provides spatially distributed temperature measurements along optical fibers and is increasingly used for monitoring large-scale infrastructures and experimental facilities, enabling three-dimensional reconstruction of temperature fields. However, such measurements involve specific implementation constraints and may be affected by significant errors, with uncertainties influenced by factors such as calibration, environmental conditions, spatial resolution effects, and fiber positioning. Ensuring the metrological validity of Raman-based DTS measurements therefore requires a rigorous quantification of the associated measurement uncertainties. In this work, a complete uncertainty analysis of Raman-based DTS measurements is performed following the principles of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). A measurement model describing the relationship between Raman backscattered signals and temperature is established, and all relevant uncertainty sources are identified and quantified. The methodology is applied to a full-scale experimental facility equipped with a DTS interrogator and a dedicated calibration setup. Uncertainty propagation is performed using both first-order Taylor series expansion and Monte Carlo simulation, providing consistent results. The analysis shows that calibration uncertainty, spatial dispersion of the temperature field and fiber positioning within the reconstructed temperature field represent the dominant contributions to the combined uncertainty. The proposed approach provides a rigorous framework for the metrological qualification of Raman DTS systems and offers practical guidance for improving measurement reliability in distributed temperature monitoring applications.