Development of long range optical fiber sensors for composite submarine power cable maintenance

Long range optical fiber sensors for power cable maintenance have been incorporated into a newly developed 500 kV DC submarine power cable. Optical fibers are used for a distributed temperature sensor and a mechanical damage sensor. The distributed temperature sensor provides data on temperature at distances up to 30 km, and the mechanical damage sensor locates extemal damage points on the submarine cable. After each characteristic was investigated, optical fiber sensors were incorporated on the submarine power cable. This composite cable was evaluated by various mechanical tests. The results were satisfactory and showed the composite cable to be of practical use. This new approach of incorporating optical fiber sensors in the cable structure brings a new sophistication and reliability to cable maintenance.