Distributed temperature measurement on a power cable using optical fibres incorporated in the construction

This paper covers work carried out by BICC Cables on a composite optical/power cable with two standard telecommunication optical fibre cables incorporated within the construction. Tests were made to assess the effectiveness of a distributed temperature sensor (DTS-80) supplied by York Sensors. This measurement technique relies on the fundamental scattering properties of an optical fibre to determine the value of temperature. The principle of operation is based on optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR)