Development of a FBG Stress Sensor for Geostress Measurement Using RSR Method in Deep Soft Fractured Rock Mass

Abstract

The rheological stress recovery (RSR) method was proposed to obtain measurements of in-situ stress. Rock stress can be evaluated by monitoring the recovery process of stress sensors embedded in rock mass. In order to achieve this application, a novel stress sensor employing the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technique was designed and manufactured. This stress sensor consisted of three parts: A sensing spherical head, connecting rod, and coupler box. In the sensing spherical head, six independent pressure sensing units were assembled together with a temperature compensation unit. In addition, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology was adopted to ensure that only one fiber splice for each stress sensor is output. The fiber splicing of the sensing units was assembled in the coupler box. The transformation equations from the six pressure sensing units to the stress sensor were established. Furthermore, a calibrating device for the stress sensor was designed, and the general calibration and long-term stability tests were carried out to investigate the characteristic indexes (maximum range, full-range output, and sensitivity) and measurement error (zero drift index, hysteresis index, and repeatability index). Measurement errors showed that the degrees of linearity, zero drift, hysteresis, and repeatability were all below 1.5%. The stability test indicated that the creep of the stress sensor can gradually stabilize in 24 days, and the errors were less than 1.5%. As a result, the stress sensor developed here satisfies the requirements for the RSR method and can be used in field.