DESIGNING INTRINSICALLY SAFE FIBER-OPTIC SENSORS
FOR MONITORING THE TECHNICAL CONDITION OF LARGE STRUCTURES 

Elena A. Badeeva, Doctor of technical sciences, associate professor, professor of the sub-department of radio engineering and radio electronic systems, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), badeeva_elena@mail.ru
Vladislav A. Badeev, Research assistant, Nanotechnology of Fiber-Optic Systems Scientific and Technical Center, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), vladbadeev4464@gmail.com
Tatyana I. Murashkina, Doctor of technical sciences, professor, professor of the sub-department of instrument making, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), timurashkina.pgu@mail.ru

Background. Monitoring the technical condition of responsible and potentially dangerous large civil and special structures, such as nuclear power plants, pipelines, bridges, and many others, in order to determine their operability and safe operation, and to prevent emergencies is an important scientific and technical task. The monitoring system for the technical condition of large facilities is a set of technologies and tools designed for visual and instrumental monitoring of the technical condition of structures in order to prevent negative consequences in a timely manner by identifying changes and predicting strength and the reliability of the elements. The purpose of the work is to prove the intrinsic safety of a fiber-optic monitoring system for the parameters of the stress-strain state and the position of key structural elements during operation. The task is to improve the operational characteristics of these systems under the influence of external aggressive influencing factors, namely an explosive environment. Materials and methods. The main approach to achieve this goal is an energy calculation that proves the intrinsic safety of a fiber-optic system, taking into account the intrinsic safety criteria given in a number of scientific and technical sources. To solve this problem, a fiber-optic monitoring system for the technical condition of large structures is proposed, including sensors for temperature, pressure, tilt angle, etc., providing an operational assessment of the parameters. Results. The intrinsic safety parameters of fiber-optic sensors of various physical quantities included in the monitoring system for the stress-strain state of large structures operating under conditions of possible spark and explosion hazard have been studied. It is proved that to ensure the safe operation of large civil structures, the maximum allowable optical signal level is 10 MW. For this purpose, a unified circuit design of fiber-optic sensors is proposed, in which the optical signal level is lower than this value. Conclusions. The energy calculation of the optical system of fiber-optic sensors with an open optical channel used for monitoring the technical condition of large structures has proved their absolute intrinsic safety, taking into account the intrinsic safety criteria of the measuring medium.

monitoring system, technical condition, large structure, design, fiber-optic sensor, intrinsic safety, optical signal level, energy calculation, open optical channel

Badeeva E.A., Badeev V.A., Murashkina T.I. Designing intrinsically safe fiber-optic sensors for monitoring the technical condition of large structures. Nadezhnost' i kachestvo slozhnykh sistem = Reliability and quality of complex systems. 2025;(3):101–109. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21685/2307-4205-2025-3-10