A novel method to detect the liquid level based on the FBG sensor Part I: The structure design and performance analysis

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel method to detect the liquid level. Specifically, a novel structure based on the diagram and the flexible hinge is presented, in which the Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) is employed as the sensing element and temperature compensation is considered. The corresponding analytical model of the structure is developed, which shows that the strain of the FBG is a linear correlation with the liquid level. The presented sensor show superior range (±200mm) and superior sensitivity (23.80pm/mm) when compared with some of the similar structures shown in the literature. To validate the analytical model, a Finite Element Model (FEM) is employed and the results showed that the analytical model is accurate. This paper aims to give the structure design and performance analysis for the sensor and the corresponding experiments will be given in our subsequent paper series Part II.