Review on EFPI Fiber-based Ultrasonic Sensors and Its Potentially Partial Discharge Detection Application

The insulation problem is one of the main causes of power equipment failures and accidents. The insulation status of power equipment can be judged in advance through partial discharge(PD) monitoring. At present, there are a variety of detection methods for PD detection, and the optical fiber Fabry-Perot(F-P) ultrasonic sensor has the advantages of strong anti-electromagnetic interference, good insulation, and high sensitivity. It has been favored by many researchers for ultrasonic detection. We give an outline of several commonly used PD detection methods, introduce the principle of optical fiber F-P cavity interference and the working mechanism of optical fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors, and focus on the performance parameters and fabrication manners of the four extrinsic fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors constructed by the silver diaphragm, polymer diaphragm, graphene diaphragm and silicon diaphragm, respectively. Moreover, we summarize the advantages of fiber F-P ultrasonic sensor for imitative PD detection and location in detail. In the end, we introduce the application of micro-electro-mechanical systems(MEMS) technology in fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors, and present the conclusions and prospects of the extrinsic fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors based on MEMS technology in PD application prospect. © 2020, High Voltage Engineering Editorial Department of CEPRI. All right reserved.