Journal Articles
Abstract:
Hydrologic research is a very demanding application of fiber-optic distributed
temperature sensing (DTS) in terms of precision, accuracy and calibration. The physics
behind the most frequently used DTS instruments are considered as they apply to four
calibration methods for single-ended DTS installations. The new methods presented are
more accurate than the instrument-calibrated data, achieving accuracies on the order of tenths of a degree root mean square error (RMSE) and mean bias. Effects of localized non-uniformities that violate the assumptions of single-ended calibration data are explored and quantified. Experimental design considerations such as selection of integration times or selection of the length of the reference sections are discussed, and the impacts of these
considerations on calibrated temperatures are explored in two case studies.