FOS&S (Fibre Optic Sensors and Sensing Systems) is a worldwide company with branches in Belgium and Hong Kong and is active within the fibre optical sensing business in different market segments.
- Construction
FOS&S sensing solutions are extensively used in civil engineering, mainly for Structural Health Monitoring of bridges, dams, tunnels, buildings, historical monuments, etc. By monitoring parameters such as strain, load, displacement and temperature, FOS&S solutions increase the safety of civil-engineering infrastructures and enable timely preventative maintenance, reduced routine maintenance costs and reduced remedial repairs. All this translates into lower total cost of ownership due to extended service. - Aerospace
FOS&S' fibre optic sensing systems offer a number of critical advantages for the aerospace industry. Importantly, fibre optic sensors are exceptionally thin and hence can be embedded in composite structures. Composite materials are used increasingly in the aerospace industry due to their high strength, low weight and high resistance to fatigue. FOS&S sensing solutions can monitor the occurrence and growth of damage in composite elements by monitoring the stress and strain inside the structures. This is not possible with other measurement systems available today. - Oil & Gas
In the oil & gas industry, FOS&S sensing technology is applied in the management of subsea pipelines, ROV cables and composite pillars of oil platforms.
The management of these structures presents some distinct challenges, involving their high value, the difficult access conditions and the high risks associated with problems. Hence, it is critical that such structures are continuously monitored to optimise maintenance interventions. - Mining
One of the most powerful applications of FOS&S technology is in nuclear waste repositories. Clay is one of the promising geological formations currently investigated world-wide for the geological disposal of radioactive waste. However, underground safety monitoring of nuclear waste repositories is particularly challenging due to the strong heat generation. In response, FOS&S has developed fibre optic sensing systems to monitor the thermo-mechanical properties of the clay environment. These systems measure cavity shrinking and movement of different earth layers. They also are able to characterise the effect of thermal expansion on the deformation of underground repositories. FOS&S systems are currently installed in eight test sites across Europe.
FOS&S furthermore provides a complete set of services to its customers:
- Development of Customised Solutions
All FOS&S standard fibre optic solutions are commercialized by our worldwide distributors. However, for some applications no standard solutions can be found.
In order to support the customer also for these sensing problems, FOS&S provides consultancy and development services. FOS&S technical-application specialists are trained to solve customers' problems regarding product specifications and application constraints. - Installation and Maintenance
Besides the development of customised sensing solutions, FOS&S is also able to take care of the installation as well as maintenance of the complete optical sensing network. In this way, FOS&S is able to provide their customers with a total solution. This allows customers to focus on their core activities without additional training of people and expensive purchases of fibre optical tools and maintenance equipment. - Follow-up and Reporting
Follow up and reporting of measurement data is often very time consuming. In order to bring reporting costs for our customers down, FOS&S provides a highly automated reporting service. Using modem or wireless connection systems, measurement data from the field are periodically downloaded by FOS&S and processed into a report format that can be viewed and/or downloaded through an internet connection by the customer. In this way, the customer can have all the time a clear overview of his measurement results without loosing time collecting and processing data and writing reports.
