Highlights

• Demonstration of a fiber-optic based sensor for fluid rheological properties such as viscosity
• Theoretical model of the sensor derived from principles of fluid mechanics
• Experimental validation of the sensor
• Watery solutions in the range of 1 – 7 mPa s can be distinguished
• Potential application in narrow and difficult to reach environments and over long sensing lengths

We are proud to announce that our experimental study on our novel distributed viscosity sensor was recently published in a scientific journal!

Acknowledgements

The development of the sensor was partly financed by the GFZ innovation fund. The authors would like to thank Ronny Giese and Matthias Poser from GFZ Potsdam for their technical support during the installation of the experimental setup. The authors would also like to thank Philipp Wella from Technical University Freiberg for the implementation of the field prototype of the experimental setup. The authors are grateful to Massimo Faccini for the discussion of suitable fiber-optic cables and for providing a cable sample for testing.