Method of lines solution to the transient SBS equations for nanosecond Stokes pulses

The spectral and temporal evolution of distributed sensing based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fibers for severalnanosecond Stokes pulses is demonstrated by using the method of lines (MOL) solution of the transient SBS equations. A superbee flux limiter is utilized to avoid numerical damping and dispersion that would otherwise be brought on by the approximation of spatial derivatives associated with the partial differential equations (PDEs). In order to increase computational efficiency, an approach is adopted whereby the sparse PDE Jacobian matrix integrator option of the ODE solver(s) is employed. Simulation examples of SBS-based sensing for fibers containing sections with different Brillouin frequencies are presented. To the best of our knowledge, this MOL solution is proposed for the first time for modeling of the transient SBS equations for nanosecond Stokes pulses with different waveforms in a SBS based fiber optic sensor. [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2971/jeos.2013.13049]