Effects of immersion duration and temperature on mechanical properties of optical fibers aged in CTAC aqueous solution

Fiber-optic sensors are mostly used for in situ measurements of diverse chemical composition of industrial surfactants employed in industry as detergents, emulsifying and dispersing agents, coatings, and pharmaceutical adjuvants. These optical sensors are often used in wet chemical environments in which the temperature can be high. The purpose of this work is to study the mechanical behavior of optical fibers in contact with CetylTrimethylAmmonium Chloride in aqueous solution (CTAC) at different immersion durations and different temperatures. Result analysis demonstrates that immersion in CTAC drastically decreases the fiber strength particularly when immersed for long aging periods at high temperatures. Based on the analysis of aged fiber surface morphology obtained from Scanning Electron Microscopy, the extent of the damage of the fiber core and polymer coatings was observed.