Distributed Fiber Sensors With High Spatial Resolution in Extreme Radiation Environments in Nuclear Reactor Cores

Wu, Jingyu; Wang, Mohan; Zhao, Kehao; Huang, Sheng; Zaghloul, Mohamed; Cao, Rongtao; Carpenter, David; Zheng, Guiqiu; Rountree, Steven Derek; Chen, K. P.

doi:10.1109/jlt.2021.3075630

Title: Distributed Fiber Sensors With High Spatial Resolution in Extreme Radiation Environments in Nuclear Reactor Cores

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Journal of Lightwave Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/jlt.2021.3075630· OSTI ID:1832117

^[1];

^[1]; Zhao, Kehao ^[1]; Huang, Sheng ^[1]; Zaghloul, Mohamed ^[1]; Cao, Rongtao ^[1]; Carpenter, David ^[2];

^[2];

^[3];

^[1]

Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Luna Innovations, Blacksburg, VA (United States)

This paper is a comprehensive experimental report on the neutron radiation effects of distributed optical fiber sensors with enhanced Rayleigh scattering profiles in an in-pile environment. Femtosecond laser direct writing was used to inscribe Type-II modifications in standard telecom fibers and radiation-hardened fibers with fluorine-doped cores. Rayleigh backscattering signals were enhanced for continuous 1.5 m. In-pile lead-out sensors tests were carried out at the MIT Research Reactor for two months, which was operated at a nominal power of 5.7 MW with fast neutron (>0.1 MeV) flux of 1.29 × 1014 n/cm2/s and an in-core temperature of up to 560°C. Using the Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry technique, the backscattering profiles of fiber sensors were interrogated with a 3-cm spatial resolution to monitor the temperature profile of the reactor. Results show that laser inscribed Type-II modifications in the form of nanogratings are highly stable against extreme temperature and ionizing radiation. Both standard telecom fibers and radiation-hardened fibers with laser-enhanced Rayleigh profiles can continuously perform distributed temperature measurements over the entire duration of the in-pile testing. Temperature coefficients of sensors and spectral shift quality were studied as functions of total radiation fluence. To the best of our knowledge, we present for the first time, the temperature profile of an operating nuclear reactor core with 3-cm spatial resolution, enabled by distributed fiber sensors with laser-enhanced Rayleigh scattering profiles. The high spatial resolution measurements can provide valuable data for the design and validation of digital twin and virtual reality of nuclear energy systems.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Luna Innovations Incorporated, Blacksburg, VA (United States); Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0017826; NE0008686; FE0031570; FE0031175

OSTI ID:: 1832117

Journal Information:: Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 14; ISSN 0733-8724

Publisher:: IEEECopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (30)

One Centimeter Spatial Resolution Temperature Measurements in a Nuclear Reactor Using Rayleigh Scatter in Optical Fiber Sang, Alex K.; Froggatt, Mark E.; Gifford, Dawn K. IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 8, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2008.927247	journal	July 2008
Temperature Resistant Fiber Bragg Gratings for On-Line and Structural Health Monitoring of the Next-Generation of Nuclear Reactors Laffont, Guillaume; Cotillard, Romain; Roussel, Nicolas Sensors, Vol. 18, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.3390/s18061791	journal	June 2018
In-situ gamma radiation induced attenuation in silica optical fibers heated up to 600°C Hawn, David P.; Petrie, Christian M.; Blue, Thomas E. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 379 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2013.08.013	journal	November 2013
Vulnerability of OFDR-based distributed sensors to high γ-ray doses Rizzolo, S.; Boukenter, A.; Marin, E. Optics Express, Vol. 23, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.23.018997	journal	January 2015
Reel-to-Reel Fabrication of In-Fiber Low-Loss and High-Temperature Stable Rayleigh Scattering Centers for Distributed Sensing Wang, Mohan; Zhao, Kehao; Huang, Sheng IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 20, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2020.2995606	journal	October 2020
Real time monitoring of water level and temperature in storage fuel pools through optical fibre sensors Rizzolo, S.; Périsse, J.; Boukenter, A. Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08853-7	journal	August 2017
High-Temperature Resistance Fiber Bragg Grating Temperature Sensor Fabrication Zhang, Bowei; Kahrizi, Mojtaba IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 7, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2007.891941	journal	April 2007
Multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors for in-core thermometry in nuclear reactors Fernandez, Alberto F.; Berghmans, Francis; Brichard, Benoit Environmental and Industrial Sensing, SPIE Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1117/12.417427	conference	March 2001
High Neutron Fluence Survivability Testing of Advanced Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors Fielder, Robert S. SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INTERNAT.FORUM-STAIF 2004: Conf.on Thermophys.in Microgravity; Commercial/Civil Next Gen.Space Transp.; 21st Symp.Space Nuclear Power & Propulsion; Human Space Explor.; Space Colonization; New Frontiers & Future Concepts, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1649627	conference	January 2004
Steady γ-Ray Effects on the Performance of PPP-BOTDA and TW-COTDR Fiber Sensing Planes, Isabelle; Girard, Sylvain; Boukenter, Aziz Sensors, Vol. 17, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/s17020396	journal	February 2017
Functionalized PdAu Alloy on Nanocones Fabricated on Optical Fibers for Hydrogen Sensing Cao, Rongtao; Wu, Jingyu; Liang, Guanquan IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 20, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2019.2950505	journal	February 2020
Arc-induced Long Period Gratings in standard and speciality optical fibers under mixed neutron-gamma irradiation Stancălie, Andrei; Esposito, Flavio; Ranjan, Rajeev Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16225-4	journal	November 2017
Radiation Effects on Long Period Fiber Gratings: A Review Esposito, Flavio; Srivastava, Anubhav; Campopiano, Stefania Sensors, Vol. 20, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.3390/s20092729	journal	May 2020
Evaluation of Distributed OFDR-Based Sensing Performance in Mixed Neutron/Gamma Radiation Environments Rizzolo, S.; Boukenter, A.; Marin, E. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 64, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2016.2606566	journal	January 2017
Radiation Vulnerability of Fiber Bragg Gratings in Harsh Environments Morana, Adriana; Girard, Sylvain; Marin, Emmanuel Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 33, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2014.2364526	journal	June 2015
Fabrication of Ultra-Weak Fiber Bragg Grating (UWFBG) in Single-Mode Fibers through Ti-Doped Silica Outer Cladding for Distributed Acoustic Sensing Wu, Jingyu; Peng, Zhaoqiang; Wang, Mohan Optics and Photonics for Sensing the Environment, Optical Sensors and Sensing Congress (ES, FTS, HISE, Sensors) https://doi.org/10.1364/ES.2019.ETh1A.4	conference	January 2019
Investigation of Coating Impact on OFDR Optical Remote Fiber-Based Sensors Performances for Their Integration in High Temperature and Radiation Environments Rizzolo, Serena; Marin, Emmanuel; Morana, Adriana Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 34, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2016.2552459	journal	October 2016
Reactor radiation-induced attenuation in fused silica optical fibers heated up to 1000 °C Petrie, Christian M.; Hawn, David P.; Windl, Wolfgang Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 409 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2014.11.003	journal	February 2015
Radiation tolerant fiber Bragg gratings for high temperature monitoring at MGy dose levels Morana, A.; Girard, S.; Marin, E. Optics Letters, Vol. 39, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.39.005313	journal	January 2014
Compaction in Optical Fibres and Fibre Bragg Gratings Under Nuclear Reactor High Neutron and Gamma Fluence Remy, Laurent; Cheymol, Guy; Gusarov, Andrei IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 63, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2016.2570948	journal	August 2016
Effect of combined gamma-neutron radiation on multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors Gusarov, Andrei I.; Fernandez, Alberto F.; Berghmans, Francis International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, SPIE Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1117/12.405331	conference	October 2000
Radiation resistant fiber Bragg grating in random air-line fibers for sensing applications in nuclear reactor cores Zaghloul, Mohamed A. S.; Wang, Mohan; Huang, Sheng Optics Express, Vol. 26, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.011775	journal	January 2018
Recent advances in radiation-hardened fiber-based technologies for space applications Girard, Sylvain; Morana, Adriana; Ladaci, Ayoub Journal of Optics, Vol. 20, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1088/2040-8986/aad271	journal	August 2018
Metal-organic framework functionalized polymer coating for fiber optical methane sensors Cao, Rongtao; Ding, Hangjun; Kim, Ki-Joong Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, Vol. 324 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2020.128627	journal	December 2020
Radiation resistance of fluorine-doped silica-core fibers Sanada, Kazuo; Shamoto, Naoki; Inada, Kouichi Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 179 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3093(94)90714-5	journal	November 1994
Radiation Characterization of Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry Fiber-Based Distributed Sensors Rizzolo, S.; Sabatier, C.; Boukenter, A. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 63, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2016.2527831	journal	June 2016
Temperature monitoring of nuclear reactor cores with multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors Gusarov, Andrei I. Optical Engineering, Vol. 41, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1475739	journal	June 2002
Sensors for Next-Generation Nuclear Plants: Fiber-Optic and Wireless Hashemian, H. M.; Bean, Wendell C. Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol. 169, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-48	journal	November 2011
High Resolution Distributed Strain or Temperature Measurements in Single- and Multi-Mode Fiber Using Swept-Wavelength Interferometry Kreger, Stephen T.; Gifford, Dawn K.; Froggatt, Mark E. Optical Fiber Sensors https://doi.org/10.1364/OFS.2006.ThE42	conference	January 2006
Stress-state manipulation in fused silica via femtosecond laser irradiation Bellouard, Yves; Champion, Audrey; McMillen, Benjamin Optica, Vol. 3, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.3.001285	journal	January 2016

Similar Records

Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors with Ultrafast Laser Enhanced Rayleigh Backscattering Profiles for Real-Time Monitoring of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operations

Journal Article · Thu Aug 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Scientific Reports · OSTI ID:1832117

Yan, Aidong; Huang, Sheng; Li, Shuo; +6 more

Femtosecond laser fabrication of nanograting-based distributed fiber sensors for extreme environmental applications

Journal Article · Tue Feb 16 00:00:00 EST 2021 · International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing · OSTI ID:1832117

Wang, Mohan; Zhao, Kehao; Wu, Jingyu; +9 more

A Digital Twin Approach to Study Additive Manufacturing Processing Using Embedded Optical Fiber Sensors and Numerical Modeling

Journal Article · Tue Jul 21 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Lightwave Technology · OSTI ID:1832117

Zou, Ran; Liang, Xuan; Chen, Qian; +8 more

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
High-temperature
neutron radiation effects
optical fiber sensors
reflectometr
temperature measurement.

Title: Distributed Fiber Sensors With High Spatial Resolution in Extreme Radiation Environments in Nuclear Reactor Cores

Citation Formats

References (30)

Similar Records

Related Subjects