Thermal Characterization of a Simulated Fission Engine via Distributed Fiber Bragg Gratings
- Luna Innovations, Inc. 2851 Commerce St., Blacksburg, VA 24060 (United States)
We report the use of distributed fiber Bragg gratings to monitor thermal conditions within a simulated nuclear reactor core located at the Early Flight Fission Test Facility of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Distributed fiber-optic temperature measurements promise to add significant capability and advance the state-of-the-art in high-temperature sensing. For the work reported herein, seven probes were constructed with ten sensors each for a total of 70 sensor locations throughout the core. These discrete temperature sensors were monitored over a nine hour period while the test article was heated to over 700 deg. C and cooled to ambient through two operational cycles. The sensor density available permits a significantly elevated understanding of thermal effects within the simulated reactor. Fiber-optic sensor performance is shown to compare very favorably with co-located thermocouples where such co-location was feasible.
- OSTI ID:
- 20630596
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 746; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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