High-Temperature Fiber Optic Sensors, an Enabling Technology for Nuclear Reactor Applications
- Luna Innovations, Inc., 2851 Commerce St., Blacksburg, VA 24060 (United States)
This paper will discuss the development of fiber optic sensors for space and terrestrial-based nuclear reactors and other harsh-environment applications. The ability of fiber optic sensors to survive in very high-radiation and high-temperature environments will be presented. These capabilities, coupled with other intrinsic advantages, make fiber optic sensors a promising solution for extremely harsh-environment applications where data integrity is paramount. Luna Innovations is developing a high temperature sensor suite based on novel metal oxide transducers and patented fiber optic sensor technology. This suite includes pressure, temperature, acceleration, and skin friction sensors. High-radiation survivability testing has been conducted on several sensor types which showed good survivability up to a fast neutron (>1 MeV) fluence of 2x10{sup 19} cm{sup -2} and 87 GRad, gamma radiation. Luna has demonstrated the operation of ceramic fiber optic pressure sensors at up to 800 deg. C. By applying advanced materials and packaging technologies, designs that will support pressure measurements up to 1400 deg. C have been produced. Fiber optic temperature sensors have been demonstrated up to 1400 deg. C. A ceramic accelerometer has also been demonstrated to operate up to 850 deg. C. A skin friction sensor is in the early stages of development that is expected to reach 870 deg. C. The results of these experiments will be summarized. The high temperature, radiation-hardened sensor suite will provide previously unobtainable measurements in advanced spacecraft propulsion systems, as well as in high-temperature industrial applications, and can be adapted for long-term use in emerging nuclear reactor designs. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21160763
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICAPP'04: 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 13-17 Jun 2004; Other Information: Country of input: France; 12 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'04, 2338 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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