Abstract
Optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) is a technique used to interrogate distributed optical fiber sensors (DOFS) and involves correlating changes in the Rayleigh backscatter (RBS) fingerprint for a fiber under test with a reference me asurement. Recently, as part of the Wireless Instrumented Removable Beryllium Experiment 2021 (WIRE-21) experiment sponsored by Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) and performed at the High-Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, silica optical fibers were irradiated to a fast neutron fluence of 1×1021 n/cm2 at temperatures in the 200–400?C range. As in the cases of high-temperature and high-strain conditions, such high levels of neutron bombardment result in a highly dynamic RBS that evades analysis with conventional methods. This paper describes the further development and application of graphical signal processing techniques applied to OFDR-based distributed optical fiber sensors specifically deployed in in-pile ap plications. The signal processing techniques developed in this work are applied to DOFS in nuclear environments, but they also provide a general framework for the analysis of OFDR measurements and a tangible method to yield higher quality data without imposing additional hardware requirements.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of 13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2023 |
| Publisher | American Nuclear Society |
| Pages | 1431-1440 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780894487910 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2023 |
| Event | 13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2023 - Knoxville, United States Duration: Jul 15 2023 → Jul 20 2023 |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of 13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2023 |
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Conference
| Conference | 13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2023 |
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| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Knoxville |
| Period | 07/15/23 → 07/20/23 |
Funding
This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This research was sponsored by the Nuclear Science User Facilities Program of the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy. Data curation was supported by the Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation Program of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. Neutron irradiation in HFIR was made possible by the Office of Science, US DOE. Shay Chapel, Padhraic Mulligan, Kurt Smith, David Bryant, Bob Sitterson, Adam James, Maureen Searles, and Nora Dianne Ezell contributed to the design, analysis, assembly, and operation of the irradiation experiment. *[email protected] This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).
Keywords
- Distributed Sensing
- High-Flux Isotope Reactor
- Irradiation
- Optical Fibers
- Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry