Aidong Yan

Fiber-optic flow sensors for high-temperature environment operation up to 800°C.

This Letter presents an all-optical high-temperature flow sensor based on hot-wire anemometry. High-attenuation fibers (HAFs) were used as the heating elements. High-temperature-stable regenerated fiber Bragg gratings were inscribed in HAFs and in standard telecom fibers as temperature sensors. Using in-fiber light as both the heating power source and the interrogation light source, regenerative fiber Bragg grating sensors were used to gauge the heat transfer from an optically powered heating element induced by the gas flow. Reliable gas flow measurements were demonstrated between 0.066  m/s and 0.66  m/s from the room temperature to 800°C. This Letter presents a compact, low-cost, and multiflexible approach to measure gas flow for high-temperature harsh environments.

Regenerated distributed Bragg reflector fiber lasers for high-temperature operation.

This Letter presents distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) fiber lasers for high-temperature operation at 750°C. Thermally regenerated fiber gratings were used as the feedback elements to construct an erbium-doped DBR fiber laser. The output power of the fiber laser can reach 1 mW at all operating temperatures. The output power fluctuation tested at 750°C was 1.06% over a period of 7 hours. The thermal regeneration grating fabrication process opens new possibilities to design and to implement fiber laser sensors for extreme environments.

Sapphire Fiber Optical Hydrogen Sensors for High-Temperature Environments

This letter presents a high-temperature fiber optical hydrogen sensor with operational temperatures up to 800 °C. The sensor is based on a single-crystal sapphire fiber coated with Pd nanoparticles incorporated TiO2 nanostructured thin film. The template-based sol-gel chemistry was applied to synthesize the nanostructured porous thin films. The sensitivity and response time of the sensor was evaluated for hydrogen concentrations varying from 0.02% to 4%. The effects of temperature on the hydrogen gas sensing properties were investigated from 600 °C to 800 °C.

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

This paper reports a technique to enhance the magnitude and high-temperature stability of Rayleigh back-scattering signals in silica fibers for distributed sensing applications. With femtosecond laser radiation, more than 40-dB enhancement of Rayleigh backscattering signal was generated in silica fibers using 300-nJ laser pulses at 250 kHz repetition rate. The laser-induced Rayleigh scattering defects were found to be stable from the room temperature to 800 °C in hydrogen gas. The Rayleigh scatter at high temperatures was correlated to the formation and modification of nanogratings in the fiber core. Using optical fibers with enhanced Rayleigh backscattering profiles as distributed temperature sensors, we demonstrated real-time monitoring of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operations with 5-mm spatial resolution at 800 °C. Information gathered by these fiber sensor tools can be used to verify simulation results or operated in a process-control system to improve the operational efficiency and longevity of SOFC-based energy generation systems.

A compact field-portable double-pulse laser system to enhance laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

This paper reports the development of a compact double-pulse laser system to enhance laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for field applications. Pumped by high-power vertical-surface emitting lasers, the laser system that produces 16 ns pulse at 12 mJ/pulse with total weight less than 10 kg is developed. The inter-pulse delay can be adjusted from 0μs with 0.5μs increment. Several LIBS experiments were carried out on NIST standard aluminum alloy samples. Comparing with the single-pulse LIBS, up to 9 times enhancement in atomic emission line was achieved with continuum background emission reduced by 70%. This has led to up to 10 times improvement in the limit of detection. Signal stability was also improved by 128% indicating that a more robust and accurate LIBS measurement can be achieved using a compact double-pulse laser system. This paper presents a viable and field deployable laser tool to dramatically improve the sensitivity and applicability of LIBS for a wide array of applications.

Potential to Detect Hydrogen Concentration Gradients with Palladium Infused Mesoporous-Titania on D-Shaped Optical Fiber

A distributed sensing capable high temperature D-shaped optical fiber modified with a palladium nanoparticle sensitized mesoporous (∼5 nm) TiO2 film, is demonstrated. The refractive index of the TiO2 film was reduced using block copolymer templating in order to realize a mesoporous matrix, accommodating integration with optical fiber. The constructed sensor was analyzed by performing direct transmission loss measurements, and by analyzing the behavior of an integrated fiber Bragg grating. The inscribed grating should reveal whether the refractive index of the composite film experiences changes upon exposure to hydrogen. In addition, with frequency domain reflectometry the distributed sensing potential of the developed sensor for hydrogen concentrations of up to 10% is examined. The results show the possibility of detecting chemical gradients with sub-cm resolution at temperatures greater than 500 °C.

Distributed fiber-optic sensing in a high-temperature solid-oxide fuel cell

High temperature solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) present a challenging harsh environment for sensor systems with temperatures above 800C and ambient hydrogen concentration potentially ranging from 0-100% across the cell’s anode. A strong gradient exists in both gas concentration and temperature from the fuel-inlet to outlet as fuel is consumed across the cell. We report a technique for measuring the spatial distribution of temperature along a solid-oxide fuel-cell interconnect channel using a distributed interrogation system coupled with a single-mode fiber optic thin-film evanescent wave absorption sensor. These sensors are to be operated inside an operating fuel-cell stack yielding spatially distributed measurements with sub-millimeter accuracy. Details are presented pertinent to the stable operation of silica optical fibers in the presence of high hydrogen concentration which can induce optical fiber losses. The stability of Rayleigh scattering centers is discussed with regard to the operational environment. The potential for extension of the approach to chemical (i.e. hydrogen) sensing as well as dual hydrogen/temperature sensor fabrication and stabilization are also briefly discussed.

Block copolymer assisted refractive index engineering of metal oxides for applications in optical sensing

We demonstrate that the refractive indices of important functional metal oxides (TiO2, SnO2, and ZnO) can be engineered “at will” for applications in photonics engineering. The tailoring of the refractive indices is accomplished by 3D nanostructuring in the sub-wavelength regime (50nm or less) using the method of block-copolymer templating combined with a low cost solution processing approach. Using this method, the index of refraction of the demonstrated metal oxides and their doped variants can be engineered to be as low as 1.25. We will present both numerical simulations and experimental data demonstrating the unrestricted integration of functional metal oxides with a D-shaped optical fiber for applications in chemical and biological sensing. Using the developed refractive index engineering scheme, we introduce a novel hydrogen sensor by integrating a palladium doped TiO2 nanomaterial with D-shaped optical fiber and provide sensor characterization up to 700°C for applications in the energy sector.

High resolution monitoring of strain fields in concrete during hydraulic fracturing processes

We present a distributed fiber optic sensing scheme to image 3D strain fields inside concrete blocks during laboratory-scale hydraulic fracturing. Strain fields were measured by optical fibers embedded during casting of the concrete blocks. The axial strain profile along the optical fiber was interrogated by the in-fiber Rayleigh backscattering with 1-cm spatial resolution using optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR). The 3D strain fields inside the cubes under various driving pressures and pumping schedules were measured and used to characterize the location, shape, and growth rate of the hydraulic fractures. The fiber optic sensor detection method presented in this paper provides scientists and engineers an unique laboratory tool to understand the hydraulic fracturing processes via internal, 3D strain measurements with the potential to ascertain mechanisms related to crack growth and its associated damage of the surrounding material as well as poromechanically-coupled mechanisms driven by fluid diffusion from the crack into the permeable matrix of concrete specimens.

High-temperature flow sensing using regenerated gratings in self-heated high attenuation fibers

We report a high-temperature flow sensing technique based on thermally regenerated fiber Bragg gratings in high attenuation fibers. It can provide flow rate measurements up to 800 °C with compensation for ambient temperature variations.