Distributed fiber-optic sensor network for sensing the corrosion onset and quantification
AssigneeUnited States Department of Energy
InventorsPaul R Ohodnicki, Jr., Ping Lu, Ruishu Wright, Jagannath Devkota
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Abstract
Materials, methods of making, and methods of sensing liquid droplets with high spatial resolution as a signature of the on-set of corrosion using a hierarchical sensor network A hierarchical sensor network for sensing liquid droplets with high spatial resolution as a signature of the on-set of corrosion, including an interrogation system; and an intermediate sensor array layer in communication with the interrogation system. The network includes an interrogation system and an intermediate sensor array layer in communication with the interrogation system.
Claims34
A hierarchical sensor network for sensing liquid droplets with high spatial resolution as a signature of on-set of corrosion, comprising:
- an interrogation system;
- and
- an intermediate fiber-optic sensor array (FSA) layer in communication with the interrogation system, wherein the FSA comprises a sequence of fiber-optic sensors (FOS), wherein each of the FOSs comprises:
- a central sensing fiber region having opposing first and second ends, wherein the central sensing fiber region comprises functionalized fiber coated with water sensitive materials, where the water sensitive coating is selected from the group comprising polymer, hydrogel, metal-organic framework layers, and other materials, said water sensitive coating changes certain properties due to water contact and triggers an optical response;
- two light steering elements, one light steering element in communication with the first end and another light steering element in communication with the second end;
- a lead-in fiber in communication with the one light steering element;
- and
- a lead-out fiber in communication with the another light steering element.
A hierarchical sensor network for sensing water droplets with high spatial resolution to assist in detecting a water droplet condensation rate and predicting a corrosion rate, comprising:
- an optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) interrogation system which produces Top-of-the-Line Corrosion (TLC) sensing information;
- a fiber-optic sensor array (FSA) in communication with the OTDR system, wherein the FSA comprises a sequence of fiber-optic sensors (FOS), wherein each of the FOS comprises:
- a central sensing fiber region having opposing first and second ends, wherein the central sensing fiber region comprises functionalized fiber coated with water sensitive materials, where the water sensitive coating is selected from the group comprising polymer, hydrogel, metal-organic framework layers, and other materials, said water sensitive coating changes certain properties due to water contact and triggers an optical response;
- two light steering elements, one light steering element in communication with the first end and another light steering element in communication with the second end;
- a lead-in fiber in communication with the one light steering element;
- and
- a lead-out fiber in communication with the another light steering element;
- and
- a fiber-optic layer in communication with the FSA.
A method of sensing liquid droplets with high spatial resolution as a signature of the on-set of corrosion using a hierarchical sensor network comprising:
- detecting properties of condensed water using a hierarchical sensor network, wherein the hierarchical sensor network comprises:
- an interrogation system;
- and
- an intermediate fiber-optic sensor array (FSA) layer in communication with the interrogation system, wherein the FSA comprises a sequence of fiber-optic sensors (FOS), wherein each of the FOSs comprises:
- a central sensing fiber region having opposing first and second ends, wherein the central sensing fiber region comprises functionalized fiber coated with water sensitive materials, where the water sensitive coating is selected from the group comprising polymer, hydrogel, metal-organic framework layers, and other materials, said water sensitive coating changes certain properties due to water contact and triggers an optical response;
- two light steering elements, one light steering element in communication with the first end and another light steering element in communication with the second end;
- a lead-in fiber in communication with the one light steering element;
- and
- a lead-out fiber in communication with the another light steering element, wherein detecting properties of condensed water comprises measuring optical changes to the central sensing fiber region due to contact with said condensed water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.