Systems and methods for determining at least one property of fluid

A system for determining at least one property of a fluid, comprising:

• a sensing cable including an optical fiber sensor array located within the sensing cable;
• a heating element aligned with the optical fiber sensor array;
• and
• a nucleating surface, at least partly surrounding the sensing cable, to induce boiling of the fluid exposed to the nucleating surface when heated by the heating element.

A system for determining at least one property of a fluid on a tray of a distillation column, comprising:

• a sensing cable including an optical fiber sensor array located within the sensing cable;
• a heating element aligned with the optical fiber sensor array;
• a nucleating surface, at least partly surrounding the sensing cable, to induce boiling of the fluid exposed to the nucleating surface when heated by the heating element;
• an optical signal interrogator, communicatively coupled with the optical fiber sensor array, to monitor output of the sensing cable and determine the at least one property based at least in part on the output of the sensing cable, wherein the optical signal interrogator is adapted to measure temperature and wherein the output of the sensing cable corresponds to a temperature measurement;
• a control unit, coupled to the optical signal interrogator, to classify the output of the sensing cable as one of a predetermined set of classifications including at least a stable condition classification and an unstable condition classification, determined based at least in part upon the output of the sensing cable,
• wherein the optical fiber sensor array further includes a plurality of sensor locations aligned orthogonally to a bottom surface of the tray, and wherein the control unit is further configured to determine the at least one property of the fluid exposed to the sensing cable by identifying at least one interface between one or more of (a) two phases of matter present within the fluid, (b) two species present within the fluid, and (c) the fluid and a surrounding atmosphere.