Paper
15 April 2008 Fiber optic microsensor hydrogen leak detection system on Delta IV launch vehicle
Alex A. Kazemi, John W. Goepp, David B. Larson, Mark E. Wuestling
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
This paper describes the successful development and test of a multipoint fiber optic hydrogen microsensors system during the static firing of an Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicle (EELV)/Delta's common booster core (CBC) rocket engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The hydrogen sensitive chemistry is fully reversible and has demonstrated a response to hydrogen gas in the range of 0% to 10% with a resolution of 0.1% and a response time of ≤5 seconds measured at a gas flow rate of 1 cc/min. The system consisted of a reversible chemical interaction causing a change in reflective of a thin film of coated Palladium. The sensor using a passive element consisting of chemically reactive microcoatings deposited on the surface of a glass microlens, which is then bonded to an optical fiber. The system uses a multiplexing technique with a fiber optic driver-receiver consisting of a modulated LED source that is launched into the sensor, and photodiode detector that synchronously measures the reflected signal. The system incorporates a microprocessor to perform the data analysis and storage, as well as trending and set alarm function. The paper illustrates the sensor design and performance data under field deployment conditions.
© (2008) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Alex A. Kazemi, John W. Goepp, David B. Larson, and Mark E. Wuestling "Fiber optic microsensor hydrogen leak detection system on Delta IV launch vehicle", Proc. SPIE 6958, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications II, 69580M (15 April 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.783197
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KEYWORDS
Sensors

Hydrogen

Fiber optics

Fiber optics sensors

GRIN lenses

Palladium

Reflectivity

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