Advances towards the qualification of an aircraft fuel tank inert environment fiber optic oxygen sensor system

Edgar A. Mendoza; Yan Esterkin; Cornelia Kempen; Songjian Sun; Kenneth Susko; John Goglia

doi:10.1117/12.887128

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26 May 2011 Advances towards the qualification of an aircraft fuel tank inert environment fiber optic oxygen sensor system

Edgar A. Mendoza, Yan Esterkin, Cornelia Kempen, Songjian Sun, Kenneth Susko, John Goglia

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Proceedings Volume 8026, Photonic Applications for Aerospace, Transportation, and Harsh Environment II; 802604 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887128
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

An all optical pressure and temperature compensated fiber optic oxygen sensor (FOxSense^TM) system is under qualification for use in the in-situ closed-loop-control of the inert atmosphere environment inside fuel tanks of military and commercial aircraft. The all-optical oxygen environment control sensor is a passive, intrinsically safe, fiber-optic sensor device with no electrical connections leading to the sensors installed within the fuel tanks of an aircraft. To control the fuel tank environment, an array of multiple sensors is deployed throughout the fuel tanks of an aircraft, and a remote multi-channel optoelectronic system is used to monitor the status of all the sensors in real time to provide feedback oxygen environment information to the on-board inert gas generating system (OBIGS). Qualification testing of the all optical sensor have demonstrated the ability to monitor the oxygen environment inside a simulated fuel tank environment in the oxygen range from 0% to 21% oxygen concentrations, temperatures from (-) 40°C to (+) 60°C, and altitudes from sea level to 40,000 feet. Fiber optic oxygen sensors with built-in temperature compensation as well as the conduit fiber optic cables have passed DO-160E including acoustic noise and burn test.

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Edgar A. Mendoza, Yan Esterkin, Cornelia Kempen, Songjian Sun, Kenneth Susko, and John Goglia "Advances towards the qualification of an aircraft fuel tank inert environment fiber optic oxygen sensor system", Proc. SPIE 8026, Photonic Applications for Aerospace, Transportation, and Harsh Environment II, 802604 (26 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887128

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