Abstract
This paper presents a spatially distributed fiber-optic sensor system designed for demanding applications, like temperature measurements in the steel industry. The sensor system employed optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) to interrogate Rayleigh backscattering signals in single-mode optical fibers. Temperature measurements employing the OFDR system were compared with conventional thermocouple measurements, accentuating the spatially distributed sensing capability of the fiber-optic system. Experiments were designed and conducted to test the spatial thermal mapping capability of the fiber-optic temperature measurement system. Experimental simulations provided evidence that the optical fiber system could resolve closely spaced temperature features, due to the high spatial resolution and fast measurement rates of the OFDR system. The ability of the fiber-optic system to perform temperature measurements in a metal casting was tested by monitoring aluminum solidification in a sand mold. The optical fiber, encased in a stainless steel tube, survived both mechanically and optically at temperatures exceeding 700◦C. The ability to distinguish between closely spaced temperature features that generate information-rich thermal maps opens up many applications in the steel industry.
Recommended Citation
M. Roman et al., "A Spatially Distributed Fiber-Optic Temperature Sensor for Applications in the Steel Industry," Sensors, vol. 20, no. 14, article no. 3900, MDPI, Jul 2020.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/s20143900
Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Second Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Center/Lab(s)
Peaslee Steel Manufacturing Research Center
Second Research Center/Lab
Intelligent Systems Center
Keywords and Phrases
Temperature Sensor; Rayleigh Scattering; Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry; Distributed Sensing; Optical Fiber; Peritectic Behavior; Metal Casting; Aluminum Alloy
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1424-8220; 1424-8220
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2020 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
02 Jul 2020
Comments
This research was funded by the Kent D. Peaslee Steel Manufacturing Research Center (PSMRC) at Missouri S&T.