9523311 Wang Cylindrical sapphire optical waveguides have been shown to be especially attractive for the fabrication of high temperature sensor instrumentation capable of operation at temperatures potentially up to 2000C. The Fiber & Electro-Optics Research Center (FEORC) at Virginia Tech proposes to develop low-cost reliable sapphire fiber temperature, pressure, and strain sensors which are desirable for the monitoring and control of many high temperature industrial processes, including the combustion process-vital for the power generation industry. Seven different sensing configurations will be systematically investigated, designed and fabricated to determine the optimal scheme for each parameter measurement. These sapphire waveguide-based schemes include the balanced polarimetric sensor, the lead-insensitive polarimetric sensor, the critical angle reflection intensity- based sensor, the frustrated optical coupling intensity-based sensor, and the grating-based wavelength-coded sensor. The selected optimal sensing schemes will then be further developed into prototype sensor instrumentation units for system testing to determine the system technical performance as well as the feasibility of these sensors for the monitoring of the identified high temperature industrial processes involved in the power industry. In addition to the sensor study, system development and testing, the proposed research will also largely involve research in waveguide evaluations and modifications, high performance sapphire-to-silica fiber splicing, and high temperature component fabrication which will directly support the proposed sensor work. The successful completion of the proposed program will result in sapphire fiber sensor instrumentation to meet the needs of monitoring and/or control of high temperature industrial processes involved in the power generation industry, including the combustion, boiling process, high temperature piping and vessel systems. ***
