Optical fiber distributed temperature sensor using short term Fourier transform based simplified signal processing of Raman signals

A simplified technique using short term Fourier transform to reduce the errors in distributed temperature measurement with a Raman scattering based optical fiber sensor system is presented. The two main sources of errors are differential attenuation to anti-Stokes and Stokes signal by fiber and local change in Stokes due to change in temperature. The proposed technique compensates these errors and extracts correct temperature profile in spite of practical difficulties encountered in applying the theoretical concept. Moreover proposed technique is less complex, self-reliant, can tolerate variation in laser power, requires less dead zone and suits automation using embedded solution. Results of measurement carried out, using the system developed at RRCAT, Indore, for two hot zones having spatial width of 1.9 m (kept at 56 °C) and 1.5 m (kept at 78 °C), located at 47 m and 85 m respectively, show that these parameters can be recovered with significantly small errors.     

An all-fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer for pressure sensing in different gaseous environments

A gas pressure sensor based on an all-fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FFPI) is reported. The sensing head consists of a small section of silica rod spliced with a large offset between two single-mode fibers. The silica rod is used only as mechanical support so that an air cavity can be formed between both SMF. It is shown that the FFPI sensor is sensitive to gas pressure variation and when submitted to different gaseous environments, namely carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen – sensitivities of 6.2, 4.1 and 3.6 nm/MPa, respectively, were attained. The refractive index change on nitrogen environment by means of gas pressure variation was also determined and a sensitivity of 1526 nm/RIU was obtained. The response of the sensing device to temperature variations in air was also studied and a sensitivity of −14 pm/°C was attained.     

Feasibility assessment of magnetic resonance-thermometry on pancreas undergoing laser ablation: Sensitivity analysis of three sequences

Laser ablation (LA) is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of tumors as an alternative to surgical resection. The light absorbed by tissue is converted into heat, and causes irreversible cell damage when temperatures higher than 60 °C are reached. The knowledge in real time of temperature may be particularly beneficial for adjusting laser settings applied during treatment and to be notified in real time about its end-point. As a consequence, several techniques for temperature monitoring within the tissue have been investigated along the last decades. In the field of LA, particularly attractive are non-invasive methods. Among these techniques, thermometry based on the analysis of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MR-thermometry) has gaining large acceptance in this field. MR-thermometry allows estimating the temperature variation thanks to the thermal dependence of several MRI parameters, among others the most promising are T₁ relaxation time, and proton resonance frequency shift.The aim of this study is to assess the sensitivity of MRI thermometry using three T₁-weighted sequences (i.e., Inversion Recovery Turbo-FLASH, IRTF, Saturation Recovery Turbo-FLASH, SRTF, and FLASH) using an 1.5-T MR scanner on healthy swine pancreases undergoing LA. The reference temperature was measured by MRI-compatible fiber optic sensors (fiber Bragg grating sensors). The sensitivity of the proposed techniques was estimated and compared. The thermal sensitivity of the three sequences was −1.47 ± 0.08 °C⁻¹, −0.95 ± 0.05 °C⁻¹, and −0.56 ± 0.04 °C⁻¹ for IRTF, SRTF and FLASH, respectively. Results show that the proposed technique may be adequate for temperature monitoring during LA.     

Cost effective refractive index sensor based on optical fiber micro cavities produced by the catastrophic fuse effect

We propose a refractive index optical fiber sensor based on the micro cavities generated through the fiber catastrophic fuse effect. This sensor was tested in the measurement of solutions with refractive indices ranging from 1.3320 to 1.4280. The linear dependence of the reflection spectra modulation period as function of the surrounding environment refractive index leads to a resolution of 3 × 10⁻⁴ RIU. The proposed sensor is an innovative solution based on optical fiber damaged by the fuse effect, resulting in a cost effective solution.     

On-site calibration system for trace humidity sensors

A portable device for calibration of trace humidity sensors and an adopted calibration procedure have been developed. The calibration device is based on humidity generation by permeating water through polymeric membrane tubes. Water vapour transmission rates for various polymers were experimentally determined in order to select the most suitable polymeric material. The developed trace humidity generator consists of a gas-flow polymeric hose immersed in a water reservoir thermostated by a sensor-controlled heater. Mole fractions of water vapour between 1 μmol mol⁻¹ and 350 μmol mol⁻¹ (equivalent to frost-point temperatures from −76 °C to −31 °C) were generated by varying either the operating temperature or gas flow. The operating temperature can be varied from 20 °C to 60 °C and kept stable within 0.1 K. Uncertainty analysis indicated that the trace humidity generator produces gas flows of constant humidity amounts with a relative expanded uncertainty less than 3.4% (k = 2) of the generated value.     

Non-contact temperature measurement of silicon wafers based on the combined use of transmittance and radiance

We propose a non-contact temperature measurement method that combines the temperature dependence of transmittance below 600 °C and radiation thermometry above 600 °C. The combined method uses a polarization technique and the Brewster angle between air and a dielectric film such as SiO₂ or Si₃N₄ grown on silicon wafers. A prominent feature of this method is that both measurements of transmittance and radiance are performed with the same geometrical arrangement.For a semitransparent wafer, the measurement of p-polarized transmittance at the wavelengths of 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 μm enables temperature measurement in the range from room temperature to 600 °C. For an opaque wafer above 600 °C, the p-polarized radiation thermometry at the wavelength of 4.5 μm allows the temperature measurement without the emissivity problem. The combined method with the use of transmittance and radiance is valid in the entire temperature range irrespective of variations of film thickness and resistivity.     

High-accuracy ultrasonic temperature measurement based on MLS-modulated continuous wave

Ultrasonic temperature measurement has the potential to improve measurement accuracy by increasing the length of a received signal due to its excellent performance with noise resistance. However, when the distance between the transmitter and receiver is limited, the received signal can be polluted by strong multiple echoes, which can significantly degrade temperature accuracy. This paper proposes a method for high-resolution ultrasonic temperature measurement. With the use of a maximum length sequence (MLS)-modulated continuous wave, the obstructive effect of echoes is effectively suppressed. A hybrid method is employed for accurate time-of-flight (TOF) estimation by incorporating both cross-correlation and phase shift (PS), which is the basis of highly accurate temperature measurement. The experimental results in distilled water show that the proposed method estimates TOF with a standard deviation of less than 0.3 ns, and temperature errors consistently remain within ±0.04 °C.     

A low cost TL–OSL reader dedicated to high temperature studies

In some applications, luminescence dating needs performing studies above 550 °C and conventional or commercial instruments are not always perfectly adapted to this temperature range. We describe here an automated instrument capable of thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence measurements. Main mechanical and digital design is reported showing the technical options leading to both a low cost of fabrication and good high temperature performances. The mechanical design favors simply shaped parts and uses a 3D-CAD software that can drive a numerically controlled milling machine. Besides, electronics is limited to elementary signal conditioning (for photomultiplier and thermocouple) and the more complex functions (as thermal regulation) are performed with softwares running on a standard PC. A fully automated prototype instrument was built using these options. This confirmed the low cost of fabrication and the possibility of measurements up to 800 °C and of withstanding temperatures higher than 600 °C for several minutes.     

Development of a simple ‘temperature versus sliding speed’ wear map for the sliding wear behaviour of dissimilar metallic interfaces

The variation in wear behaviour during limited debris retention sliding wear of Nimonic 80A versus Stellite 6 (counterface) between room temperature and 750 °C, at sliding speeds of 0.314, 0.654 and 0.905 m s⁻¹, was investigated. At 0.314 m s⁻¹, mild oxidational wear was observed at all temperatures, due to transfer and oxidation of Stellite 6-sourced debris to the Nimonic 80A and resultant separation of the Nimonic 80A and Stellite 6 wear surfaces. Between room temperature and 450 °C, this debris mostly remained in the form of loose particles (with only limited compaction), whilst between 510 and 750 °C, the particles were compacted and sintered together to form a wear protective ‘glaze’ layer.At 0.654 and 0.905 m s⁻¹, mild oxidational wear due to transfer and oxidation of Stellite 6-sourced debris was only observed at room temperature and 270 °C (also 390 °C at 0.654 m s⁻¹). At 390 °C (450 °C at 0.654 m s⁻¹) and above, this oxide was completely absent and ‘metal-to-metal’ contact resulted in an intermediate temperature severe wear regime—losses in the form of ejected metallic debris were sourced almost completely from the Nimonic 80A. Oxide debris, this time sourced from the Nimonic 80A sample, did not reappear until 570 °C (630 °C at 0.654 m s⁻¹), however, were insufficient to eliminate completely severe wear until 690 and 750 °C. At both 0.654 and 0.905 m s⁻¹, the oxide now preventing severe wear at 690 and 750 °C tended not to form ‘glaze’ layers on the surface of the Nimonic 80A and instead supported continued high wear by abrasion. This abrasive action was attributed to the poor sintering characteristics of the Nimonic 80A-sourced oxide, in combination with the oxides’ increased mobility and decreased residency.The collected data were used to compose a simple wear map detailing the effects of sliding speed and temperature on the wear of Nimonic 80A slid against Stellite 6, at these speeds and temperatures of between room temperature and 750 °C.     

Measurement of the viscosity of biodiesel by using an optical viscometer

In this paper, we report the characterization of the viscosity of biodiesel produced from jatropha curcas. The viscosity measurement has been carried out by using a modified falling ball viscometer as well as optical technology. The viscosity was measured from 28 to 70 °C, which is the interest for determining the quality of biodiesel. We found that the falling ball optical viscometer offers a resolution of a viscosity measurement of ±0.039 mPa s with a relative error of 1.47933%. The measurement process was compared with a commercial viscometer, and it has been demonstrated that the biodiesel produced in Chiapas has good quality.     

Artificial neural network modeling of thin layer drying behavior of municipal sewage sludge

The back-propagation (BP) and generalized regression neural network models (GRNN) were investigated to predict the thin layer drying behavior in municipal sewage sludge during hot air forced convection. The accuracy of the BP model to predict the moisture content of the sewage sludge thin layer during hot air forced convective drying was far higher than that of the GRNN model. The GRNN models could automatically determine the best smoothing parameters, which were 0.6 and 0.3 for predicting the moisture content and average temperature, respectively. The model type for predicting the average temperature of the sewage sludge thin layer was selected for different sample groups by comparing their MSE values or R² values. The GRNN model was suitable for predicting the average temperature corresponding to the sample groups at hot air velocity of 0.6 m/s, and drying temperatures of 100 °C, 160 °C; hot air velocity of 1.4 m/s, and drying temperatures of 130 °C, 140 °C; hot air velocity of 2.0 m/s, and drying temperatures of 150 °C, 160 °C. The average temperature for the other sample groups was best predicted by the BP model.     

Studies of high temperature sliding wear of metallic dissimilar interfaces IV: Nimonic 80A versus Incoloy 800HT

Wear variations of Nimonic 80A slid against Incoloy 800HT between room temperature (RT) and 750 °C, and sliding speeds of 0.314 and 0.905 m s⁻¹ were investigated using a ‘reciprocating-block-on-cylinder’, low debris retention configuration. These were considered alongside previous observations at 0.654 m s⁻¹.Different wear types occurring were mapped, including high transfer ‘severe wear’ (RT and 270 °C, also 0.905 m s⁻¹ at ≤570°C), low transfer ‘severe wear’ (0.314 m s⁻¹ at 390 °C to 510 °C oxide abrasion assisted at 510 °C), and ‘mild wear’ (0.314 m s⁻¹ at ≥570 °C; 0.905 m s⁻¹ at ≥630 °C). Wear surfaces at 750 °C were cross-sectioned and profiled.     

Tribology of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene disks molded at different temperatures

Tribological characteristics of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) disks molded at 130–190 °C were studied. The highest crystallinity was obtained for the sheet molded at 130 °C, but crystallinity decreased with increasing molding temperature. Beyond 150 °C, the resultant crystallinity reached a constant level. The dynamic friction coefficients of these UHMW-PE disks were measured using a ball-on-disk friction tester. The friction coefficient decreased with increasing number of rotations in the early stage of the measurement, and achieved at an equilibrium level, independent of the molding temperature. The steady-state friction coefficient was 0.04 for the disk molded at 130 °C and increased with increasing molding temperature. The disks molded at 150–190 °C always had a steady-state friction coefficient of 0.065. The surface deformation of each disk was evaluated from the observation of the resultant wear track. Analyzing the relationship between the above friction coefficient and width of the wear track enabled us to interpret the tribological mechanism generated in this study.     

Mechanical and tribological properties of NiCr–Al2O3 composites at elevated temperatures

The effect of Al₂O₃ content on the mechanical and tribological properties of Ni–Cr alloy was investigated from room temperature to 1000 °C. The results indicated that NiCr–40 wt% Al₂O₃ composite exhibited good wear resistance and its compressive strength remained 540 MPa even at 1000 °C. The values obtained for flexural strength and fracture toughness at room temperature were 771 MPa, 15.2 MPa m^1/2, respectively. Between 800 °C and 1000 °C, the adhesive and plastic oxide layer on the worn surface of the composite was claimed to be responsible for low friction coefficient and wear rate.     

Subpixel edge location method proposed to improve the performance of optical fiber spherical coupling probe during dimensional measurement of micro-cavities with high aspect ratio

A subpixel edge location method based on orthogonal Jacobi–Fourier moments is proposed in this paper to improve the performance of optical fiber spherical coupling probe during dimensional measurement of micro-cavities with high aspect ratio. The effectiveness of the proposed method is proved through the performance test of a micro-hole measuring machine with optical spherical coupling probe. Test results indicate that a blind micro-hole of 400 μm in diameter can be experimentally measured at the depth of 2000 μm with a repeatability of 40 nm and an extremity resolution of 42 nm.     

The effect of oil mist supply on cutting point temperature and tool wear in driven rotary cutting

We examined cutting point temperature and tool wear in driven rotary cutting. Cutting tests under dry and minimum-quantity-lubrication (MQL) conditions of stainless steel (SUS304) were carried out. Cutting point temperature was measured using a tool-work-thermocouple method at various cutting speeds. Cutting point temperature tends to increase with increased cutting speed. In driven rotary cutting, cutting point temperature was lower than that of non-rotation cutting. At high-speed cutting of 500 m/min, cutting point temperature was over 1200 °C in the non-rotation tool, but 1000 °C with driven rotary cutting. In addition, when driven rotary cutting was used with MQL, cutting point temperature was decreased to 900 °C. The magnitude of tool wear corresponded almost precisely to cutting point temperature. Severe adhesion on the rake face was observed and resulted in progressive wear on the rake face in rotary cutting at a cutting speed of 100 m/min. The appropriate cutting speed range passively shifts higher from the viewpoint of cutting temperature with rotary cutting.     

An orifice meter for bidirectional air flow measurements: Influence of gas thermo-hygrometric content on static response and bidirectionality

This paper presents the design and calibration of an ISO non-compliant orifice plate flowmeter whose intended use is for respiratory function measurements in the bidirectional air flow range ±9 L/min.The novelty of the proposed sensor consists of a plate beveled in both upstream and downstream sides: a symmetrical geometry is adopted in order to perform bidirectional measurements of flow rate. A mathematical model is introduced to quantify the influence of temperature on the sensor output. Four different positions of the pressure static taps are evaluated in order to maximize bidirectionality. An index is also introduced in order to quantitatively estimate the anti-symmetry of the sensor's response curve.Trials are carried out to evaluate the influence on sensor output of air temperatures (22 °C, 30 °C and 37 °C) at different values of relative humidity (5%, 55% and 85%). Experimental data show a quite good agreement with the theoretical model (R²>0.98 in each condition).The influence of air temperature on the sensor output is minimized by introducing a correction factor based on the theoretical model leading to measurement repeatability better than 2% in overall range of calibration. The mean sensitivity in the calibration range is about 2 kPa L⁻¹·min allowing to obtain a sensor discrimination threshold lower than 0.2 L/min in both directions. The time constant of the whole measurement system, equal to 2.40±0.03 ms, leads to a bandwidth up to 80 Hz making the sensor suitable for respiratory function measurements.     

Erosion-oxidation of uncoated,aluminized and chromized-aluminized 9Cr–1Mo steels under fluidized-bed conditions at 550–700 °C

Protective coatings, deposited mainly by thermal spraying and diffusion techniques, are considered a solution to extend the lifetime of many components in the energy production sector, such as heat exchangers. In this paper, some results are presented for uncoated, aluminized and chromized-aluminized 9Cr–1Mo steel, subjected to air and to impacts by 200 μm silica particles at angles of 30° and 90° and speeds of 7.0–9.2 m s^?1 at 550 –700 °C, in a laboratory fluidized-bed rig, to determine whether or not aluminized and chromized-aluminized diffusion coatings could protect the steel under such conditions. Erosion-oxidation damage was characterized by measurement of the mean thickness changes using a micrometer and examination of worn surfaces by scanning electron microscopy.Under most conditions, the coatings provided some protection to the substrate: under 30° impacts, up to 650 °C, and under 90° impacts, at 700 °C, both coatings were effective, whereas under 90° impacts, up to 650 °C, only the chromized-aluminized coating gave significant protection. However, for 30° at 700 °C, the oxide scale on the substrate was protective and the coatings were not needed. Explanations for these observations are presented in this paper, in terms of interactions between the erosion and oxidation processes for the materials.     

Experimental characterization of Silicon Drift Detector for X-ray spectrometry: Comparison with theoretical estimation

Reverse saturation current and the ideality factor (η) are the main parameters that affect the performance of a radiation semiconductor detector in different space environmental conditions. We have measured both of these parameters for the Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) used as a radiation detector in the X-ray spectrometry for space borne applications having the active area of 40 mm² and 109 mm² with 450 μm thick silicon. The measured reverse saturation current is compared with the theoretically estimated values using diode equation for various detector operating temperatures and shown that there is a strong dependence of reverse saturation current with ideality factor. Subsequently, using the reverse saturation current ratio method, the slope ratio for small area to the large area SDD is derived and compared with the theoretical slope ratio obtained using the measured ideality factor. It is shown that the slope ratios closely match with the diode equation of the form which has the ideality factor in both the product and exponential terms for these SDDs. The measured spectral energy resolution is ∼150 eV at 5.9 keV for both small and large area SDDs when operated at −40 °C and −65 °C respectively. The noise performance of the spectrometer is also measured in terms of Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) for various detector operating temperatures and shown that the value of ENC in rms noise electrons is minimal for the pulse shaping time of 3.3 μs.     

Studies on wear behavior of nano-intermetallic reinforced Al-base amorphous/nanocrystalline matrix in situ composite

Resistance to wear is an important factor in design and selection of structural components in relative motion against a mating surface. The present work deals with studies on fretting wear behavior of in situ nano-Al₃Ti reinforced Al–Ti–Si amorphous/nanocrystalline matrix composite, processed by high pressure (8 GPa) sintering at room temperature, 350, 400 or 450 °C. The wear experiments were carried out in gross slip fretting regime to investigate the performance of this composite against Al₂O₃ at ambient temperature (22–25 °C) and humidity (50–55%). The highest resistance to fretting wear has been observed in the composites sintered at 400 °C. The fretting wear involves oxidation of Al₃Ti particles in the composite. A continuous, smooth and protective tribolayer is formed on the worn surface of the composite sintered at 400 °C, while fragmentation and spallation leads to a rougher surface and greater wear in the composite sintered at 450 °C.