Development of a fiber optic chemical dosimeter network for use in the remote detection of hydrazine propellant vapor leaks at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Charles M. Klimcak; Gouri Radhakrishnan; Spencer B. Delcamp; Y. Chan; B. Jaduszliwer; Steven C. Moss

doi:10.1117/12.190971

21 October 1994 Development of a fiber optic chemical dosimeter network for use in the remote detection of hydrazine propellant vapor leaks at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Charles M. Klimcak, Gouri Radhakrishnan, Spencer B. Delcamp, Y. Chan, B. Jaduszliwer, Steven C. Moss

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2293, Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Fiber Sensors VI; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.190971
Event: SPIE's 1994 International Symposium on Optics, Imaging, and Instrumentation, 1994, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Fiber optic chemical dosimeters are being developed for use in the remote detection of toxic rocket propellant vapors, (hydrazine and its derivatives, and nitrogen tetroxide) that are used at Air Force and civilian rocket launch sites. The dosimeters employ colorimetric indicators that react selectively and irreversibly with the propellant vapors to yield chemical compounds that absorb laser light launched into a fiber optic network. The dosimeters are fabricated by dispersing the reagent within either a porous cladding or a porous distal end coating, that is prepared by a low temperature sol-gel technique. Remote field- scale detection of hydrazine vapor in a few hundreds of ppb-min integrated dose regime has been demonstrated with a network that is approximately equals 1 kilometer in length and the use of a low power (10 mW) diode laser. We have also assembled a computer model of a multimode fiber optic dosimeter network for prediction of the operational capabilities of a multiplexed system containing 100 dosimeters. The model was encoded in both spreadsheet and BASIC formats. It was used to evaluate the performance of a field-scale, remote fiber optic detection system incorporating discrete chemical vapor dosimeters in serial, parallel, or hybrid serial/parallel topologies. Additionally, we have begun exploratory work utilizing chemical reagents that react reversibly with hydrazine vapor to develop hydrazine vapor concentration sensors that could be deployed in a similar fashion on a remote fiber optic network to detect hydrazine vapor in the ppb regime.

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Charles M. Klimcak, Gouri Radhakrishnan, Spencer B. Delcamp, Y. Chan, B. Jaduszliwer, and Steven C. Moss "Development of a fiber optic chemical dosimeter network for use in the remote detection of hydrazine propellant vapor leaks at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station", Proc. SPIE 2293, Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Fiber Sensors VI, (21 October 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.190971

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