Fluorine Gas Handling Sensor System

To make chemical lasers safe, reliable, and effective for use in the field, we propose to develop a sensor to monitor contamination of the fluorine gas lines. At the worst, contaminated fluorine lines can cause fires, disable the laser operation, and putthe crew in immediate danger for their lives. At the best, contaminated fluorine lines will merely decrease laser performance and increase corrosion rates which will lead to dangerous fluorine leaks later after the corrosion has had time to develop. Ourproposed sensor will help avoid these problems while keeping the chemical laser in top working order.Common materials, such as dust, water, and oil, can cause serious problems in a fluorine gas line. For example, water can react explosively with fluorine, creating toxic fumes. If it doesn't react explosively, it can attack passivation layers and act, inthe presence of fluorine, as a catalyst to increase corrosion rates of the pipe. After such attack, flakes of metal pipe or passivation layer may be loosened which can themselves react with fluorine. The flow of such particles around pipe corners caninitiate reactions with the fluorine due to transient heating as the particle collides with the pipe wall.Our proposed sensor monitors these contamination levels optically to help keep the laser in peak working condition. Our proposed system will improve the system lethality, safety, and reliability of chemical lasers. It will also have broad application to other military and industrial activities requiring pure gases. This includes, for example, liquid and gaseousoxygen systems as used by DoD and NASA.