Novel Heating-Rate Sensor for Use with Inverse Heat Conduction Problems

A new and novel sensor is proposed for measuring temperature andheating rate (dT/dt) in hostile environments. The sensoris optical and allows heating rates to be measured remotely.A small button of sensor material is placed on the target. Lightemitted from the button is collected by optics and (optionally)directed in a fiber optic to deliver the light to a photodetector.The photodetector can be positioned remotely. This system can measure hearing rates (and temperatures) in materialssubjected to rapid heating even in hostile environments. This is importantfor Air Force directed energy studies investigating material response to directedenergy. It will also be useful in applications of commercial interestsuch as steel manufacture. High quality steel requires accurate control of temperaturesduring processing. Our sensor would replace current methods to measure steeltemperature which fail in the hot andhostile environment of a steel plant.