TEMPERATURE AND STRAIN SENSORS OF SINGLE CRYSTAL FIBERS OF YAG AND Y2O3

ACCURATE REAL-TIME MONITORING OF TEMPERATURE AND STRAIN IN TURBINE ENGINE COMPONENTS UNDER OPERATING CONDITIONS WILL REQUIRE NEW CONCEPTS IN SENSOR DESIGN. AVAILABLE SENSOR DEVICES WILL NOT PERFORM IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS. FIBER OPTIC SENSORS OFFER A POSSIBLE SOLUTION BUT AVAILABLE FIBERS OF GLASS OR SILICA CANNOT WITHSTAND THE EXTREME VIBRATIONS AND TEMPERATURES EXPERIENCED IN THIS APPLICATION. MOREOVER, THESE MATERIALS CANNOT TOLERATE THE HIGH TEMPERATURES AND THERMAL SHOCK THAT THE FIBERS WILL EXPERIENCE IN BEING EMBEDDED IN A METAL OR CERAMIC. LASERGENICS CORPORATION IS PROPOSING TO INVESTIGATE THE USE OF SINGLE CRYSTAL FIBER OPTICS WHICH CAN BE USED AT HIGH TEMPERATURES. USING OUR NOVEL APPROACH, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF SENSING STRAIN FORCES AND TEMPERATURE WITH SINGLE CRYSTAL FIBERS OF Y2O3 AND YAG. THIS CONCEPT WILL BE TESTED DURING THE PHASE I EFFORT AND A SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED, CHARACTERIZED AND TESTED IN AN AIR FORCE SYSTEM DURING THE PHASE II PROGRAM.