A ROCKET ENGINE LEAK DETECTION SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A REAL-TIME LEAK-DETECTION AND -MONITORING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN IN STS APPLICATIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST SEVERAL METHODOLOGIES FOR THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN IN THE STS ENVIRONMENT, BASED ON THE USE OF A DIRECT SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUE (RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY). THE MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF A RAMAN-BASED SYSTEM INCLUDE REAL-TIME RESPONSE, QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES, SIMULTANEOUS MULTICOMPONENT DETECTION, NO MOVING PARTS, LOW DETECTION LIMITS (LESS THAN 1 PPM), AND INTRINSIC SAFETY. SINCE RAMANTECHNIQUES ARE HIGHLY ADAPTABLE TO FIBER OPTICS, AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF RELIABLE, SELECTIVE, LOW-MAINTENANCE SENSORS CAN BE DEVELOPED THAT RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND PROVIDES AMPLE WARNING TIME BEFORE HYDROGEN OR OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS APPROACH DANGEROUS LEVELS. THE NETWORK WOULD ALSO PINPOINT THE LOCATION OF THE LEAK. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE II PROGRAM WILL BE TO DEVELOP, FIELD TEST, AND DELIVER BOTH A LIGHTWEIGHT (LESS THAN 2 LBS), VIBRATION-RESISTANT, SELF-CONTAINED UNIT AND A CENTRALLY BASED, INTEGRATED NETWORK. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A REAL-TIME LEAK-DETECTION AND -MONITORING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN IN STS APPLICATIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST SEVERAL METHODOLOGIES FOR THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, AND NITROGEN IN THE STS ENVIRONMENT, BASED ON THE USE OF A DIRECT SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUE (RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY). THE MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF A RAMAN-BASED SYSTEM INCLUDE REAL-TIME RESPONSE, QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES, SIMULTANEOUS MULTICOMPONENT DETECTION, NO MOVING PARTS, LOW DETECTION LIMITS (LESS THAN 1 PPM), AND INTRINSIC SAFETY. SINCE RAMANTECHNIQUES ARE HIGHLY ADAPTABLE TO FIBER OPTICS, AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF RELIABLE, SELECTIVE, LOW-MAINTENANCE SENSORS CAN BE DEVELOPED THAT RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND PROVIDES AMPLE WARNING TIME BEFORE HYDROGEN OR OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS APPROACH DANGEROUS LEVELS. THE NETWORK WOULD ALSO PINPOINT THE LOCATION OF THE LEAK. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE II PROGRAM WILL BE TO DEVELOP, FIELD TEST, AND DELIVER BOTH A LIGHTWEIGHT (LESS THAN 2 LBS), VIBRATION-RESISTANT, SELF-CONTAINED UNIT AND A CENTRALLY BASED, INTEGRATED NETWORK.