OPTICAL-FIBER TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN THE CRYOGENIC RANGE

The realization of an optical fibre sensor applied to cryogenic temper ature measurement in harsh environments is presented. The measurement principle is based on the analysis of the decay-time of the fluorescen ce emitted by special doped crystals, the excited state lifetimes of w hich are greatly dependent on temperature, The sensor is intended to w ork in the presence of strong perturbations encountered on the testing benches of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen turbo-pumps of the A riane 5 Vulcan engine developed by 'la Societe Europeenne de Propulsio n (SEP)'. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.