G - Physics – 02 – B
Patent
G - Physics
02
B
340/139
G02B 6/02 (2006.01) C03C 13/00 (2006.01) G01N 21/43 (2006.01)
Patent
CA 1287900
OPTICAL SENSOR FOR THE DETECTION OF ICE FORMATION AND OTHER CHEMICAL SPECIES Abstract of the Disclosure An ice sensor for the remote rapid indication of ice formation or the presence of ice is a fiber optic "switch", activated by ice but not by water, and based on the difference in optical properties between water and ice. The approach is to construct a "fiber optic" which itself is the ice sensor. The fiber optic sensor (FOS) is designed so that no light is transmitted when water is present but as soon as ice begins to form, light is relayed. Thus ice switches on the light. In addition, limited quantitative information can be made available on the rate of ice formation. Alternatively the sensor can be formed of another type optical waveguide instead of an optical fiber. The ice sensor is formed by placing spaced stripes of a clad material on a fiber optic core, or other waveguide structure, where the clad has a refractive index close to ice and the core has an index greater than the clad but les than water. It is best to index match the core to the clad for optimal transmission when ice forms in the gaps between the clad stripes. This device can be constructed using a variety of sturdy materials. It should be constructed using a variety of sturdy materials. It should be particularly suitable for applications where long-term exposure to adverse weather conditions are expected. The advantages of the ice sensor include: specific, sensitive, real-time response, small, light weight, inexpensive, requires no line-of-sight, EMI immune, rugged and flexible. The instrumentation needed to operate the ice FOS is simple, small, lightweight, inexpensive, easy to operate, battery powered - optional, rugged, reliable and amenable to telemetry of information. A fiber optic core or other waveguide structure with spaced clad stripes can also be designed to detect other chemical species, or a particular concentration of a chemical species, or phase transitions of other species by selecting a clad with a refractive index close to the material to be detected.
592761
Klainer Stanley M.
Milanovich Fred P.
Fiberchem Inc.
Smart & Biggar
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