Fiber-optic humidity sensor system for the monitoring and detection of coolant leakage in nuclear power plants

Abstract

In this study, we developed a fiber-optic humidity sensor (FOHS) system for the monitoring and detection of coolant leakage in nuclear power plants. The FOHS system includes an FOHS, a spectrometer, a halogen white-light source, and a Y-coupler. The FOHS is composed of a humidity-sensing material, a metal tube, a multi-mode plastic optical fiber, and a subminiature version A (SMA) fiber-optic connector. The humidity-sensing material is synthesized from a mixture of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) in distilled water. We measured the optical intensity of the light signals reflected from the FOHS placed inside the humidity chamber with relative humidity (RH) variation from 40 to 95%. We found that the optical intensity of the sensing probe increased linearly with the RH. The reversibility and reproducibility of the FOHS were also evaluated.