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Sensors for Extreme Environments
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Sensors for Extreme Environments

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 10451

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alton Horsfall

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Interests: sensor technology for high temperature; high radiation environments; wide bandgap semiconductors
Dr. Brian Johnson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Littelfuse, Chicago, IL, USA
Interests: sensor technologies in the automotive sector; transfer to mass manufacture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microelectronic sensors have revolutionised our understanding of the world in which we live. Based on the phenomenal advances in silicon technology, it is possible to sense a vast array of systems, analyse the data, and transmit them across the world. However, the material properties of silicon limit its application to benign environments, precluding it from a wide range of applications relevant to industry and scientific exploration. Extreme environments, characterised by temperatures over 175 °C, high radiation flux or chemically aggressive species, are found in automotive, aerospace, nuclear, space geothermal, and oil and gas applications. These are not accessible to conventional silicon-based technology and so, knowledge of these environments is lacking. This Special Issue of Sensors is dedicated to the challenges of sensing in these extreme environments and welcomes submissions describing all aspects of the field, from fundamental sensor technology and system level challenges to the failure of conventional technology in these environments and specific challenges of emerging disciplines.

Prof. Dr. Alton Horsfall
Dr. Brian Johnson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • High temperature
  • High radiation flux
  • Chemically aggressive environments
  • Wide bandgap semiconductors
  • Material development
  • High pressure
  • Sensing mechanisms
  • Thermal shock
  • Packaging for extreme environments
  • Reliability

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3917 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Neutron Radiation in Extreme Gamma/X-Ray Radiation Fields
by Rusi P. Taleyarkhan
Sensors 2020, 20(3), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030640 - 23 Jan 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3349
Abstract
The monitoring of neutron radiation in extreme high ≈1014 (#/cm2-s) neutron/photon fields and at extremely-low (≈10−3 #/cm2-s) levels poses daunting challenges—important in fields spanning nuclear energy, special nuclear material processing/security, nuclear medicine (e.g., photon-based cancer therapy), and [...] Read more.
The monitoring of neutron radiation in extreme high ≈1014 (#/cm2-s) neutron/photon fields and at extremely-low (≈10−3 #/cm2-s) levels poses daunting challenges—important in fields spanning nuclear energy, special nuclear material processing/security, nuclear medicine (e.g., photon-based cancer therapy), and high energy (e.g., dark-matter) research. Variably proportioned (neutron, gammas, X-ray) radiation, spanning 10−2–109 eV in energy, is omnipresent from ultra-low (Bq) activity levels (e.g., cosmic rays/ bananas), to extreme high (>1020 Bq) levels. E.g., in nuclear reactor cores; in spent nuclear fuel bearing nuclear-explosive-relevant safeguard-sensitive isotopes, such as Pu-239; and in cancer therapy accelerators. The corresponding high to low radiation dose range spans a daunting 1016:1 spread—alongside ancillary challenges such as high temperatures, pressure, and humidity. Commonly used neutron sensors get readily saturated even in modest (<1 R/h) photon fields; importantly, they are unable to decipher trace neutron radiation relative to 1014 times greater gamma radiation. This paper focuses on sensing ultra-low to high neutron radiation in extremely high photon (gamma-X ray) backgrounds. It summarizes the state-of-art compared to the novel tensioned metastable fluid detector (TMFD) sensor technology, which offers physics-based 100% gamma-blind, high (60–95%) intrinsic efficiency for neutron-alpha-fission detection, even under extreme (≈103 R/h) gamma radiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Extreme Environments)
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15 pages, 6779 KiB  
Article
Study on the Application of Optical Current Sensor for Lightning Current Measurement of Transmission Line
by Jin-ming Ge, Yan Shen, Wen-bin Yu, Yue Han and Fang-wei Duan
Sensors 2019, 19(23), 5110; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19235110 - 22 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2921
Abstract
Accurate and reliable lightning current data are the basis of lightning protection design. To measure lightning current data at different measurement locations in a transmission system, the limitations of traditional lightning current sensors are analyzed, and optical current sensing technology is adopted, which [...] Read more.
Accurate and reliable lightning current data are the basis of lightning protection design. To measure lightning current data at different measurement locations in a transmission system, the limitations of traditional lightning current sensors are analyzed, and optical current sensing technology is adopted, which has the advantages of no magnetic saturation and no bandwidth limitation. Compared with traditional application environments, the sensing technology is used in special environments in transmission systems. This paper analyzes the influence of environmental factors on sensors, and combines the extreme environmental requirements, such as temperature and insulation requirements, to study the sensor. Starting from the sensitivity, the sensing characteristics of the sensor are analyzed. The sensor is designed according to three aspects: sensing material selection, spatial measuring position, and sensing material size optimization, such that it can satisfy the different measurement requirements of towers, overhead ground wires, and transmission lines, respectively. The experiments indicate that the developed sensors can meet the measurement sensitivity requirements of different types of lightning strikes. The experimental results of sensors exhibit a reasonable amplitude measurement accuracy, linearity, and waveform measurement capability. These results provide important theoretical and experimental bases for the application of optical current sensing technology to the measurement of the lightning current of transmission systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Extreme Environments)
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17 pages, 10118 KiB  
Article
Simulation-Based Design and Optimization of Accelerometers Subject to High-Temperature and High-Impact Loads
by Ji Li, Yaling Tian, Junjie Dan, Zhuming Bi, Jinhui Zheng and Bailin Li
Sensors 2019, 19(17), 3759; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19173759 - 30 Aug 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3230
Abstract
Due to multi-factor coupling behavior, the performance evaluation of an accelerometer subject to high-temperature and high-impact loads poses a significant challenge during its design phase. In this paper, the simulation-based method is applied to optimize the design of the accelerometer. The proposed method [...] Read more.
Due to multi-factor coupling behavior, the performance evaluation of an accelerometer subject to high-temperature and high-impact loads poses a significant challenge during its design phase. In this paper, the simulation-based method is applied to optimize the design of the accelerometer. The proposed method can reduce the uncertainties and improve the fidelity of the simulation in the sense that (i) the preloading conditions of fasteners are taken into consideration and modeled in static analysis; (ii) all types of loadings, including bolt preloads, thermal loads, and impact loads, are defined in virtual dynamic prototype of the accelerometer. It is our finding that from static and dynamic analysis, an accelerometer is exposed to the risk of malfunction and even a complete failure if the temperature rises to a certain limit; it has been proved that the thermal properties of sensing components are the most critical factors for an accelerometer to achieve its desired performance. Accordingly, we use a simulation-based method to optimize the thermal expansion coefficient of the sensing element and get the expected design objectives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Extreme Environments)
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