Testing fiber optics as a safety sensor for
light water reactors
Juliana Duarte
Assistant
Professor
Research
Focus:
Nuclear safety
analysis; Ther-
mal-hydraulic
systems;
Experimental &
computational
two-phase
flow; Boiling &
condensation
phenomena;
Advanced light
water reactor;
Small modular
reactors;
Assistant Professor Duarte’s research
focuses on an experimental program
to apply advanced instrumentation and
data analysis to better understand the
post-critical heat flux (CHF) heat transfer,
including transition boiling, the minimum
film boiling temperature, and film boiling
heat transfer regime.
The work will improve the understanding
of multi-phase problems and help devel-
op semi-empirical correlations to improve
the modeling currently used in CFD and
thermal-hydraulic system codes. Duarte
is also interested in the heat transfer per-
formance of accident tolerant fuels, particularly, in the surface effect on the critical heat flux and
minimum film boiling temperature at nuclear reactor operating conditions. Her group is testing the
applicability of fiber optics to measure the quenching temperature, an important safety parameter
for light water reactors. “Optical fiber sensors act almost as a continuous sensor measuring tem-
perature at each ~1 millimeter”. Preliminary data will be presented in the American Nuclear Society
Winter Meeting in November. Duarte said she hopes that high-pressure experiments using fiber
optics will provide unique data to investigate these complex two-phase heat transfer phenomena.
This study is part of a $450,000 three-year Faculty Development Grant funded by the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Exoskeleton helps
people with
impairments
complete tasks
Many individuals have to perform repetitive arm movements
or lift heavy boxes every day as part of their jobs. Still others
have arm impairments or weakness which make it difficult to lift
their arms and perform everyday tasks such as combing their
hair or buttoning a shirt. To help all of these individuals, the
Assistive Robotics Lab led by Dr. Asbeck is investigating new
arm exoskeleton designs that can support the weight of a per-
son’s arm or a heavy box. These patent-pending designs were
investigated by Dr. Asbeck’s senior design team last year, with
the result winning the Design Prize in the 2019 DEBUT Chal-
lenge. Currently, two students from that team are working with
Dr. Asbeck on their Master’s degrees, further improving the
designs and investigating how the exoskeletons affect the body
Alan Asbeck
Assistant
Professor
Research
Focus:
Designing
flexible human
interfaces for
mechanical &
electrical sys-
tems, under-
standing human
biomechanics
and the body’s
internal control
strategy, & cre-
ating sensors
and control sys-
tems for wear-
able robots.
Revised and Corrected, Nov. 2019 19