Hughes Aircraft Company

The Babcock & Wilcox Company

Douglas A Norton

Elvin E Herman

Bart E Likes

John W Berthold

Stuart E Reed

J Douglas Smith

J Jeffrey Kidwell

A system for detecting and imaging gamma radiation emitted by a contaminated area includes a plurality of collimators spaced a distance apart from each other. The collimators have a plurality of holes therethrough and the holes of one collimator are aligned with the holes in another collimator for forming a plurality of hole alignments which permit gamma rays to pass through the collimators. A scintillator and operatively connected avalanche photodiode are provided with each aligned hole of the collimators for determining the position of the gamma ray which passes through the collimators. A video camera records a visual image of the contaminated area and a monitor displays the video image along with location and size information provided by the avalanche photodiodes.

Gamma camera system for imaging contamination

Improved fiber optics pressure sensor transducers utilizing fiber optics in an interferometer sensing element. Included is a bellows-type pressure-to-movement converter that translates sensed pressure into linear displacement. That displacement is mechanically coupled to, and thereby varies the length of one leg of a fiber optics interferometer as a function of pressure. A temperature compensator is attached to the sensing or reference optical fiber of the interferometer. The temperature compensator causes corrective changes in the length of that optical fiber to which it is attached, thereby compensating for opposing temperature effects on other parts of the interferometer. Threaded studs attached to flexible stress reducers which are in turn coupled to optical fiber grippers provide means for adjusting interferometer optical fiber pre-tension and rotation to optimize polarization. In combination, the threaded studs with their attached flexible stress reducers, coupled via fiber grippers to the interferometer optical fibers, serve to minimize fiber bending and localized stress points which otherwise might weaken the tensioned fibers of the interferometer. A bourdon tube embodiment of the pressure-to-movement converter having a curved tang and attached flexible link converts rotational motion of the bourdon tube movement end to linear displacement.

Fiber optics pressure sensor transducer having a temperature compensator

An attachment structure is described that provides means for holding and for applying tensile force to an optical fiber clamped therein. Attachment to an optical fiber is accomplished by stripping the buffer layer(s) from a portion of the fiber and casting a thermosetting polymer encapsulating and compressing member thereon at elevated temperature so that, at lower than the polymer curing temperature, the cast polymer encapsulating member is in compression on the bared fiber and on a short portion of its adjacent buffer layer(s). A tension wire which provides a means for applying external force to the optical fiber has one end inserted axially in the mold for incorporation into the cast encapsulating member. The wire is also placed under compression at temperatures below that of the curing temperature of the polymer. To maintain compression over temperature elevated temperatures, a restrictive cylindrical coil spring is directly engaged around the encapsulating member. Alternatively, a metallic restrictive member may be electro-formed on the encapsulating member. This attachment device is suitable for clamping either an optical fiber that extends out each end of the attachment device, or for clamping an optical fiber where its end terminates within the attachment structure.

Optical fiber attachment structure and method

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Alliance, OH, United States of America

Douglas A Norton