In situ radiation influence on strain measurement performance of Brillouin sensors

Abstract : A new approach is proposed to monitor in situ the influence of gamma radiations on Brillouin properties of optical fiber extensometers. Experimental results are illustrated with the characterization of two fibers samples up to total dose of about 600Gy. The Brillouin frequency shift remains unaffected at such radiations level, as well as the spectral Brillouin signature or its dependence with strain. Meanwhile, propagation losses increase under radiations with an amplitude related to fiber dopants. The target application is nuclear wastes repository monitoring where higher doses are expected. UV radiation preliminary tests show that compaction phenomenon may occur at such high doses, inducing Brillouin frequency shift up to 20 MHz.