Signal-to-noise ratio evaluation with draw tower fibre Bragg gratings (DTGs) for dynamic strain sensing at elevated temperatures and corrosive environment

Measuring strain at the surface of a structure can help to estimate the dynamical properties of the structure under test. Such a structure can be a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor consisting of fuel pins. In this paper we demonstrate a method to integrate draw tower gratings (DTGs) in a fuel pin and we subject this pin to conditions close to those encountered in a heavy liquid metal (HLM) reactor. More specifically, we report on the performance of DTGs used as a strain sensor when immersed in HLM during thermal cycles (up to 300 degrees C) for up to 700 hours.