Apr, 2026
ORNL Report
Publications
Showing 53 results for Author: Dan C. Sweeney
Mar, 2026
Conference Paper
Design of an Out-Of-Pile Experimental Facility to Demonstrate the Feasibility of In Situ Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Nuclear Fuels Under Irradiation
There is substantial merit in quantifying nuclear fuel performance under irradiation. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the MiniFuel irradiation platform has become the primary test vehicle for conducting separate-effects fuel performance irradiation experiments. The MiniFuel experiment is a passively controlled capsule design deployed in the High Flux Isotope React…
Mar, 2026
Conference Paper
Fiber-Optic Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Power Plants: Challenges and Opportunities
Mar, 2026
Conference Paper
In Situ Cladding Surface Temperature Measurements during Simulated LOCA Transients
Nov, 2025
ORNL Report
Implementation of Johnson Noise Thermometry into Radiation Hardened Electronics
Apr, 2025
Journal
A Miniaturized, High-Bandwidth Optical Fiber Fabry–Perot Cavity Vibration Sensor Demonstrated up to 800 °C
A typical structural health monitoring technique involves measuring the vibrational characteristics of components or systems to detect signs of degradation or damage. Many industrial applications require engineered systems to safely operate under extreme, high-temperature environments that pose challenges not only to materials but also to sensors that would be used for str…
Mar, 2025
Journal
Minimization of Measurement Uncertainty in Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry
Optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) is a technique for interrogating optical fiber sensors to generate relative, quasi-distributed measurements. Although Optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) is increasingly being adopted for aerospace, energy production, and structural monitoring applications, the quantification of uncertainty for OFDR measurements has n…
Jan, 2025
Journal
Glassy carbon formation from pyrolysis of polymeric coatings on fiber-optic sensors
Deploying fiber-optic sensors in nuclear reactors requires a detailed understanding of radiation effects on the fiber materials and the transmitted signals. Previous work has shown large wavelength shifts in the reflected spectra obtained from polymer-coated fiber-optic temperature sensors exposed to high neutron fluences. The sensor drift resulting from these wavelength s…