Concept for characterization of neutron flux using optical plume anomaly detection technology

Researchers are working on many fronts to make possible high speed, automated classification and quantification of constituent materials in numerous environments. NASA´s Marshall Space Flight Center has implemented a system for rocket engine flow fields/plumes; the optical plume anomaly detection (OPAD) system was designed to utilize emission and absorption spectroscopy for monitoring molecular and atomic particulates in gas plasma. An accompanying suite of tools and analytical package designed to utilize information collected by OPAD is known as the engine diagnostic filtering system (EDIFIS). The current combination of these systems identifies atomic and molecular species and quantifies mass loss rates in H²/O² rocket plumes. Additionally, efforts are being advanced to hardware encode components of the EDIFIS software to address real-time operational requirements for health monitoring and management. This addresses the OPAD with its tool suite. OPAD´s development path as a flight system, certain details of which are discussed herein, provides a valuable foundation for the incorporation of detection and real-time analysis of high energy particles, including neutrons and gamma rays. The integration of these tools and capabilities will provide NASA with a systematic approach to monitoring space vehicle internal and external environments