Chemical wave perturbation detection systems and methods
| DWPI Title: Monitoring engineered geoenvironments using nonlinear chemical waves involve analyzing monitored chemical wave profiles using inverse modeling and parameter estimation to determine if perturbation has taken place in second period of time by perturbation source |
| Abstract: Chemical wave systems that utilize chemical compounds with nonlinear chemical wave behavior can be used to detect or sense material changes such as a change in a radiation source. Such chemical systems include autocatalysis that produce self-sustaining spatial and/or temporal fluctuations in chemical attributes such as species concentrations, pH, and/or redox state. Through application of the chemical compounds with wave behavior into engineered geologic environments, such as those for containment of a liquid or solid, the chemical wave behavior may be triggered or modified by perturbations, including intrusion into the environment. The chemical wave behavior is an indicator of the said perturbation and monitored by various means tailored to the type of chemical waves. The chemical waves can have a type of “fingerprint” based on their wave behavior that lasts beyond a transient disturbance that could later be discerned by measurement of the chemical wave attributes. |
| Use: Method for monitoring engineered geoenvironments using nonlinear chemical waves. |
| Advantage: The method has an ability to monitor environments that are otherwise difficult to access or hazardous. These may include chemically reactive, radioactive, or physically confined spaces where traditional sensors or monitoring techniques may fail due to environmental constraints or risks. The chemical waves are sensitive to various environmental changes, including chemical, radiological, or physical disturbances such as leakage, radiation emissions, temperature variations, or movement of materials. This broad sensitivity makes the system applicable to many types of environments. |
| Novelty: Monitoring engineered geoenvironments using nonlinear chemical waves involve introducing autocatalytic chemical wave compounds into an area of interest for a first period of time, monitoring the chemical wave compound concentrations at one or more detection sites to create a chemical wave profile over the first period of time, and analyzing the monitored chemical wave profiles using inverse modeling and parameter estimation to determine if a perturbation has taken place in the second period of time by a perturbation source, where the measured chemical wave is used to estimate underlying system state parameters that affect the chemical waves, including substances such as radiation by-products and their locations, type, and strength. |
| Filed: 3/10/2022 |
| Application Number: US17691753A |
| Tech ID: SD 15710.2 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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