Dr. William A. Von Drasek Profile

Dr. William A. Von Drasek

Sr. Staff Scientist at NALCO Water

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Publications (7)

Proceedings Article | 5 November 2005 Paper

A novel variable power diode laser sensor for harsh process monitoring

William Von Drasek, Anna Melsió, Shawn Wehe, Mark Allen

Proceedings Volume 5998, 59980E (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.631803

KEYWORDS: Particles, Sensors, Carbon monoxide, Magnesium, Temperature metrology, Optical amplifiers, Absorption, Gas lasers, Semiconductor lasers, Signal processing

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Proceedings Article | 8 March 2004 Paper

Tunable diode laser sensor for multiple species monitoring in harsh atmospheres

William Von Drasek, Shawn Wehe, Mark Allen

Proceedings Volume 5272, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.515701

KEYWORDS: Atmospheric monitoring, Combustion, Sensors, Tunable diode lasers, Process control, Semiconductor lasers, Atmospheric sensing, Absorption, Carbon monoxide, Temperature metrology

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Energy intensive industries such as steel, aluminum, and glass require combustion processes that are characteristically at high temperature with high levels of particulate matter. Monitoring and control of these processes for improved efficiency, pollutant reduction, and product quality requires a sensor adaptable for such harsh environments. Traditional industrial monitoring relies on extractive sampling that requires frequent maintenance due to probe plugging or corrosion and routine calibration. In addition, capturing the temporal behavior of the process can be problematic with extractive sampling systems because of the slow response time associated with the sampling line lengths and slow response analyzers. To meet the demands of these harsh combustion processes the ideal sensor would perform in-situ process monitoring, require little or no maintenance and provide real-time process information The use of tunable diode lasers based on absorption monitoring overcomes many of the problems associated with conventional extractive sampling. However, the majority of industrial combustion processes will undergo temperature variations along with changes in the atmosphere oxidation or reducing state during normal operation. Therefore, temperature monitoring along with key combustion species monitoring that describes the atmosphere e.g., O₂ and CO, is often necessary for optimal process control. The temperature is not only a useful parameter describing the state of the process, but is needed to accurately determine the species concentration since the absorption measured is dependent on temperature. To monitor both reducing and oxidizing combustion atmospheres in addition to gas temperature requires a diode laser system capable of multiple species monitoring. Here we describe an industrial prototype system operating in the near-infrared for simultaneous monitoring of O₂ (.76 μm), CO (1.5 μm), H₂O (1.5 μm) and gas temperature. The prototype system addresses the issues of added complexity with multiple species monitoring by using only two diode lasers and a beam launch and receiver optical design to discriminate the vastly different laser wavelengths while suppressing background radiation noise and beam steering from thermal gradients. Measurement results using the system for industrial process monitoring on a 100-ton/hr steel reheat furnace are presented. The measurements in this test were conducted at different zones in the furnace and at different heights relative to the processed material. The results show dynamic variations in concentration and temperature that could aid in improved atmosphere control.

Proceedings Article | 13 February 2001 Paper

Multifunctional industrial combustion process monitoring with tunable diode lasers

William Von Drasek, Olivier Charon, Ken Mulderink, David Sonnenfroh, Mark Allen

Proceedings Volume 4201, (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.417388

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Combustion, Carbon monoxide, Semiconductor lasers, Particles, Absorption, Temperature metrology, Gas lasers, Pyrometry, Tunable diode lasers

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Proceedings Article | 7 May 1999 Paper

Oxy-fuel combustion emission monitoring using tunable diode laser sensors

William Von Drasek, David Sonnenfroh, P. Keating, Mark Allen, Olivier Charon

Proceedings Volume 3740, (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.347798

KEYWORDS: Combustion, Sensors, Tunable diode lasers, Semiconductor lasers, Atmospheric particles, Absorption, Temperature metrology, Signal to noise ratio, Carbon monoxide, Molecules

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Proceedings Article | 22 January 1999 Paper

Modified sodium line-reversal temperature measurements in oxy-fuel flames

William Von Drasek, Olivier Charon, Romain Roux

Proceedings Volume 3535, (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.337480

KEYWORDS: Temperature metrology, Sodium, Lamps, Combustion, Pyrometry, Absorption, 3D modeling, Black bodies, Raman spectroscopy, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 22 January 1999 Paper

Industrial combustion monitoring using optical sensors

William Von Drasek, Olivier Charon, Olivier Marsais

Proceedings Volume 3535, (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.337467

KEYWORDS: Combustion, Oxygen, Optical sensors, Spectroscopy, Aluminum, Calibration, Glasses, Sensors, Fiber optics, Nitrous oxide

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Proceedings Article | 1 May 1991 Paper

Influence of gas composition on XeCl laser performance

Gregory Jursich, William Von Drasek, Ken Mulderink, V. Olchowka, John Reid, Robert Brimacombe

Proceedings Volume 1412, (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.43640

KEYWORDS: Gas lasers, Infrared spectroscopy, Spectroscopy, Excimer lasers, Data modeling, Carbon dioxide lasers, Ultraviolet radiation, Metal vapor lasers, Infrared radiation, Carbon monoxide

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Showing 5 of 7 publications

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