Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) have been a subject of research since the middle of eighties and they have shown to be of remarkable interest for a great number of applications.In this paper an experimental study of the PDLC's thermo-optical properties in a confined cylindrical geometry is presented for the first time. A temperature's alarm optical fibre sensor has been realised: it is suitable to measure small heat flows and presents the typical advantages of both the fibre optic sensors and the liquid crystal technology, combined with a small thermal capacity, comparable with that of electronic devices such as thermistors.
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