A flexible fiber optic structure sensor that monitors the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid

Abstract

The application discloses a flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid, and has the features that two fiber electrodes are included, the two fiber electrodes each include a conductor with a fiber structure, and a fractal structure is prepared on the conductor with the fiber structure; the conductor with the fiber structure of one of the fiber electrodes is coated with an electrophilic polymer material, and has electrophilicity; and the electrophilicity of the other fiber electrode is different from that of the fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material. The fiber structure liquid sensor prepared by the application has the advantages of high sensitivity, high immersion, self-power supply and the like, can be attached to the inner walls of many complex curved pipelines, and has a good application prospect for detecting pipeline leakage and blockage in a complex industrial pipeline system.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of sensors, in particular to a flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of organic solvent fluid. BACKGROUND

[0002] There are various flowing liquids in some common chemical process pipelines. It is often difficult to monitor the leakage or blockage of the fluid in the complex pipeline in real time. The traditional fluid sensor has low sensitivity and high cost, and due to its bulky size, it cannot adapt to various complex curved surfaces of the pipeline, which greatly increases the difficulty of monitoring the flow field in the complex pipeline. In addition, the flow characteristics of microfluids and macrofluids may be different, so there are certain limitations in the measurement of fluid characteristics of microfluids. Therefore, a flexible fiber structure liquid sensor needs to be prepared, which can not only be well immersed in various liquids and well fitted with the curved interface of the inner wall of the complex pipeline, but also can collect energy supply signals for analysis and can be self-powered to monitor the flow field. SUMMARY

[0003] In view of the problems of the prior art, the present application aims to provide a sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of organic solvent fluid, which can sensitively monitor the change of the flow field state in the complex pipeline and is suitable for any complex working plane.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present application is implemented by the following technical scheme: a flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of organic solvent fluid, characterized by comprising two fiber electrodes, each of which comprises a conductor with a fiber structure, and a fractal structure is prepared on the conductor with the fiber structure, wherein the conductor with the fiber structure of one of the fiber electrodes is coated with an electrophilic polymer material, which has electrophilicity, and the electrophilicity of the other fiber electrode is different from that of the fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material.

[0005] In the above scheme: the two fiber electrodes are assembled together by side-by-side, winding, interweaving or the like, or the two fiber electrodes are woven into the fabric as weft or warp.

[0006] In the above scheme: the conductor with the fiber structure is one of a nickel wire, a copper wire, a zinc wire, a silver wire, an iron wire, a titanium wire, a manganese wire, a magnesium wire, an aluminum wire, a chromium wire and a composite fiber thereof, or the conductor with the fiber structure is formed by wrapping a layer of conductive material on a non-conductive fiber, and the single diameter is 1-5mm, and the length-diameter ratio is greater than 10:1.

[0007] In the scheme, the electrophilic polymer material is one of polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polydimethylsiloxane, polyimide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate, modacrylic, polyacrylonitrile, neoprene, polyester, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, and polymethyl methacrylate.

[0008] In the scheme, the coating thickness of the electrophilic polymer material is 0.1 μm-2 mm.

[0009] In the scheme, the fractal dimension of the fiber structure conductor ranges from 1 to 2. The fractal structure refers to a broken structure with a large specific surface area. When magnified to different scales, the structure has self-similarity. The structure can be represented by a fractal dimension, which is usually a fraction or a decimal.

[0010] In the scheme, the fractal structure is prepared by a template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition method. The electrophilic polymer material is coated by a room temperature immersion process, a high temperature spraying process, and a room temperature suspension coating process.

[0011] In the scheme, the two fiber electrodes are assembled by the following steps: connecting other ordinary cotton threads to a self-made loom device as warp threads, and then weaving the fractal structure fiber electrodes and the fractal structure fiber electrodes coated with the electrophilic polymer material as weft threads in a parallel or interlaced manner, adjusting the shed on the heald frame to form a liquid sensor with fiber structure.

[0012] In the scheme, during the parallel, winding, and interweaving of the two fiber structure electrodes, the interface pressure between the electrodes and other ordinary cotton threads ranges from 0.1 kPa to 1 MPa, and the tensile force ranges from 0.001 N to 10 N.

[0013] In the scheme, the fiber structure conductor is a nickel wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0014] In the scheme, the fiber structure conductor is a copper wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinyl chloride.

[0015] In the scheme, the fiber structure conductor is a zinc wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinylidene fluoride.

[0016] In the scheme, the fiber structure conductor is an iron wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinylidene chloride.

[0017] When the fiber structure liquid sensor of the application is applied to different organic solvent liquids, various flow field conditions including fluid velocity, fluid acceleration, fluid chemical composition, etc. have different effects on the triboelectric output of the fiber structure liquid sensor. The fiber structure liquid sensor prepared by the application has the advantages of high sensitivity, high immersion, self-power supply, etc. It can be attached to the inner wall of many complex curved pipes, and has good application prospects for detecting pipe leakage and blockage in complex industrial pipeline systems.

[0018] The conductor of the fiber structure works as a triboelectric layer and a conductive layer during operation. The fractal structure fiber electrode coated with electrophilic polymer material works as a triboelectric layer and a conductive layer.

[0019] Traditional fluid sensors have low sensitivity and high cost, and due to their bulky size, they cannot adapt to various complex curved surfaces of pipes and are difficult to monitor the state changes of flow fields in complex pipes in real time. The technical problems are solved by the technical solutions of the application, and the application has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0020] 1. The fractal structure fiber electrode and the fractal structure fiber electrode coated with electrophilic polymer material are prepared and assembled into a flexible fiber structure liquid sensor, which can be attached to the inner wall of many complex curved pipes due to the structural characteristics of fiber such as good bendability, arbitrary deformation and fiber gap, solving the problems of hard and heavy, low flexibility and non-conformity of traditional flat structure liquid sensors, and having good application prospects for detecting pipe leakage and blockage in complex industrial pipeline systems.

[0021] 2. A layer of fractal structure is grown on the conductor of the fiber structure, which has a large specific surface area, increases the contact area between the flow field and the sensor, and greatly improves the sensitivity of the fiber structure liquid sensor.

[0022] 3. The two fiber structure electrodes can generate electricity, so that the assembled fiber structure liquid sensor can divide the signal of the sensor into two parts during pipe flow field monitoring, one part is used for self-energy supply, and the other part is used for fluid composition, velocity and acceleration detection. Therefore, external energy is no longer needed in the process of collecting and finally converting electrical signals into chemical composition, flow rate, acceleration and other parameter information. The direct current part of the electrical signal can be tested by self-powered analysis to test the flow rate, and the alternating current part can be tested to test the acceleration, so as to realize a self-powered wireless sensing system.

[0023] 3. The output is closely related to the interface contact and friction state. When applied to mixed solution, the content of fluid component can be analyzed due to the different solid-liquid interface friction effect of different solvents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 The manufacturing process of Example 1 of the present application is shown in the figure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present application will be further described in conjunction with examples and drawings.

[0026] Example 1

[0027] Nickel wire is selected as the fiber electrode substrate. First, two nickel-based fiber electrodes with fractal structure are prepared by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition method. The fractal dimension is in the range of 1-2, the single diameter is 1 μm, and the length-diameter ratio is greater than 10:1,

[0028] The method for preparing the fractal structure fiber electrode by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition method is as follows:

[0029] Electrolyte solution: 200 g of nickel sulfate, 30 g of nickel chloride, and 30 g of boric acid are dissolved in 800 mL of distilled water, mixed uniformly, then 10 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid is added, and then transferred to a 1000 mL volumetric flask for constant volume. First, the solution needs to be heated to 75°C and kept at constant temperature. Then, the nickel wire as the cathode is polished with 1200 mesh sandpaper and washed with anhydrous ethanol for use. The annular quaternary alloy anode is polished and ready for use. After the reactor is assembled, the current block of the direct current stable power supply is adjusted to the maximum and the voltage block is adjusted to the specified voltage. During the addition of the reaction solution, attention should be paid not to touch the power clamp. Adjust the height of the electrolyte solution and the height of the annular anode. At this time, the power switch is closed and the power-on reaction is started. The temperature of the nickel wire is controlled by an electric hair dryer to ensure that it does not melt due to high temperature. After the reaction is completed, the grown nickel-based fractal structure fiber electrode is washed with distilled water until the surface is clean, then dried with a hair dryer, and placed in a desiccator for storage. The direct current stable power supply used in the experiment is HB17601SL-5A (HOSSONI).

[0030] The researchers then deposited polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), an electrophilic polymer, onto one of the fractal-structured nickel fiber electrodes through a room-temperature immersion process, creating a fractal-structured fiber electrode coated with an electrophilic polymer. The coating thickness was 0.1 μm. Other ordinary cotton threads were connected to a homemade loom as the warp, and the fractal-structured fiber electrode and the fractal-structured fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer were woven in parallel. By adjusting the heald frame up and down to form a shed, the resulting fiber-structured liquid sensor was assembled. The interface pressure between the electrode and the other ordinary cotton threads was 0.9 kPa, and the tensile force range was 0.5 N.

[0031] After the sensor was connected to the test device, it was tested. A linear motor was used to drive it back and forth in the ethanol liquid (simulating the flow of ethanol liquid) to simulate the interface contact process between the flow field and the fiber structure sensor. The experiment measured that as the flow rate increases, the DC signal increases linearly. When the flow rate is 8m / s, the open circuit potential is 0.84V and the short circuit current is 0.24nA. The AC signal of the fabric is related to the acceleration of the fluid. As the acceleration increases, the AC signal increases linearly. When the flow rate is 12m / s 2 When , the open circuit peak potential is 1.03V and the short circuit peak current is 8.09nA.

[0032] We also designed experiments using ethanol-water mixtures with varying volume fractions as the fluid. At a flow rate of 6 m / s, as the ethanol volume fraction increased from 0% to 100%, the open-circuit potential dropped from 0.071 V to -0.016 V, while the short-circuit current changed from 80 nA to -3.03 nA. Therefore, by analyzing the electrical signal, the ethanol content in ethanol-water mixtures can be determined, while other conditions remain unchanged.

[0033] Example 2

[0034] Copper wire was selected as the fiber electrode substrate. Two copper-based fiber electrodes with fractal structures were first prepared by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition. The fractal dimension ranged from 1 to 2, the diameter of each fiber was 2 μm, and the aspect ratio was greater than 10:1.

[0035] The method for preparing fractal structure fiber electrodes by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition is as follows:

[0036] Electrolyte solution: 200 g of copper sulfate, 30 g of copper chloride, 30 g of boric acid were dissolved in 800 mL of distilled water, mixed evenly, then 10 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added, and then transferred to a 1000 mL volumetric flask for constant volume. First, the solution needs to be heated to 75°C, and then used at constant temperature. Then use 1200 mesh sandpaper to polish the copper wire as the cathode to a bright finish, and rinse it with anhydrous ethanol for use. The inside of the ring-shaped quaternary alloy anode is polished to a bright finish for use. After assembling the reactor, adjust the current block of the direct current stabilized power supply to the maximum and the voltage block to the specified voltage. During the addition of the reaction solution, pay attention not to touch the electrified clamp, adjust the height of the electrolyte to the height of the ring-shaped anode. At this time, close the power switch and start the power-on reaction. Use an electric hair dryer to control the temperature of the copper wire to ensure that it does not melt due to excessive temperature. After the reaction is complete, remove the grown copper-based fractal structure fiber electrode, rinse it with distilled water until the surface is free of impurities, then blow it dry with a hair dryer and store it in a desiccator for future use. The direct current stabilized power supply used in the experiment is HB17601SL-5A (HOSSONI).

[0037] A fractal structure fiber electrode coated with an electrophilic polymer material was prepared by depositing the electrophilic polymer material polyvinyl chloride on one of the copper fiber electrodes with a fractal structure through a high-temperature spraying process, with a coating thickness of 0.5 μm. Other ordinary cotton threads were connected to the self-made loom device as the warp threads, and the fractal structure fiber electrode and the fractal structure fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material were used as the weft threads, which were woven in a parallel manner. By adjusting the shed on the heald frame, a fiber structure liquid sensor was assembled. The interface pressure between the electrode and the other ordinary cotton thread was 1.2 kPa, and the tension range was 0.8 N.

[0038] After the above sensor was connected to the test device, it was tested. A linear motor was used to drive it to move back and forth in the acetone liquid, simulating the interface contact process of the flow field and the fiber structure sensor. The experiment measured that as the flow rate increased, the direct current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 5 m / s, the open circuit potential was 0.78 V, and the short circuit current was 0.16 nA. The alternating current signal of the fabric was related to the acceleration of the fluid, and as the acceleration increased, the alternating current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 9 m / s 2 , the open circuit peak potential was 0.92 V, and the short circuit peak current was 6.52 nA.

[0039] Example Three

[0040] Zinc wire was selected as the fiber electrode substrate. First, two zinc-based fiber electrodes with fractal structures were prepared by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition. The fractal dimension range was 1-2, and the single diameter was 10 μm, with a length-diameter ratio greater than 10:1.

[0041] The method for preparing a fractal structure fiber electrode by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition is as follows:

[0042] Electrolyte solution: 200 g of zinc sulfate, 30 g of zinc chloride, 30 g of boric acid were dissolved in 800 mL of distilled water, mixed well, then 10 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added, and then transferred to a 1000 mL volumetric flask. First, the solution needs to be heated to 75°C, and then used at constant temperature. Then use 1200 mesh sandpaper to polish the zinc wire as the cathode, and rinse it with anhydrous ethanol for use. The inside of the annular quaternary alloy anode is polished bright for use. After assembling the reactor, adjust the current block of the direct current stabilized power supply to the maximum and the voltage block to the specified voltage. During the addition of the reaction solution, pay attention not to touch the electrified clamp, adjust the height of the electrolyte and the height of the annular anode. At this time, close the power switch and start the power-on reaction. Control the temperature of the zinc wire with an electric hair dryer to ensure that it does not melt due to excessive temperature. After the reaction is complete, remove the grown zinc-based fractal structure fiber electrode, rinse it with distilled water until there are no impurities on the surface, then blow it dry with a hair dryer, and store it in a desiccator for future use. The direct current stabilized power supply used in the experiment is HB17601SL-5A (HOSSONI).

[0043] Then, through the normal temperature suspension coating process, a fractal structure fiber electrode coated with an electrophilic polymer material polyvinylidene fluoride was prepared by depositing the electrophilic polymer material polyvinylidene fluoride on one of the zinc fiber electrodes with a fractal structure, and the coating thickness was 10 μm. Other ordinary cotton threads were connected to the self-made loom device as the warp threads, and the fractal structure fiber electrode and the fractal structure fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material were used as the weft threads, which were woven in a parallel manner. By adjusting the shed formed by the heald frame up and down, a fiber structure liquid sensor was assembled. The interface pressure between the electrode and the other ordinary cotton thread was 1.5 kPa, and the tension range was 1.2 N.

[0044] After the above sensor was connected to the test device, the test was carried out. A linear motor was used to drive it to move back and forth in the oil liquid, simulating the interface contact process of the flow field and the fiber structure sensor. It was found that as the flow rate increased, the direct current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 2 m / s, the open circuit potential was 0.41 V, and the short circuit current was 0.10 nA. The alternating current signal of the fabric was related to the acceleration of the fluid, and as the acceleration increased, the alternating current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 6 m / s 2 , the open circuit peak potential was 0.63 V, and the short circuit peak current was 4.75 nA.

[0045] Example Four

[0046] Iron wire was selected as the fiber electrode substrate, and two iron-based fiber electrodes with fractal structure were first prepared by template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition. The fractal dimension range was 1-2, and the single diameter was 5 μm, with a length-diameter ratio greater than 10:1.

[0047] The method for preparing the fractal structure fiber electrode by the template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition method is as follows:

[0048] Electrolyte solution: 200 g of iron sulfate, 30 g of iron chloride and 30 g of boric acid were respectively dissolved in 800 mL of distilled water, uniformly mixed, 10 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid was further added, and then transferred to a 1000 mL volumetric flask for constant volume. The solution needs to be heated to 75°C first and kept constant for standby. Then the iron wire used as the cathode was polished bright with 1200 mesh sandpaper and cleaned with anhydrous ethanol for standby, and the inside of the annular quaternary alloy anode was polished bright for standby. After the reactor was assembled, the current block of the direct current stable power supply was adjusted to the maximum and the voltage block was adjusted to the specified voltage. During the addition of the reaction solution, attention should be paid not to touch the electrified clamp, and the height of the electrolyte solution and the annular anode should be adjusted. At this time, the power switch is closed, and the power-on reaction is started. The temperature of the iron wire is controlled by an electric hair dryer to ensure that it does not melt due to excessive temperature. After the reaction is completed, the grown iron-based fractal structure fiber electrode is taken out, washed with distilled water until there is no impurity on the surface, then blown dry with a hair dryer, and placed in a desiccator for storage standby. The direct current stable power supply used in the experiment is HB17601SL-5A (HOSSONI).

[0049] Then, a fractal structure fiber electrode coated with an electrophilic polymer material was prepared by depositing the electrophilic polymer material polyvinylidene chloride on one of the iron fiber electrodes with a fractal structure through a room temperature suspension coating process, and the coating thickness was 0.5 μm. Other ordinary cotton threads were connected to the self-made loom device as warp threads, and the fractal structure fiber electrode and the fractal structure fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material were used as weft threads, which were woven in parallel. By adjusting the shed formed by the heald frame up and down, a fiber structure liquid sensor was assembled. The interface pressure between the electrode and the other ordinary cotton thread was 10 kPa, and the tension range was 2.4 N.

[0050] After the above sensor was connected to the test device, the test was carried out. A linear motor was used to drive it to move back and forth in the ether liquid to simulate the interface contact process of the flow field and the fiber structure sensor. It was found that as the flow rate increased, the direct current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 5 m / s, the open circuit potential was 0.72 V, and the short circuit current was 0.18 nA. The alternating current signal of the fabric was related to the acceleration of the fluid, and as the acceleration increased, the alternating current signal increased linearly. When the flow rate was 8 m / s 2 , the open circuit peak potential was 0.82 V, and the short circuit peak current was 7.39 nA.

[0051] Although the above examples are only listed for one kind of solvent, the output is closely related to the interface contact and the friction state. When applied to a mixed solution, due to the difference in solid-liquid interface friction effect of different solvents, each sensor of the example can also be used for other solvents.

[0052] While embodiments of the application have been shown and described, it is to be understood that the application is not limited to the details of the embodiments described, since numerous changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid, characterized by: The invention comprises two fiber electrodes, each of which comprises a conductor having a fiber structure, on which a fractal structure is prepared. The conductor having the fiber structure of one fiber electrode is coated with an electrophilic polymer material and has electrophilicity, while the electrophilicity of the other fiber electrode is different from that of the fiber electrode coated with the electrophilic polymer material. The two fiber electrodes are assembled together by arranging, winding, or interweaving, or the two fiber electrodes are simultaneously woven into a fabric as weft or warp threads. The electrophilic polymer material is one of polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polydimethylsiloxane, polyimide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate bisphenol A, cyanoacrylate, polyacrylonitrile, chloroprene rubber, polyester, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, and polymethyl methacrylate. The fractal dimension of the conductor having the fractal structure is in the range of 1-2. The two fiber electrodes were assembled as follows: Ordinary cotton thread was connected to a homemade loom as the warp, and the fractal-structured fiber electrode and the fractal-structured fiber electrode coated with an electrophilic polymer material were woven into the loom in parallel or interlaced fashion. The heald frame was adjusted up and down to form a shed, thereby assembling the fiber-structured liquid sensor. When the two fiber structure electrodes are arranged side by side, entangled, or interwoven, the interface pressure between the electrode and other ordinary cotton threads is 0.1 kPa-1 MPa, and the tension range is 0.001 N-10 N.

2. The flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductor of the fiber structure is one of nickel wire, copper wire, zinc wire, silver wire, iron wire, titanium wire, manganese wire, magnesium wire, aluminum wire, chromium wire and their composite fibers, or the conductor of the fiber structure is a non-conductive fiber wrapped with a layer of conductive material, with a single diameter of 1μm-5mm and an aspect ratio greater than 10:

1.

3. The flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid according to claim 2, characterized in that: The coating thickness of the electrophilic polymer material is 0.1 μm-2 mm.

4. The flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fractal structure is prepared by a template-free aqueous solution electrodeposition method, and the electrophilic polymer material is coated by a room temperature immersion process, a high temperature spraying process, and a room temperature suspension coating process.

5. The flexible fiber structure sensor capable of monitoring the flow rate and acceleration of an organic solvent fluid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductor with a fiber structure is nickel wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polytetrafluoroethylene; Or the conductor with a fiber structure is a copper wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinyl chloride; Or the conductor with a fiber structure is zinc wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinylidene fluoride; Or the conductor with a fiber structure is an iron wire, and the electrophilic polymer material is polyvinylidene chloride.

Images