Catalyst Bed Fiber Grating Layout for Accurate 3D Temperature Gradients
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current temperature measurement techniques in catalyst beds, such as thermocouples and IR cameras, fail to accurately measure 3D temperature gradients due to limitations in positioning and thermal interference, while fiber-optic sensors with fiber Bragg gratings suffer from uncertainty in sensor location and data interpretation.
Innovation Solution
A catalyst bed with a temperature sensor array comprising optical fiber parts with fixed fiber grating sensors, tensioned between mounting points, allowing precise temperature measurements along predefined locations, and incorporating additional sensors for strain correction and multi-directional gradient analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If fiber-optic sensors are loosely held in place to compensate for thermal expansion, then thermal strain is reduced, but sensor position stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber is divided into multiple segments, each segment being independently mounted at different heights on the reactor wall. This segmentation allows each fiber segment to independently compensate for thermal expansion at its specific location while maintaining stable positional relationships between multiple sensing points along the fiber length, resolving the contradiction between position stability and thermal strain compensation.
2Measurement precision
If thermocouples are installed inside catalyst beds for temperature measurement, then temperature monitoring capability is improved, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to light absorption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional electrical thermocouples with optical fiber sensors that use light instead of electrical signals. The fiber-optic sensors with fiber Bragg gratings measure temperature through optical wavelength shifts, eliminating the light absorption interference that plagues electrical sensors in photo-reactor environments, thereby maintaining high measurement accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If multiple fiber-optic sensors are installed at different depths to map temperature gradients, then temperature profiling capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple temperature sensing functions into a single optical fiber by incorporating multiple fiber Bragg gratings at different positions along the fiber length. Each grating acts as an independent temperature sensor at a specific location, allowing simultaneous measurement of temperature gradients throughout the catalyst bed using one integrated fiber-optic sensor array rather than multiple separate sensors.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate 3D temperature gradient measurement within catalyst beds by maintaining sensor position consistency and correcting for thermal strain, providing high-resolution temperature profiles with reduced measurement uncertainty.
Implementation Method 1
Each FOS is an optical fiber provided with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). Each of the FBGs provides a local temperature sensor through its temperature-dependent optical behavior.
Implementation Method 2
the first optical fiber part is tensioned between the mounting positions, such that each of the at least two fiber grating sensors is located at a predefined sensing position in the interior of the chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is directed at a catalyst bed comprising a temperature sensor array. The catalyst bed comprises a reactor chamber for being filled with a catalyst material, the reactor chamber having a bottom and one or more side walls defining an interior of the reactor chamber. The temperature sensor array comprises at least one first optical fiber part comprising at least two fiber grating sensors. Each of the at least two fiber grating sensors provides a temperature sensor of the temperature sensor array. The first optical fiber part is fixed to the reactor chamber in at least two mounting positions along a length of the first optical fiber part, such that the first optical fiber part between the two mounting positions extends through the interior of the chamber. The fixing of the first optical fiber part is such that the first optical fiber part is tensioned between the mounting positions, such that each of the at least two fiber grating sensors is located at a predefined sensing position in the interior of the chamber.