Combustion Sensor Drift Supervision for Stable Burner Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combustion devices face challenges in accurately correcting control curves due to sensor aging and drift, leading to inefficiencies and potential system shutdowns during calibration and drift testing, which can cause excessive heat generation and require time-consuming adjustments.
Innovation Solution
Implement a supervision test with a constant air supply and blower speed, adjusting the setpoint values to enrich the fuel mixture and monitor stability through control loop checks and carbon monoxide concentration, allowing for rapid detection of instability and enabling timely correction of control curves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If calibration and drift testing are performed to correct sensor aging, then measurement precision is improved, but the system experiences excessive heat generation and potential shutdowns
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary checks of control loop stability and carbon monoxide concentration before and during calibration testing. This preliminary action detects potential instability early, allowing the system to abort the calibration process before excessive heat generation occurs, thus preventing the harmful effect while preserving the ability to perform accurate calibration when conditions are safe
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors control loop stability and carbon monoxide concentration during calibration and drift testing. This feedback mechanism provides real-time information about system stability, enabling the control device to detect instability quickly and terminate the calibration process before harmful heat buildup occurs, thereby resolving the contradiction between achieving precise measurements and avoiding excessive heat generation
2Measurement precision
If calibration and drift testing are performed to correct sensor aging, then measurement precision is improved, but the process becomes time-consuming requiring prolonged adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The system rapidly checks control loop stability and carbon monoxide concentration at critical points during calibration. By rushing through these safety checks and immediately detecting instability, the system can abort calibration early when problems are detected, significantly reducing the time spent on prolonged adjustments while still ensuring measurement precision when calibration is successfully completed
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary stability checks before initiating full calibration and again during the process. This preliminary action allows early detection of instability, preventing the need for prolonged adjustments and reducing calibration time while maintaining the ability to achieve precise sensor calibration when conditions permit
3Measurement precision
If the control curve is corrected using existing methods, then sensor drift is addressed, but the system requires shutdown and manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-diagnosis by automatically monitoring control loop stability and carbon monoxide concentration during calibration and drift testing. This self-service capability allows the system to detect instability automatically and abort calibration without requiring manual intervention or shutdown, thereby maintaining system availability while still correcting sensor drift when conditions are appropriate
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses automatic feedback monitoring of control loop stability and carbon monoxide levels to determine whether to proceed with or abort calibration. This automated feedback mechanism eliminates the need for manual intervention and system shutdown, allowing the combustion device to maintain continuous operation while still achieving accurate control curve correction when safety conditions are met
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
The supervision test ensures stable control system operation by quickly identifying and addressing sensor drift, reducing the need for prolonged calibrations and minimizing heat dissipation issues, thereby maintaining efficient combustion device performance.
Implementation Method 1
The air-fuel ratio λ can be determined by measuring the ionization current through an ionization electrode
Implementation Method 2
An alternating voltage is first applied to the combustion sensor, particularly to the ionization electrode. Due to the rectifying effect of a flame, an ionization current flows as a direct current
Data Source
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AI summary
Control of a combustion device. Device (10) for controlling and/or regulating combustion by a combustion device as a function of a setpoint, the device (10) comprising a storage unit, the combustion device comprising a combustion chamber (2) and at least one combustion sensor (7) arranged in the combustion chamber (2) of the combustion device and an air actuator (3) configured to influence a supply quantity (4) of air as a function of an air control signal, and a fuel actuator (5) configured to influence a supply quantity (6) of fuel as a function of a fuel control signal, wherein the device (10) is configured: to assign at least one first area (16) to a requested burner output and/or requested fan speed;to check whether a first marker is stored in the memory of the device (10) for one or more first areas (16), wherein the first marker indicates a calibration for one or more first areas (16).