Optical Density Detector Recess Design for Corrosive Fluids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing raw material fluid density meters face challenges in maintaining airtightness, stability, and high accuracy due to issues with light transmission window transparency and seal materials, especially when dealing with corrosive and depositing organic raw materials, leading to difficulties in size reduction and cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates recesses in the detector main body for fluid flow paths and gasket type seals to airtightly fix light transmission plates, using sapphire for the light transmission window and photodiodes for intensity detection, with a simplified configuration that eliminates impurity mixing and maintains high airtightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an optical cell is connected to the pipeline using screw connection or flange connection with usual packing materials, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the airtightness performance deteriorates and cannot achieve the required leak rate of 1×10^-10 Pa·m³/sec
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealing function from conventional packing materials and seal materials, removing them entirely from the optical cell structure. Instead, it uses a flange connection with a sealing surface that achieves airtightness through precise machining and contact between metal surfaces, eliminating the need for separate sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sealing system (packing materials, seal materials) with a mechanical contact sealing system based on precision-machined flange surfaces. The sealing is achieved through direct contact between the flange sealing surfaces under bolt preload, substituting soft material deformation-based sealing with rigid surface contact sealing.
2Ease of manufacture
If quartz glass is used as the light transmission window material, then the manufacturing cost is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the transparency deteriorates over time due to corrosion and deposition from organic raw material gases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses sapphire (single crystal aluminum oxide) as the light transmission window material, which is a crystalline ceramic material. This represents a transition from conventional glass materials to advanced ceramic materials, providing superior chemical inertness, scratch resistance, and transparency stability while maintaining optical properties in the UV-visible range.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from quartz glass to sapphire, fundamentally altering the chemical and physical properties of the light transmission window. Sapphire's higher hardness, chemical inertness, and resistance to deposition enable long-term transparency stability when exposed to corrosive organic raw material gases.
3Device complexity
If the optical cell structure is simplified for size reduction, then the device complexity is reduced and productivity is improved, but the airtightness performance deteriorates due to fewer sealing interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the optical cell body and flange connection structure into a single integrated component. The flange is directly formed as part of the optical cell housing, eliminating separate flange components and reducing the number of assembly interfaces. This integration maintains airtightness through precision-machined sealing surfaces while simplifying the overall structure.
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
This configuration enables stable, high-accuracy density measurements over time, reduces facility size and cost, and maintains high gas purity by preventing corrosion and particle contamination, even with reactive and corrosive fluids.
Implementation Method 1
the gas density is calculated by applying the Lambert-Beer law to the measurement result of the absorbance
Implementation Method 2
a light transmission plate (11a) formed of sapphire is airtightly sandwiched and fixed between both the fixing flanges (14, 16)
Implementation Method 3
a light detection unit (5b) having a light transmission plate (11a), a photodiode (10) for light intensity detection
Data Source
AI summary
This invention is related to an optical-analysis-type raw material fluid density detector including a detector main body and a light oscillation unit and a light detection unit that are provided on the upper surface or the under surface of the detector main body, in which the detector main body has at least one recess formed in the upper surface and the under surface, a fluid flow path connecting a fluid inlet of the detector main body to the recess, a fluid flow path connecting the recesses to each other, and a fluid flow path connecting the recess to a fluid outlet of the detector main body; the light oscillation unit is disposed in the recess that is closest to the inlet; and light detection units are disposed in the remaining recesses.