DME Fuel Quality Detection Using In-Situ Sensor Arrays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Determining the quality of dimethyl ether (DME) fuel in a vehicle's storage and delivery system is challenging due to the volatility of DME and the need for specialized equipment and remote lab analysis, especially when contaminants like water or inadequate additive packages compromise fuel quality, leading to potential damage and operational issues.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating sensors such as resistive, inductive, and capacitive types at the DME fuel filter to detect secondary effects like ferrous particulates, which indicate fuel quality issues, allowing for early detection and remedial action without extracting a fuel sample, using transducer mats and magnets to enhance detection sensitivity and accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If DME fuel quality is determined using traditional methods (fuel sample extraction and remote lab analysis), then measurement accuracy is improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorate due to vehicle downtime and extended testing periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical process of fuel sample extraction and transport with an electronic sensing system. Sensors (resistive, inductive, capacitive) directly measure fuel quality parameters in-situ, substituting the traditional mechanical extraction method and eliminating the need for physical sample transport to remote laboratories.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel quality determination system performs self-testing within the vehicle's fuel storage and delivery system. The sensors are integrated into the existing fuel infrastructure, allowing the system to monitor its own fuel quality without external intervention or removal from the vehicle, enabling continuous operation without downtime.
2Productivity
If DME fuel quality is determined using onboard sensors, then productivity is improved by eliminating vehicle downtime, but measurement precision may deteriorate without specialized remote lab equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses ferrous particulates as an intermediary indicator of fuel quality degradation. Instead of directly measuring complex fuel composition parameters that would require sophisticated laboratory equipment, the system detects the presence and concentration of ferrous particulates that form as a secondary effect of fuel quality issues, providing indirect but reliable quality assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs optical sensing methods that detect changes in the fuel's physical properties, including color and light scattering characteristics caused by ferrous particulate formation. This allows the system to identify fuel quality degradation through optical property changes rather than requiring complex chemical analysis.
3Ease of operation
If sensors are integrated into the DME fuel storage and delivery system, then ease of operation is improved by enabling continuous monitoring, but device complexity increases due to additional sensor components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sensor system to perform multiple functions using a single integrated approach. The same sensor array that detects ferrous particulates also monitors fuel flow characteristics and physical properties, allowing the system to assess overall fuel quality through a unified sensing platform rather than requiring separate specialized sensors for each parameter.
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 onboard detection of DME fuel quality issues, minimizing downtime and preventing damage by identifying problems before significant damage occurs, allowing for timely corrective action and maintaining vehicle operation without the need for remote lab testing.
Implementation Method 1
resistive, inductive, and capacitive types at the DME fuel filter to detect secondary effects like ferrous particulates
Implementation Method 2
resistive, inductive, and capacitive types at the DME fuel filter to detect secondary effects like ferrous particulates
Implementation Method 3
resistive, inductive, and capacitive types at the DME fuel filter to detect secondary effects like ferrous particulates
Implementation Method 4
using transducer mats and magnets to enhance detection sensitivity and accuracy
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle having a dimethyl ether (DME) fuel storage and delivery system for an internal combustion engine, includes a DME fuel filter in the DME fuel storage and delivery system, a DME fuel pump having a fuel inlet downstream of the filter, and, at least one sensor having at least one transducer, the at least one transducer being disposed at the filter and the at least one sensor being operable to detect a change in at least one electrical property of the at least one transducer for determining DME fuel quality according to a secondary effect of a DME fuel condition.