Embedded Sensor for Deposit Detection in Pipe Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing technologies are inadequate in continuously monitoring and quantitatively evaluating the formation of deposits on the inner surfaces of plant components, leading to inefficient production processes and potential product contamination, as they rely on empirical cleaning schedules and lack precise measurement methods.
Innovation Solution
A sensor system comprising two temperature-dependent resistors, one for heating and measuring the medium's temperature and another for reference temperature measurement, which compares data to determine the degree of deposit formation, integrated into the plant components to provide continuous and accurate monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a housing extends radially from the pipe wall into the pipeline interior to house the sensor, then the sensor can be protected and functional, but the housing can be damaged or shed by conveyed material containing solids
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is extracted from the traditional housed configuration and integrated directly into the pipe wall structure. The sensor element is embedded within the wall thickness, eliminating the need for a protruding housing that would be vulnerable to damage from conveyed solids while maintaining sensor protection through the wall structure itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor is nested within the pipe wall structure, with the sensor element positioned inside the wall thickness and the outer surface flush with the inner pipe surface. This nesting approach protects the sensor without requiring an external housing, resolving the contradiction between protection and durability.
2Ease of operation
If empirical cleaning schedules are used without precise measurement, then production processes are simple to operate, but production times cannot be optimized and cleaning frequencies are inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously measures the actual deposit thickness on pipe walls and provides real-time feedback to the control unit. This feedback enables dynamic adjustment of cleaning schedules based on actual conditions rather than fixed empirical timelines, optimizing both productivity and operational efficiency while maintaining simplicity through automated decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system serves multiple functions: continuous deposit monitoring, cleaning trigger activation, and data logging. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate monitoring and decision-making processes into a single integrated system, maintaining ease of operation while enabling precise production optimization.
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 solution enables optimized production processes by extending production times and minimizing cleaning durations, ensuring product quality and reducing operational costs through reliable, continuous data-driven cleaning initiation and optimization.
Implementation Method 1
the sensor has two components, which are two temperature-dependent resistors that are pin-shaped, lie parallel next to each other and at a distance from each other and protrude into the medium with a tip, wherein the first component serves to measure the temperature of the medium in the area of this component and the second component serves to measure the temperature of the medium at a point which is not heated by the sensor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a device and to a method for detecting deposits (9) on walls (2) that are covered by a medium. According to the invention, a sensor (1) is integrated in the wall (2), wherein a component (3) of the sensor (1) locally heats the medium in a region (4), and the temperature of the medium about said component (3) is detected. The sensor (1) relays the signals thereof to an analysis unit (8) determining the degree of deposit formation by comparing to reference data.