Fuel Dispensing Printed Circuit Corrosion Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel dispensing systems face reliability and maintenance issues due to corrosion caused by the presence of corrosive substances like ethanol and bacteria, leading to interruptions and potential damage, especially in systems without biological reducing inhibitors or with biologically supportive substances.
Innovation Solution
A corrosion detection assembly is integrated into the fuel dispensing system, featuring a printed circuit multilayer structure with sensing and reference elements, and electronic components that form a constant current arrangement to detect changes in output voltage caused by corrosion, allowing for the identification of corrosive substances and enabling remedial action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If alternative fuels with ethanol oxygenate are introduced to reduce pollution, then environmental performance is improved, but corrosion in fuel dispensing systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The corrosion sensor is installed in advance within the fuel dispensing system to detect corrosive substances before they cause significant damage. The sensor provides early warning by monitoring changes in electrical resistance caused by corrosion, allowing preventive maintenance actions to be taken before reliability is compromised.
2Reliability
If corrosion sensors are installed to detect corrosive substances, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The corrosion sensor is integrated into the existing fuel dispensing system infrastructure, combining multiple functions into a single device. The sensor utilizes the existing electrical circuitry and housing of the fuel dispensing system, merging corrosion detection with the overall system monitoring rather than adding a completely separate complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrosion sensor is designed as a cost-effective, replaceable component with a printed circuit board structure. When corrosion affects the sensor elements, the entire sensor assembly can be replaced rather than repairing complex internal components, providing an economical solution that balances reliability improvement with cost and complexity management.
3Measurement precision
If sensing elements are exposed to fuel vapor for corrosion detection, then detection accuracy is improved, but susceptibility to corrosion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing elements are exposed to fuel vapor through a controlled interface that allows corrosion detection while limiting direct corrosive attack on the entire sensor structure. The printed circuit board design provides partial protection to reference elements while allowing sensing elements to interact with the fuel environment, using the fuel vapor itself as the intermediary medium for detection.
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 corrosion detection assembly effectively identifies the presence of corrosive substances, enabling timely intervention to prevent damage and maintain system reliability by providing a digital output indicating the presence of corrosives, thus reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
the sensing element has a printed circuit multilayer structure in which at least one sensing element is positioned on an exposed surface of the multilayer structure and at least one reference element is positioned on an inner surface of the multilayer structure to be unexposed to the fuel vapor
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel dispensing system comprising a fuel tank adapted to contain a quantity of fuel. A fuel dispenser is in fluid communication with the fuel tank via piping. A pump operative to transfer fuel from the fuel tank to the fuel dispenser is also provided. The fuel dispensing system further comprises a corrosion detection assembly operative to identify presence of a corrosive substance in the fuel. The corrosion detection assembly includes at least one corrosion sensor positioned to be in contact with fuel vapor in the fuel dispensing system, the corrosion sensor producing a detector signal indicating presence of the corrosive substance. The corrosion sensor according to this aspect has a printed circuit multilayer structure in which at least one sensing element is positioned on an exposed surface of the multilayer structure and at least one reference element is positioned on an inner surface of the multilayer structure to be unexposed to the fuel vapor. Electronics in electrical communication with the corrosion sensor are operative to interpret the detector signal and produce an output if the corrosive substance is present.