Hydraulic Diaphragm Seal With Membrane-Coupled Temperature Sensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydraulic pressure transmitters face challenges in real-time temperature detection due to the inertia of transmission fluid, leading to inaccuracies in pressure measurements caused by temperature-dependent deformations of separating diaphragms, and require additional sensor mounting locations for secondary measured variables.
Innovation Solution
A pressure transmitter design featuring a plate-shaped separating membrane with a central temperature sensor fixed on one side, connected via a thermally conductive layer to prevent fluid contact, and a central recess in the base body for the sensor, allowing for real-time temperature measurement without interfering with the fluid or increasing the base body radius.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a temperature sensor is arranged next to the separating membrane to measure process temperature, then temperature detection is possible, but the base body radius must be increased to provide mounting space
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensor is nested within a recess in the base body, positioned behind the separating membrane. This allows the sensor to be housed within the existing base body structure without increasing the overall radius, while still enabling temperature measurement through the membrane.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the sensor radially outward from the base body, the sensor is positioned in the axial dimension behind the separating membrane. This dimensional shift allows temperature measurement without increasing the base body radius.
2Ease of manufacture
If a temperature sensor is inserted into the base body to measure temperature near the pressure chamber, then mounting is simplified, but the thermal mass of the base body prevents immediate temperature adaptation
Solution Approach 1:
A recess is created in the base body at the specific location where temperature measurement is needed, directly behind the separating membrane. This local structural modification allows the sensor to be positioned close to the process medium while maintaining the integrity of the overall base body structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The separating membrane acts as a thermal intermediary, conducting heat from the process medium to the temperature sensor positioned behind it. This allows the sensor to measure process temperature without being in direct contact with the medium, avoiding the thermal mass issue while maintaining measurement accuracy.
3Stress or pressure
If the transmission fluid is used to transmit pressure, then pressure transmission is achieved, but the inertia of the transmission fluid prevents real-time temperature detection
Solution Approach 1:
The separating membrane serves as a thermal intermediary that directly contacts both the process medium and the temperature sensor. This allows temperature information to be transmitted from the process medium to the sensor without being delayed by the thermal inertia of the transmission fluid in the pressure chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure chamber is segmented into regions: the transmission fluid-filled area for pressure transmission and the recess area for temperature sensing. This segmentation allows the temperature sensor to be thermally coupled to the process medium through the membrane while being physically isolated from the transmission fluid, enabling real-time temperature detection without compromising pressure transmission functionality.
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 precise, real-time temperature detection and minimizes errors in pressure measurements by isolating the temperature sensor from the transmission fluid, reducing the need for additional mounting locations and improving thermal coupling for rapid temperature changes.
Implementation Method 1
the temperature sensor is connected to the separating membrane by means of a thermally conductive layer in the central area on the second separating membrane side
Implementation Method 2
a pressure chamber being formed between the separating membrane and the surface, which pressure chamber communicates with a hydraulic path via an opening in the surface, the pressure chamber and the hydraulic path is filled with a transmission fluid to transmit the pressure of the process medium
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
Diaphragm seal for transmitting the pressure of a process medium, comprising: a main body (1) which has a surface (2); and a separating membrane (3) which is secured to the surface (2), there being formed between the separating membrane and the surface a pressure chamber (4) which communicates, via an opening (6) in the surface, with a hydraulic path (5), the separating membrane can be exposed to the process medium on a first separating membrane side (33), the pressure chamber and the hydraulic path are filled with a transmitting fluid (7) in order to transmit the pressure of the process medium; the separating membrane is a planar membrane with a peripheral rim (32) and is joined in a pressure-tight manner to the main body by a single peripheral weld seam (10) and the separating membrane has a central middle region (12), wherein the diaphragm seal comprises a temperature transducer (20), for determining a temperature measurement variable of the process medium, which is secured in the middle region on a second separating membrane side (34) of the separating membrane, and the main body is joined to the separating membrane in such a manner that the transmitting fluid does not come into contact with the temperature transducer.