Stationary Gas Engine Oil Monitoring Without Dedicated Quality Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining the lubrication oil condition in stationary gas engines are costly and difficult to retrofit, lacking a simple and cost-effective solution for monitoring lubrication oil degradation and predicting remaining life, which is crucial for maintaining engine health and avoiding unexpected downtime.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing lubrication oil temperature and level sensors, specifically capacitance sensors, to retrieve and normalize lubrication oil level information, combined with a computing device and non-transitory storage medium to calculate lubrication oil consumption and detect abnormal conditions, allowing for real-time monitoring without the need for dedicated lubrication oil quality sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated lubrication oil quality sensors are installed to monitor lubrication oil conditions, then comprehensive and detailed information about lubrication oil conditions is provided, but the system becomes expensive and difficult to retrofit to existing engines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses existing capacitance sensors designed for oil level detection and repurposes them to also detect oil quality parameters. Instead of installing dedicated quality sensors, the system creates a functional copy of quality monitoring capability using readily available level sensors, thereby avoiding the complexity and cost of retrofitting specialized equipment while maintaining monitoring effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the capacitance sensor serve multiple functions: it continues to detect oil level while simultaneously monitoring oil quality parameters such as viscosity and contamination. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated quality sensors, reducing system complexity and cost while providing comprehensive lubrication oil condition information
2Measurement precision
If dedicated lubrication oil quality sensors are installed to monitor lubrication oil conditions, then comprehensive and detailed information about lubrication oil conditions is provided, but the system becomes expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs inexpensive capacitance sensors that are standard components in existing engines rather than expensive specialized quality sensors. By using these readily available, low-cost sensors for dual purposes (level and quality monitoring), the system achieves comprehensive monitoring capability without the high acquisition and installation costs associated with dedicated quality sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the capacitance sensor serve multiple functions: it continues to detect oil level while simultaneously monitoring oil quality parameters such as viscosity and contamination. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated quality sensors, reducing system complexity and cost while providing comprehensive lubrication oil condition information
3Reliability
If lubrication oil analysis is performed continuously to detect degradation, then early warnings of component failure are provided, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses existing capacitance sensors designed for oil level detection and repurposes them to also detect oil quality parameters. Instead of installing dedicated quality sensors, the system creates a functional copy of quality monitoring capability using readily available level sensors, thereby avoiding the complexity and cost of retrofitting specialized equipment while maintaining monitoring effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The existing capacitance sensor system serves itself by providing additional quality monitoring functionality without requiring external specialized equipment. The same sensor infrastructure that already exists for level detection is leveraged to perform quality analysis, making the system self-sufficient and avoiding additional complexity
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 approach provides a robust, cost-effective means to monitor lubrication oil conditions, enabling early detection of degradation and predicting lubrication oil life, thus reducing engine downtime and maintenance costs while being easily retrofittable to existing engines.
Implementation Method 1
the lubrication oil level sensor is a capacitance sensor
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention pertains to a method of determining a lubrication oil condition of a stationary gas engine comprising the steps of retrieving a lubrication oil temperature information and retrieving a lubrication oil level information from a lubrication oil level sensor, wherein the lubrication oil level sensor is a capacitance sensor, and a step of normalizing a lubrication oil level information over the lubrication oil temperature information.