Ultrasonic-Weldable Thermocouple for Vibration Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermocouples used in industrial and automotive applications face challenges in maintaining a long-term stable connection to target surfaces under vibrations and impacts, leading to potential damage and detachment, which affects the accuracy of thermal measurements.
Innovation Solution
A thermocouple design featuring a first and second metallic wire with a measuring junction, coated with a thermally conductive and electrically insulating material, and an ultrasonic-weldable material, allowing for reliable bonding to a target surface using a wire-bonding apparatus, ensuring a well-defined thermal contact and elasticity to withstand vibrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a thermocouple is rigidly connected to a target surface, then thermal contact is stable, but the connection is prone to damage and detachment under vibrations and impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a flexible membrane structure that allows the thermocouple to maintain thermal contact with the target surface while accommodating vibrations and impacts. The membrane acts as a flexible intermediary that preserves both thermal coupling and mechanical resilience, preventing detachment under dynamic conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs an intermediate bonding layer or adhesive structure between the thermocouple and target surface that serves as a mediator. This intermediary element absorbs mechanical stresses from vibrations and impacts while maintaining thermal contact, resolving the contradiction between stable thermal connection and durability under dynamic conditions.
2Reliability
If a thermowell is used for thermocouple-based temperature sensing, then the thermocouple is protected, but heat transfer is delayed leading to slow temperature sensing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the thermowell structure entirely, allowing the thermocouple junction to be in direct thermal contact with the target surface. This extraction of the protective enclosure eliminates the thermal barrier it created, enabling faster heat transfer and more rapid temperature sensing while maintaining thermocouple protection through alternative means such as the flexible membrane or bonding structure.
3Speed
If basic thermocouples with exposed junction are used, then temperature sensing is fast, but the connections are prone to damage and detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible membrane or thin film structure that encapsulates or protects the exposed thermocouple junction and connection areas. This flexible protection maintains direct thermal contact for fast sensing while providing mechanical protection against damage and detachment under vibrations and impacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate protective layer or bonding structure that mediates between the exposed thermocouple junction and the external environment. This intermediary provides mechanical protection and connection stability while maintaining thermal conductivity for fast temperature sensing.
4Reliability
If sheathed thermocouples are used, then connection stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a simpler, less expensive bonding structure or membrane that provides adequate connection stability without the complexity of full sheathing. The design accepts that the protective structure may be application-specific rather than universal, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining sufficient reliability for the intended use.
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 solution provides a long-term stable and replicable thermal connection, enhancing measurement reliability and enabling mass production with reduced manufacturing costs, suitable for industrial-scale applications.
Implementation Method 1
a second layer of an ultrasonic-weldable second material may surround at least a part of the first layer
Implementation Method 2
A first layer of a thermally conductive and electrically insulating first material may enclose at least a part of the second section
Implementation Method 3
The first section of the thermocouple may be formed to bend elastically across the whole length of the first section
Data Source
AI summary
A thermocouple for temperature measurement according to an embodiment may include a first wire of a first metallic material and a second wire of a second metallic material different from the first metallic material, a first section in which the first wire and the second wire are electrically insulated from each other, a second section in which the first wire and the second wire are connected to each other to form a measuring junction, a first layer of a thermally conductive and electrically insulating first material enclosing the second section, and a second layer of an ultrasonic-weldable second material enclosing at least part of the first layer.