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Capacitive Sensors for Measuring Masses of Cryogenic Fluids
An effort is under way to develop capacitive sensors for measuring the masses of cryogenic fluids in tanks. These sensors are intended to function in both microgravitational and normal gravitational settings, and should not be confused with level sensors, including capacitive ones. A sensor of this type is conceptually simple in the sense that (1) it includes only one capacitor and (2) if properly designed, its single capacitance reading should be readily convertible to a close approximation of the mass of the cryogenic fluid in the tank. Consider a pair of electrically insulated electrodes used as a simple capacitive sensor. In general, the capacitance is proportional to the permittivity of the dielectric medium (in this case, a cryogenic fluid) between the electrodes. The success of design and operation of a sensor of the present type depends on the accuracy of the assumption that to a close approximation, the permittivity of the cryogenic fluid varies linearly with the density of the fluid. Data on liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, and liquid hydrogen, reported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, indicate that the permittivities and densities of these fluids are, indeed, linearly related to within a few tenths of a percent over the pressure and temperature regions of interest. Hence, ignoring geometric effects for the moment, the capacitance between two electrodes immersed in the fluid should vary linearly with the density, and, hence, with the mass of the fluid. Of course, it is necessary to take account of the tank geometry. Because most cryogenic tanks do not have uniform cross sections, the readings of level sensors, including capacitive ones, are not linearly correlated with the masses of fluids in the tanks. In a sensor of the present type, the capacitor electrodes are shaped so that at a given height, the capacitance per unit height is approximately proportional to the cross-sectional area of the tank in the horizontal plane at that height (see figure).
Investigation into the Development and Testing of a Simplex Capacitance Sensor for Rotor Tip Clearance Measurement in Turbo Machinery
The rotor tip clearance is a vital parameter to characterize turbomachinery performance. It is an essential measurement during engine development and testing. The efficiency of the major modules like fan, compressor and turbine depends on the optimum running clearances. The capacitive sensor is preferred for tip clearance measurements because of various inherent advantages. They are fabricated through complex processes for turbomachinery application and are expensive. These sensors are exposed to harsh engine environments and are likely to exhibit degraded performance. Insulation failure at sensing head, connector contamination and micro-cracks in the MI (Mineral Insulated) cable leads to noise in the signal output. Frequent mechanical failures are also seen due to work hardening of MI cables, lead connector detachments and failure of micro fins at interconnects. Fault fixing of these is tedious and very expensive. This paper presents the concerted effort in developing a simple capacitance sensor addressing potential sensor failure issues. The design features include simple construction, ease of sensor assembly, component realization and troubleshooting. The design also addresses all safety requirements. The sensor has a large sensing area (7.6 mm diameter) producing very stable, high-level signal. The developed sensor produces output that varies from 1 V{sub P-P} to 11 V{sub P-P} for blade-tip gaps between 3 mm to 0.4 mm respectively. Blade pass simulation studies across the sensor, display almost flat response at minimum clearance. This feature results in very minimal data acquisition errors. The sensor along with RC (Resistance-Capacitance) conditioning electronics was successfully used for clearance measurement on fan stage of gas turbine engine. Test results are in line with the predictions. Extensive tip clearance measurements on the engine validate the design. The current work provides an insight into the development of a simplex capacitance sensor for tip clearance measurement.
Comparative Analysis of Capacitive Sensors with Different Geometrical layouts for Cable Insulation Degradation Detection
This paper presents a comparative analysis between an Interdigital Capacitor (IDC) sensor and a Serpentine Capacitive (SRC) sensor. The effects of electrode layouts on sensor performance are studied by means of finite element simulation where the geometrical dimensions (except electrode length) and material characteristics of both sensors are identical. Conformal IDC and SRC sensors with equal sensor area are modeled on a cable surface. The simulation results show a tradeoff between IDC and SRC sensors in terms of sensitivity and penetration depth. The SRC sensor shows 13.3% increase in sensitivity and 16.8% increase in capacitance compared to the IDC sensor, though the electric field penetration depth of the SRC sensor is 18.8% lower than the IDC sensor. In addition, the effects of change in electrode width, inter-electrode gap, and number of electrodes on SRC and IDC sensor comparative performance are evaluated.
Capacitive Sensors And Targets Would Measure Alignments
Multiple capacitive sensors and active targets used to measure distance between, and relative orientation of, two objects. Sensed target signals processed and used by control systems to align objects to be joined. Shapes, sizes, and layouts of sensors and targets optimized for specific application. Particular layout of targets and sensors enables determination of relative position and orientation of two objects in all six degrees of freedom.
Concentric Coplanar Capacitive Sensor System with Quantitative Model
A concentric coplanar capacitive sensor includes a charged central disc forming a first electrode, an outer annular ring coplanar with and outer to the charged central disc, the outer annular ring forming a second electrode, and a gap between the charged central disc and the outer annular ring. The first electrode and the second electrode may be attached to an insulative film. A method provides for determining transcapacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode and using the transcapacitance in a model that accounts for a dielectric test piece to determine inversely the properties of the dielectric test piece.
Differential capacitance sensor as position detector for a magnetic suspension densimeter
In the present work, which consists of adapting a magnetic suspension densimeter for use at pressures up to 350 bars, a differential capacitance sensor is developed for use in the servosystem of a magnetic suspension densimeter for detecting the position of a magnetic buoy. This type of sensor has not been used previously in magnetic suspension densimeters. Its design, performance, and advantages are outlined. A cutaway drawing and a schematic diagram of the capacitance sensor and magnetic buoy are presented and described. The concentric-disk design of the sensor capacitor plates and the high degree of symmetry which results from the printed circuit fabrication approach minimize the sensor sensitivity to lateral displacement of the buoy and to the dielectric constant of the surrounding medium. A high-power microscope is necessary to monitor the position of the buoy relative to the support coil.
Design and Application of a Collocated Capacitance Sensor for Magnetic Bearing Spindle
This paper presents a collocated capacitance sensor for magnetic bearings. The main feature of the sensor is that it is made of a specific compact printed circuit board (PCB). The signal processing unit has been also developed. The results of the experimental performance evaluation on the sensitivity, resolution and frequency response of the sensor are presented. Finally, an application example of the sensor to the active control of a magnetic bearing is described.
Design and Laboratory Validation of a Capacitive Sensor for Measuring the Recession of Thin-Layered Ablator
Flight vehicles are typically instrumented with subsurface thermocouples to estimate heat transfer at the surface using inverse analysis procedures. If the vehicle has an ablating heat shield, however, temperature time histories from subsurface thermocouples no longer provide enough information to estimate heat flux at the surface. In this situation, the geometry changes and thermal energy leaves the surface in the form of ablation products. The ablation rate is required to estimate heat transfer to the surface. A new concept for a capacitive sensor has been developed to measure ablator depth using the ablator's dielectric effect on a capacitor's fringe region. Relying on the capacitor's fringe region enables the gage to be flush mounted in the vehicle's permanent structure and not intrude into the ablative heat shield applied over the gage. This sensor's design allows nonintrusive measurement of the thickness of dielectric materials, in particular, the recession rates of low-temperature ablators applied in thin (0.020 to 0.060 in. (0.05 to 0.15 mm)) layers. Twenty capacitive gages with 13 different sensing element geometries were designed, fabricated, and tested. A two-dimensional finite-element analysis was performed on several candidate geometries. Calibration procedures using ablator-simulating shims are described. A one-to-one correspondence between system output and dielectric material thickness was observed out to a thickness of 0.055 in. (1.4 mm) for a material with a permittivity about three times that of air or vacuum. A novel method of monitoring the change in sensor capacitance was developed. This technical memorandum suggests further improvements in gage design and fabrication techniques.
Development of Electrical Capacitance Sensors for Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) Testing at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility
A variety of instruments are being developed and qualified to support the Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) program and future transient irradiations at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The University of New Mexico (UNM) is working with INL to develop capacitance-based void sensors for determining the timing of critical boiling phenomena in static capsule fuel testing and the volume-averaged void fraction in flow-boiling in-pile water loop fuel testing. The static capsule sensor developed at INL is a plate-type configuration, while UNM is utilizing a ring-type capacitance sensor. Each sensor design has been theoretically and experimentally investigated at INL and UNM. Experiments are being performed at INL in an autoclave to investigate the performance of these sensors under representative Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) conditions in a static capsule. Experiments have been performed at UNM using air-water two-phase flow to determine the sensitivity and time response of the capacitance sensor under a flow boiling configuration. Initial measurements from the capacitance sensor have demonstrated the validity of the concept to enable real-time measurement of void fraction. The next steps include designing the cabling interface with the flow loop at UNM for Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) ATF testing at TREAT and further characterization of the measurement response for each sensor under varying conditions by experiments and modeling.
Advanced Multi-Dimensional Capacitance Sensors Based Subsea Multiphase Mass Flow Meter to Measure and Monitor Offshore Enhanced Oil
This innovation is based on advanced multi-dimensional extensions of ECVT sensors that involve ECVT, Displacement Current Phase Tomography (DCPT), Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization effect (MWS), and velocimetry which exploit the variation of electric properties between the oil, water, and gas coming out of the well. Capacitance sensors are embedded on the inside of a pipe spool and placed in-line with the subsea oil line piping on the extraction end of the well. The difference in dielectric, dielectric loss, surface polarization, and velocity of each phase are used in the multi-dimensional algorithm to measure the volume fraction, distribution, velocity, mass flow rate, and flow regime of the mixture moving through the pipe.
An inkjet-printed capacitive sensor for water level or quality monitoring: investigated theoretically and experimentally
Experimentally and theoretically demonstrated water quality or level monitoring by inkjet printed coplanar capacitive sensors with high sensitivity.
INTER-DIGITAL CAPACITIVE SENSOR FOR EVALUATING CABLE INSULATION THROUGH JACKET
Interdigital capacitive (IDC) sensors have previously been used to measure cable-age/damage indicative dielectric properties of cable insulation when placed in direct contact with the insulation. Often cable insulation is covered by a polymer jacket precluding direct contact with the insulation. As part of a continuing program to develop and evaluate nondestructive examination methods that may be applied to cable condition assessment, an IDC to measure the effect of cable polymer dielectric change through a covering jacket has been developed. The IDC consists of two fork-like electrodes facing each other with the fork tines interspersed and separated by a small gap. On one electrode, the gap is 5 mm while on the other, the gap is 2 mm. Electric field depth-of-field penetrations are similar to the electrode gaps. The electrodes are printed on a flexible substrate that can be conformed to the outside jacketed surface of a cylindrical cable, with tines parallel to the cable axis. The electrodes are connected to a broad frequency-spectral impedance meter that senses the capacitance between the narrowly gapped electrode tines. This capacitance is known to vary as a function of the permittivity of any material in close proximity to the electrodes. For jacketed cable systems, the IDC response is dominated by the jacket but, by analyzing measurements from IDC sensors with different depths-of-field penetration into the cable under test, the influence of the cable jacket material (primarily influenced by the shallow-depth-of field IDC) can be separated from the deeper-depth-of-field IDC sensing the combined effects of both jacket and underlying insulation. No other NDE method is known that is capable of sensing insulation dielectric properties through an overlying jacket.
Inter-digital capacitive sensor for evaluating cable jacket and insulation aging
An inter-digital capacitive (TDC) sensor has previously been used to measure dielectric properties of cable insulation polymer material when placed in direct contact with the insulation. Often cable insulation is covered by a polymer jacket. The dielectric properties of many cable jacket and insulation polymers are known to change due to thermal and radiation exposure-related damage. These dielectric properties frequently track with other measures of cable aging, such as tensile elongation-at-break and indenter modulus that have been broadly established as cable insulation polymer assessment methods. The external jacket of a cable is likely to have a different permittivity from the underlying insulation, and frequently the jacket material exhibits more severe damage than the insulation material due to environmental exposure. Because the jacket serves primarily to guard the cable during installation, as long as the underlying insulation condition is acceptable, the jacket condition is relatively unimportant in service. As part of a continuing program to develop and evaluate nondestructive examination methods that may be applied to cable condition assessment, a set of tools has been developed including (1) a parallel-plate sensor to directly measure the permittivity spectrum of flat sheet material and (2) an TDC and fixture to measure the effect of cable polymer dielectric property change on the sensor response. The TDC consists of two fork-like electrodes facing each other with the fork tines interspersed and separated by a small gap. The electrodes are printed on one side of a flexible substrate that can be conformed to the surface of a cylindrical cable, with tines parallel to the cable axis. The electrodes are connected to a broad-frequency-spectral impedance meter that senses the capacitance between the narrowly gapped electrode tines. This capacitance is known to vary as a function of the permittivity of any material in close proximity to the electrodes. By finite element modeling (FEM) and experimentation, this study investigates the effect of tine spacing and other design parameters associated with the TDC on the voltage (potential) distribution and electric field depth of penetration. The TDC measurement of an unshielded ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR)-insulated cable is shown to track with the degree of aging and quantities obtained by established methods. For jacketed cable systems, the TDC response is dominated by the jacket but, by analyzing measurements from TDC sensors with different depths-of-field penetration into the cable under test, the influence of the chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) cable jacket material degradation can be separated from an assessment of the cable insulation thereby enabling assessment of the insulation beneath/through the jacket.
Interdigital Capacitance Sensor for Cable Insulation Test and Monitoring
A substantial body of work suggests feasibility to measure cable jacket and insulation conditions using various forms of interdigital capacitance (IDC) sensors. The sensors can either be used to manually test local cable conditions or as permanently installed sensors. Eligible cables subject to these measurements do not include shielded cables but the set of candidate cables is expanded from only unjacketed cables by the ability to assess insulation condition through the jacket. Dual gap IDC sensors are confirmed to be able to sense the insulation condition beneath a polymer jacket and, moreover, the IDC is the only known way to assess the insulation condition through the jacket. PNNL has filed a patent for this approach and is exploring commercial partnerships to exploit IDC technology for actionable field measurements.
Velocity Profiling of Multiphase Flows Using Capacitive Sensor Sensitivity Gradient
Velocity profiling of a flow involves the task of determining the velocity vector at every point in a given flow volume. A new method is proposed for velocity profiling of multiphase flows based on electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) sensors. The proposed method utilizes a mapping between the change in measured capacitances and the displacement of flow that is effected by the spatial gradient of the sensitivity distribution. Here, this novel mapping not only avoids the need for costly image cross-correlations but also is fully compatible with existing ECVT sensor and image reconstruction algorithms. Simulation and measurement results are provided to demonstrate the proposed method.
Distributed Capacitive Sensor for Sample Mass Measurement
Previous robotic sample return missions lacked in situ sample verification/ quantity measurement instruments. Therefore, the outcome of the mission remained unclear until spacecraft return. In situ sample verification systems such as this Distributed Capacitive (DisC) sensor would enable an unmanned spacecraft system to re-attempt the sample acquisition procedures until the capture of desired sample quantity is positively confirmed, thereby maximizing the prospect for scientific reward. The DisC device contains a 10-cm-diameter pressure-sensitive elastic membrane placed at the bottom of a sample canister. The membrane deforms under the weight of accumulating planetary sample. The membrane is positioned in close proximity to an opposing rigid substrate with a narrow gap. The deformation of the membrane makes the gap narrower, resulting in increased capacitance between the two parallel plates (elastic membrane and rigid substrate). C-V conversion circuits on a nearby PCB (printed circuit board) provide capacitance readout via LVDS (low-voltage differential signaling) interface. The capacitance method was chosen over other potential approaches such as the piezoelectric method because of its inherent temperature stability advantage. A reference capacitor and temperature sensor are embedded in the system to compensate for temperature effects. The pressure-sensitive membranes are aluminum 6061, stainless steel (SUS) 403, and metal-coated polyimide plates. The thicknesses of these membranes range from 250 to 500 m. The rigid substrate is made with a 1- to 2-mm-thick wafer of one of the following materials depending on the application requirements glass, silicon, polyimide, PCB substrate. The glass substrate is fabricated by a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication approach. Several concentric electrode patterns are printed on the substrate. The initial gap between the two plates, 100 m, is defined by a silicon spacer ring that is anodically bonded to the glass substrate. The fabricated proof-of-concept devices have successfully demonstrated tens to hundreds of picofarads of capacitance change when a simulated sample (100 g to 500 g) is placed on the membrane.
Phase-Discriminating Capacitive Sensor System
Crosstalk eliminated by maintaining voltages on all electrodes at same amplitude, phase, and frequency. Each output feedback-derived control voltage, change of which indicates proximity-induced change in capacitance of associated sensing electrode. Sensors placed close together, enabling imaging of sort. Images and/or output voltages used to guide robots in proximity to various objects.