Measuring and testing – Liquid analysis or analysis of the suspension of solids in a...
Patent
1996-04-15
1997-08-19
Williams, Hezron E.
Measuring and testing
Liquid analysis or analysis of the suspension of solids in a...
73 86, G01N 1700
Patent
active
056591284
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of in-situ monitoring of coolants circulating in heat exchangers, and more particularly to the monitoring of their corrosion level.
The present invention is preferably used to control at what time the coolant circulating in internal-combustion engines becomes corrosive.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well-known that, in an internal-combustion engine, the coolant, apart from its heat exchange function, also allows the engine cooling circuit to be protected from the main degradation forms which it is subjected to. Pitting corrosion, metal tearing by cavitation, electrochemical corrosion, . . . , are the most frequent degradation forms, which are likely to cause great disturbances or even engine damage if they are not detected in time.
In order to fulfill this protective function, coolants thus require a specifically designed formulation. They contain additives for protecting the various metals of the cooling circuit.
However, during operation, the formulation of the coolant may vary by decay or impoverishment of certain additives
This modification poses problems because the coolant may thus damage certain materials of the circuit.
It is currently necessary to change periodically and arbitrarily the coolant in order to avoid circuit attacks such as those described above.
Among the known detection and monitoring systems of connected application, document U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,791 discloses a device for monitoring the quality of the lubricating oil of an engine through the corrosion of a resistant element which is part of an electric circuit.
When the resistant element is corroded by the oil in which it is immersed, its resistance varies, then this variation is recorded and considered as a sign of aging of the oil.
Exploitation of the resistance variation of a corrodible sensitive element is also disclosed in documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,662, U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,332 or in patent application FR-2,689,240 filed by the applicant.
Although such systems give satisfaction since they allow the aging of an oil or of another engine operating liquid to be monitored, they react only when the degradation or the aging of the oil is in a rather advanced state.
This type of detectors is not sensitive enough to detect for example corrosion of a small zone of the circuit, which would cause no resistance variation. In fact, most of them signal an anomaly only from a certain degradation level.
Besides, if the circuit is made from differents materials, it is not certain that the detector is sensitive enough to all the materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention allows these drawbacks to be remedied by proposing a device for monitoring the aging of coolants circulating in heat exchangers, including a sensor element in contact with said liquid, an electric element separated from the sensor element in contact with the liquid by an insulating volume containing a fluid at the atmospheric pressure, said electric element reacting to the corrosion level of the sensor element in contact, and an alarm reacting to a signal variation of the electric element.
According to the invention: at least one pellet made from a material also in contact with said liquid in the circuit, material whose frequency varies with a pressure variation in the insulating volume.
The thickness of each pellet is advantageously such that said pellet is perforated or broken under the joint effect of its own corrosion and of the pressure difference between the pressure P2 which the fluid (3) to be monitored is subjected to and the pressure P1 in the insulating volume (6), the breaking of the pellet occurring before the corresponding part of the circuit is noticeably corroded itself.
More precisely, the device according to the invention may include several pellets of different nature, each one being made from a material also in contact with the liquid in the circuit.
The device according to the invention is preferably located in a place of the circuit where the circulation rate of th
REFERENCES:
patent: 3253219 (1966-05-01), Littler
patent: 4306127 (1981-12-01), Payne
patent: 5181536 (1993-01-01), Argyle et al.
patent: 5253674 (1993-10-01), Argyle et al.
patent: 5373728 (1994-12-01), Guentzler
Institut Francais du Pe'trole
Larkin Daniel S.
Williams Hezron E.
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