System for piston rod monitoring

• US 10,225,026 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2016
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie SRL (Nuovo Pignone International SRL)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Lee, Yongjae, Iannotti, Joseph Alfred, Gerbi, Filippo, Capanni, Alessio
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US15/193,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20170373766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• Field of Search: 34087001, 3408703, 342 42, 343703
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/22 Safety or indicating devices for abnormal conditions in air/fuel ratio feedback systems F02D41/1495, in electric control linkage F02D11/107, in purge control systems F02M25/0809
• CPC Class Codes: F02F 3/00 Pistons
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 1/0408 Pistons
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 1/053 with actuating or actuated elements at the inner ends of the cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2201/0204 Power on the piston
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2201/1201 Rotational speed of the axis
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 27/0409 Pistons
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 27/053 with an actuating element at the inner ends of the cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 39/0022 piston rods
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/20 by changing the driving speed
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 51/00 Testing machines, pumps, or pumping installations
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 53/144 Adaptation of piston-rods
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/10 Radiation diagrams of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/065 Microstrip dipole antennas patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/103 Reflected power, e.g. return loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A sensor system for determining a condition associated with a piston rod of a reciprocating system includes an interrogator system having a first antenna. The sensor system further includes a second antenna separated from the first antenna by an air gap distance. The second antenna is configured to be coupled to the piston rod of the reciprocating system. The second antenna is a patch antenna and is configured to communicate with the first antenna through a range of translational movement relative to the first antenna. The sensor system further includes a radio frequency sensor coupled to the second antenna. The radio frequency sensor is configured to be coupled to the piston rod of the reciprocating system, measure a characteristic associated with the piston rod of the reciprocating system, and transmit data associated with the characteristic to the first antenna of the interrogator system through the second antenna.

Claims

1. A sensor system for determining a condition of a piston rod of a reciprocating system, said sensor system comprising:

an interrogator system comprising a first antenna coupled to an interior surface of a block through which the piston rod extends at least partially, said piston rod is coupled via a crosshead assembly and a connecting rod to a crank shaft disposed in a crank case of the reciprocating system, and said block is coupled to the crank case;

a second antenna separated from said first antenna by an air gap distance, said second antenna configured to be coupled to the piston rod, wherein said second antenna is a patch antenna configured to communicate with said first antenna through a range of translational movement relative to said first antenna; and

a radio frequency sensor coupled to said second antenna and configured to be coupled to the piston rod, said radio frequency sensor further configured to measure a characteristic associated with the piston rod and transmit, through said second antenna, data associated with the characteristic to said first antenna of said interrogator system.

2. The sensor system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said radio frequency sensor is an all-quartz-package surface acoustic wave sensor.

3. The sensor system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first antenna is one or more of a monopole antenna and a patch antenna, and wherein said second antenna is one or more of a straight line microstrip antenna, a meander line microstrip antenna, and a monopole patch antenna.

4. The sensor system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first antenna is a first microstrip coupler and said second antenna is a second microstrip coupler.

5. The sensor system in accordance with claim 4, wherein said second antenna is a meander line antenna.

6. The sensor system in accordance with claim 4 further comprising a fixture coupled to said first antenna, said fixture configured to be coupled to the reciprocating system and position said first antenna at said air gap distance from said second antenna.

7. The sensor system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said air gap distance is between and inclusive of 10 and 20 millimeters (mm).

8. The sensor system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the reciprocating system is one or more of a reciprocating engine, reciprocating pump, and a reciprocating compressor, wherein the characteristic measured by the radio frequency sensor is one or more of a pressure, a strain, a torque, and a temperature, wherein the sensor system is configured to determine the condition of the piston rod based on the characteristic, and wherein the condition is one or more of a piston rod load, a piston rod stress, a normal condition, and a reduction in service life condition.

9. A reciprocating system comprising:

a piston comprising a first end and a second end opposite said first end;

a piston rod coupled to said second end;

a block, said piston rod extending at least partially through said block, wherein said piston rod is coupled via a crosshead assembly and a connecting rod to a crank shaft disposed in a crank case, and wherein said block is coupled to the crank case; and

a sensor system for determining a condition associated with said piston rod, said sensor system comprising;

an interrogator system comprising a first antenna, said first antenna coupled to an interior surface of said block;

a second antenna separated from said first antenna by an air gap distance, said second antenna coupled to said piston rod, wherein said second antenna is a patch antenna, and wherein said second antenna is configured to communicate with said first antenna through a range of translational movement relative to said first antenna; and

a surface acoustic wave sensor coupled to said second antenna and said piston rod, and configured to measure a strain associated with said piston rod and transmit, through said second antenna, data associated with the strain to said first antenna of said interrogator system.

10. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said block defines at least one chamber, said piston rod extending through said at least one chamber, wherein said first antenna is coupled to an interior surface of said at least one chamber.

11. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein at least one of said second antenna and said surface acoustic wave sensor is embedded within said piston rod.

12. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a sleeve coupled to said piston rod, wherein at least one of said second antenna and said surface acoustic wave sensor are coupled to said piston rod by said sleeve.

13. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said piston rod comprises a first portion and a second portion, said first portion coupled to said second portion by a joining portion extending between said first portion and said second portion, using at least one of keys and keyways, interference fit, adhesives, by welding, and fasteners, wherein one or more of said second antenna and said surface acoustic wave sensor are coupled to said joining portion.

14. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said surface acoustic wave sensor is an all-quartz-package surface acoustic wave sensor.

15. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first antenna is one or more of a monopole antenna and a patch antenna, and wherein said second antenna is one or more of a straight line microstrip antenna, a meander line microstrip antenna, and a monopole patch antenna.

16. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first antenna is a monopole antenna.

17. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first antenna is a first microstrip coupler and said second antenna is a second microstrip coupler.

18. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 17 further comprising a fixture coupled to said first antenna, said fixture configured to be coupled to the reciprocating system and position said first antenna at said air gap distance from said second antenna.

19. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 17, wherein said second antenna is a meander line antenna.

20. The reciprocating system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said air gap distance is between and inclusive of 10 and 20 millimeters (mm).