Acoustic wave particulate sensor

• US 20070137287A1
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Liu, James, Rhodes, Michael, Rahman, Aziz
• Application Number:
  US11/305,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20070137287A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/61.750
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0224 Mixtures of three or more liquids
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0226 Oils, e.g. engine oils
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02416 Solids in liquids
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0258 Structural degradation, e.g. fatigue of composites, ageing of oils
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02818 Density, viscosity
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0422 Shear waves, transverse waves, horizontally polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0427 Flexural waves, plate waves, e.g. Lamb waves, tuning fork, cantilever
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/022 Fluid sensors based on microsensors, e.g. quartz crystal-microbalance [QCM], surface acoustic wave [SAW] devices, tuning forks, cantilevers, flexural plate wave [FPW] devices microdevices per se B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/036 by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2858 metal particles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2888 Lubricating oil characteristics, e.g. deterioration lubricating properties G01N33/30

Abstract

An acoustic wave particulate sensor system is disclosed, which includes a piezoelectric substrate; and one or more acoustic wave sensing elements formed upon said piezoelectric substrate. A housing can be provided for maintaining said piezoelectric substrate and the acoustic wave sensing elements, wherein the acoustic wave sensing elements, when exposed to a substance containing particulates, such as, for example, engine oil, responds to a phase change, frequency change, and/or noise level change associated with said particulates in order to identify a noise signature of said particulates and therefore identify differences among said particulates to detect data associated with said particulates.

Claims

1. An acoustic wave particulate sensor system, comprising:

a piezoelectric substrate;

at least one acoustic wave sensing element formed upon said piezoelectric substrate;

a housing for maintaining said piezoelectric substrate and said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, when exposed to a liquid containing particulates, responds to a phase change associated with said particulates in order to identify said particulates and therefore identify differences among said particulates to detect data associated with said particulates.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises a particulate concentration.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises a density of said particulates.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises a viscosity of said particulates.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises data identifying said particulates by particulate type.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said liquid comprises oil.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a shear-horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave (SH-SAW) element.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a Surface Transverse Wave (STW) element.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) element.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprise at least one of the following:

an Acoustic Plate Mode (APM) element;

a Flexural plate Mode (FPM) element;

or

a love wave element.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element formed upon said piezoelectric substrate comprises at least two acoustic wave sensing elements, wherein at least one of said at least two acoustic wave sensing elements comprises a textured surface and at least one other of said at least one acoustic wave sensing elements comprises a smooth surface.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a smooth surface and a textured surface formed on said substrate.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises a density of said liquid.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises a viscosity of said particulates.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein said data associated with said particulates comprises data identifying said particulates by particulate type.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a shear-horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave element.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises a Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) element.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises at least one of the following:

an Acoustic plate mode (APM) element;

a flexural plate mode (FPM) element;

or

a love wave element.

13. An acoustic wave particulate sensor system, comprising:

a piezoelectric substrate;

at least one acoustic wave sensing element formed upon said piezoelectric substrate;

a housing for maintaining said piezoelectric substrate and said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, when exposed to a liquid containing particulates, responds to a frequency associated with said particulates in order to identify the mechanical and electrical perturbation of said particulates and therefore identify differences among said particulates to detect data associated with said particulates.

20. An acoustic wave particulate sensor system, comprising:

a piezoelectric substrate;

at least one acoustic wave sensing element formed upon said piezoelectric substrate;

a housing for maintaining said piezoelectric substrate and said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element, when exposed to a liquid containing particulates, responds to a noise level change associated with said particulates in order to identify said particulates and therefore determine differences among said particulates to detect data associated with said particulates.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein said at least one acoustic wave sensing element comprises at least one of the following:

a shear-horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave element;

a Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) element;

an Acoustic Plate Mode (APM) element;

a Flexural Plate Mode (FPM) element;

or

a love wave element.