Lubricity measurement using MEMS

• US 7,228,727 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Issued: 06/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Discenzo, Frederick M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LARKIN, DANIEL SEAN
• Application Number:
  US11/297,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20060086178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 73/10, 73/530.5, 73/530.6, 73/540.1, 73/540.2, 73/542.2, 73/614.1, 73/614.2, 702/50
• US Class Current: 73/53.05
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 11/00 Investigating flow properties of materials, e.g. viscosity, plasticity; Analysing materials by determining flow properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 19/02 Measuring coefficient of friction between materials testing of tyres G01M17/02; determinations of friction coefficient used in vehicle braking or traction control systems B60T8/172
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/3595 using FTIR
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3577 for analysing liquids, e.g. polluted water
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/30 for lubricating properties

Abstract

A system that facilitates in situ determination of lubricity in a fluid comprises a multi-element sensor positioned within a machine, wherein the multi-element sensor obtains data regarding a plurality of parameters of a fluid. A component calculates lubricity of the fluid based at least in part upon the measured parameters.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates in situ determination of lubricity in a fluid, comprising:

a multi-element sensor positioned within a machine, wherein the multi-element sensor obtains data regarding a plurality of parameters of a fluid, the multi-element sensor includes a plurality of finger-like elements, wherein a distance between three or more finger-like elements is different; and

a component that calculates lubricity of the fluid based at least in part upon the measured parameters.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the component that calculates the lubricity of the fluid comprises one or more artificial neural networks.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the component that calculates the lubricity of the fluid comprises at least one of a support vector machine, an expert system, a Bayesian belief network, a fuzzy logic algorithm, and a data fusion engine.

4. The system of claim 1, the multi-element sensor comprising a three-electrode electro-chemical sensor that determines presence of additives that enhance lubricity.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein an electro-static field in the vicinity of the multi-element sensor is altered to determine presence of fluids providing enhanced lubricity.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of finger-like elements are employed as viscosity sensors;

and further comprising a component that measures an ability of the fluid to adhere to the finger-like elements.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of finger-like elements are employed as viscosity sensors, wherein two or more of the finger-like elements have different surface coatings;

and a component that measures an ability of the fluid to adhere to the finger-like elements.

8. The system of claim 1, the component that calculates lubricity comprises a data packet.

9. A method for calculating lubricity of a fluid within machinery, comprising:

providing a lubricity sensor in the machinery, the sensor having a plurality of finger-like elements, wherein a distance between three or more finger-like elements is different;

obtaining data relating to a plurality of parameters within machinery from the sensor; and

calculating lubricity based at least in part upon the obtained data.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating a Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot based at least in part upon the parameters.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising automatically adjusting chemical composition of the fluid based at least in part upon the calculated lubricity.

12. The method of claim 9, the parameters being two or more of temperature, TCP presence within the fluid, ZDDP presence within the fluid, temperature, density, viscosity, TAN, conductivity, pH, and oxidation.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing multiple viscosity sensors;

coating the finger-like elements of disparate viscosity sensors with disparate surfaces; and

measuring an ability of fluid to adhere to the disparate surfaces of the finger-like elements.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing multiple viscosity sensors; and

measuring an ability of fluid to adhere to the disparate spaced finger-like elements.

15. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

monitoring the fluid for presence of additives that enhance lubricity.

16. A system that facilitates controlling lubricity of a fluid, comprising:

means for employing fluid sensors with finger-like elements, wherein the distance between three or more of the finger-like elements is different;

means for obtaining data of various parameters of the fluid;

means for fusing the data;

means for outputting a measurement of lubricity from the fused data; and

means for altering chemical composition of the fluid based at least in part upon the measured lubricity.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising means for generating a Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot based at lease in part upon the fused data.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising means for controlling machinery based at least in part upon the measured lubricity.

19. A system that facilitates synthesis of a Fourier Infra Red spectrum plot of a fluid, comprising:

a sensor comprising a plurality of finger-like sensor elements, wherein a distance between three or more finger-like elements is different;

a stimulating component that employs voltages to stimulate at least two of the finger-like sensor elements to facilitate measurement of particular parameters of the fluid; and

a sensor fusion component that generates the Fourier Infra Red spectrum plot at least in part from measurements obtained from the stimulated finger-like sensor elements.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a sensor fusion component that generates the Fourier Infra Red spectrum plot at least in part from measurements obtained from the stimulated finger-like sensor elements.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the stimulating component delivers a voltage that spans at least one of a particular range of frequencies and a particular range of amplitudes to facilitate obtainment of desirable parameters of the fluid.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein disparate sensing elements receive at least one of disparate voltage amplitudes and disparate voltage frequencies from the stimulating component.

23. The system of claim 19, further comprising a control component that facilitates automatic maintenance of the fluid based at least in part upon the Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot.

24. The system of claim 19, further comprising a control component that controls operation of a machine based at least in part on the Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot.

25. The system of claim 19, further comprising an artificial neural network that facilitates mapping of sensed parameters to the Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot is generated for a particular range of wavenumbers.

27. The system of claim 19, wherein the Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrum plot is generated for a plurality of segmented ranges of wavenumbers.

28. A system that facilitates synthesis of a Fourier Infra Red spectrum plot of a fluid, comprising:

a sensor comprising a plurality of finger-like sensor elements, wherein a distance between three or more finger-like elements is different;

a stimulating component that employs voltages to stimulate at least one of the finger-like sensor elements to facilitate measurement of particular parameters of the fluid;

a component that modifies at least one of an amplitude and frequency of the voltages based at least in part upon the measured parameters; and

a sensor fusion component that generates the Fourier Infra Red spectrum plot at least in part from measurements obtained from the stimulated finger-like sensor elements.

29. A system that facilitates analysis of a fluid, comprising:

a sensor comprising a plurality of sensing elements that measure various parameters of a fluid, the sensing elements comprise finger-like elements, wherein a distance between three or more finger-like elements is different;

a stimulating component that employs voltages to stimulate at least two of the sensor elements to facilitate measurement of particular parameters of the fluid; and

a component that modifies the voltages output by the stimulating component based at least in part on the measured parameters.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising a data fusion component that facilitates robust analysis of the fluid.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the stimulating component delivers a voltage that spans at least one of a particular range of frequencies and a particular range of amplitudes to facilitate obtainment of desirable parameters of the fluid.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein disparate sensing elements receive at least one of disparate voltage amplitudes and disparate voltage frequencies from the stimulating component.