Methods and systems for indicating and determining fuel properties
First Claim
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1. A system for use in determining one or more fuel properties, said system comprising:
- a taggant sensor configured to detect a plurality of taggants in a blend of fuel that includes a first batch of fuel and a second batch of fuel; and
a computing device coupled to said taggant sensor and programmed to;
determine a physical property of the blend of fuel based on (i) information encoded in the plurality of taggants and (ii) determining a first concentration of a first set of the plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of a second set of the plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel; and
predict a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the determined physical property and mechanical wear of one or more components; and
wherein a user performs a maintenance event based on the predicted performance.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for use in indicating and/or determining fuel properties. One or more physical properties of a fuel are determined and indicated using taggants that are added to the fuel, such as by encoding the properties in the taggants or by encoding an identifier in the taggants and associating the properties with the identifier. The taggants are detected by a taggant sensor, and the physical properties are determined based on the detected taggants. A concentration of the taggants in the fuel may also be determined.
21 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for use in determining one or more fuel properties, said system comprising:
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a taggant sensor configured to detect a plurality of taggants in a blend of fuel that includes a first batch of fuel and a second batch of fuel; and a computing device coupled to said taggant sensor and programmed to; determine a physical property of the blend of fuel based on (i) information encoded in the plurality of taggants and (ii) determining a first concentration of a first set of the plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of a second set of the plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel; and predict a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the determined physical property and mechanical wear of one or more components; and wherein a user performs a maintenance event based on the predicted performance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for use in determining one or more fuel properties, said method comprising:
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detecting, by a taggant sensor, a plurality of taggants in a blend of fuel that includes a first batch of fuel and a second batch of fuel; determining, by a computing device, a physical property of the blend of fuel based on (i) information encoded in the plurality of taggants and (ii) determining a first concentration of a first set of the plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of a second set of the plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel; predicting a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the determined physical property and mechanical wear of one or more components; and performing a maintenance event based on the predicted performance. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for use in indicating one or more fuel properties, said method comprising:
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determining a first value of a physical property of a first batch of fuel and a second value of the physical property of a second batch of fuel; associating, by a computing device, a first identifier of the first batch of fuel with the first value of the physical property and a second identifier of the second batch of fuel with the second value of the physical property; creating a first plurality of taggants, wherein the first plurality of taggants encode information that indicates the first identifier and creating a second plurality of taggants, wherein the second plurality of taggants encode information that indicates the second identifier; adding the first plurality of taggants to the first batch of fuel and adding the second plurality of taggants to the second batch of fuel; combining the first batch of fuel and the second batch of fuel into a blend of fuel such that a first concentration of the first plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of the second plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel indicate a combined value of the physical property in the blend of fuel; predicting a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the first value of the physical property, the second value of the physical property, and mechanical wear of one or more components; and performing a maintenance event based on the predicted performance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable components embodied thereon, said computer-executable components comprising:
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a taggant detection component that when executed by at least one processor unit causes the processor unit to detect a plurality of taggants in a blend of fuel that includes a first batch of fuel and a second batch of fuel; and a property determination component that when executed by at least one processor unit causes the processor unit to; determine a physical property of the blend of fuel based on (i) information encoded in the plurality of taggants and (ii) determining a first concentration of a first set of the plurality of taggants associated with the first batch of fuel and a second concentration of a second set of the plurality of taggants associated with the second batch of fuel; and predict a performance, including estimated maintenance data, of an engine using the blend of fuel, based on the determined physical property and mechanical wear of one or more components; and wherein a user performs a maintenance event based on the predicted performance. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification