CN-122003583-A - Apparatus, system, and method for fluid quality determination

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed that allow the mass of a fluid within a container to be determined by first vibrating an outer surface of the container, wherein the container contains a fluid (such as a compressed fluid, a gas, a liquid, a mixture of gas and liquid, or a supercritical fluid). Vibration data is then received at the outer surface of the container, and then converted to one or more frequencies. The mass of the fluid in the vessel is then estimated based on the one or more frequencies.

Inventors

• M. Hultmark
• FAN YUYANG
• C Bair
• B. G. Justinian

Assignees

• 天道科技股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20231101

Priority Date

20230605

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method for determining the quality of a fluid within a container, the method comprising: Vibrating a surface of a container at a predetermined frequency range, the container containing a fluid; Receiving vibration data at or near an outer surface of the container; Determining a resonance frequency based on the vibration data, and An estimated mass of the fluid is determined based on the resonant frequency.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vibration data is representative of acceleration of the outer surface of the container.
3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vibration data is representative of an acoustic signal near an outer surface of the container.
4. 4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the surface is an outer surface.
5. 5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid is a compressed fluid.
6. 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid consists of a gaseous material.
7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid consists of a liquid.
8. 8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid consists of a liquid portion and a gaseous portion.
9. 9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fluid consists of a supercritical fluid.
10. 10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein vibrating the surface comprises transmitting a frequency ramp within the predetermined frequency range.
11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the frequency ramp is generated using frequency modulation.
12. 12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the frequency ramp uses a sine wave.
13. 13. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the frequency ramp uses a pulsed wave.
14. 14. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the frequency ramp uses a sawtooth wave.
15. 15. The method of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the frequency ramp consists of a frequency between about 1 kHz and about 10 kHz.
16. 16. The method of any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the predetermined frequency range is 3500 Hz or less.
17. 17. The method of any of claims 10 to 16, wherein the frequency ramp is a continuous ramp.
18. 18. The method of any of claims 10 to 16, wherein the frequency ramp is a discontinuous ramp.
19. 19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the time to perform a frequency ramp is less than 200 ms.
20. 20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein a plurality of vibration cycles are performed and are used together to determine the estimated mass of the fluid.

Description

Apparatus, system, and method for fluid quality determination Cross Reference to Related Applications The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/471,141 filed on 5 of 6 th 2023 and from U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/531,145 filed on 7 of 8 th 2023, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to techniques for determining the mass of a fluid within a container, and in particular to vibration techniques, preferably non-contact techniques based on resonance of the fluid/container system. Background In various manufacturing or supply chain industries, as well as in the food and beverage and medical industries, various useful fluids are stored in tanks or containers, and these industries require the use of various sensors to monitor the amount of material in the containers. Current systems are adapted to determine the level of liquid or solid material in a tank or vessel by taking pressure or volume measurements of the tank or vessel. However, most methods for measuring pressure or fluid level require contact with the fluid itself (i.e., invasive measurement). In addition, these systems often fail for compressed fluids. For example, the compressed gas will always fill the entire volume of the tank or vessel, whether it is a full tank or a half full tank. Further, the pressure of the saturated mixture depends only on the temperature and is independent of the actual filling level. Thus, there is a need for a method for non-invasively measuring the mass of a fluid (such as a gas, saturated mixture, liquid, or supercritical fluid) in a container. Disclosure of Invention Various deficiencies in the prior art are addressed hereinafter through the compositions of matter and techniques disclosed. A first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for determining a quality of a fluid in a container using a sensor inside or outside the container. The method generally includes (i) vibrating a surface of a container containing a fluid at a predetermined frequency range, such as an exterior surface, (ii) receiving vibration data at or near the exterior surface of the container, (iii) converting the vibration data to one or more frequencies and/or converting the vibration data to a variance associated with the vibration frequency range, (iv) optionally determining at least one resonance frequency, and (v) estimating/determining a mass of the fluid and optionally a temperature and/or pressure based on the vibration data (e.g., based on the resonance frequency). The vibration data may be representative of acceleration of the outer surface of the container. The vibration data may represent an acoustic signal near the outer surface of the container. The fluid may consist of, for example, a compressed fluid, a gaseous material, a liquid fraction and a gaseous fraction or a supercritical fluid. The temperature may be ambient temperature and/or the temperature of the outer surface of the container. The pressure may be the pressure of the fluid in the container. The vibrating surface may include an actuator configured to emit a range of vibration frequencies ("frequency ramp"), such as a frequency ramp within a predetermined frequency range. The frequency ramp may use a sine wave. The frequency ramp may use a pulsed wave, such as a square wave. The frequency ramp may use a sawtooth wave. The frequency ramp may be comprised of frequencies between about 100 Hz and about 10 kHz. The frequency ramp may have a frequency range of 3500 Hz or less (i.e., the difference between the lowest frequency and the highest frequency is 3500 Hz or less). The frequency ramp may be a continuous ramp. The frequency ramp may be a discontinuous ramp. The time of the primary frequency ramp may be less than 2 s. In some embodiments, the time of the primary frequency ramp may be less than 200 ms. In some embodiments, a single vibration cycle (i.e., generating vibrations by detecting responsive vibration data) is used to determine mass. In some embodiments, multiple vibration cycles are performed and the data is used together to determine the mass of the fluid. In some embodiments, the mass may be estimated based on the most common dominant frequency detected from multiple vibration cycles. In some embodiments, the mass may be estimated based on a median of frequencies detected from a plurality of vibration cycles. In some embodiments, the mass may be estimated based on vibration data and temperature (such as ambient temperature, such as temperature of an outer surface of the container). In some embodiments, the mass may be estimated after the temperature has not changed more than a predetermined amount (e.g., not more than 2 ℃) within a predetermined period of time (e.g., at least 5 seconds). In some embodiments, the mass may be estimated based on one or more of frequency, temperature, pressure, and inform