Device and method for calibrating a film chamber for leak detection

Abstract

A method for calibrating a test chamber, which encloses an interior volume (20), is designed as a film chamber (12) comprising at least one flexible wall region (14, 16), and is connected in a gas-conducting way to a pressure sensor (30), to a vacuum pump (26), and via a calibration valve (34) to a calibration chamber (36) enclosing a calibration volume (37), comprising the following steps: evacuating the film chamber (12); measuring the pressure difference inside of the film chamber (12); after the evacuation has been completed, connecting the calibration volume (37) in a gas-conducting manner to the interior volume (20) of the film chamber (12) while measuring the pressure change, wherein the pressure in the calibration chamber (36) is greater than the pressure in the film chamber (12) before the connection to the film chamber (12). A corresponding device is likewise disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for calibrating a test chamber which encloses an inner volume, said test chamber being designed as a film chamber capable of forming a constant volume variable pressure container comprising at least one flexible wall portion and being connected in a gas-conducting manner to a pressure sensor, to a vacuum pump, and via a calibration valve to a calibration chamber enclosing a calibration volume, the method comprising the following steps in the following order: evacuating the film chamber; initiating measurement of the pressure characteristic over time, inside of the film chamber after the evacuation has been completed; and connecting the calibration volume in a gas-conducting manner to the inner volume of the film chamber while measurement of the pressure characteristic over time is continued, such that the pressure is measured from before the gas-conducting connection to the film chamber is made and is continued during the gas-conducting connection to the film chamber, wherein the pressure in the calibration chamber before the connection to the film chamber is higher or lower than the pressure in the film chamber, such that a pressure stroke results inside the film chamber upon opening the calibration valve, wherein the pressure stroke does not expand a film chamber volume, and calculating the film chamber volume based on said pressure stroke as $V_F=V_V\frac{\left(p_v-p_G\right)}{\left(p_G-p_F\right)}$ or $V_F{V}_V\frac{p_V}{p_G-p_F}$ where V.sub.F: film chamber volume, V.sub.V: calibration volume, P.sub.V: pressure in the calibration chamber before connection with the film chamber volume, P.sub.G: pressure in the film chamber after connection with the calibration volume, and P.sub.F: pressure in the film chamber before connection with the calibration volume.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the size of the calibration volume is in a range between 1/1000 and 1/100 of the film chamber volume and that approximately atmospheric pressure prevails in the calibration chamber before connection with the film chamber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the film chamber volume is determined with the test object contained in the film chamber.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the film chamber is empty or contains a test object from a measurement of the pressure.

5. A method for calibrating a test chamber which encloses an inner volume, said test chamber being designed as a film chamber capable of forming a constant volume variable pressure container comprising at least one flexible wall portion and being connected in a gas-conducting manner to a pressure sensor, to a vacuum pump, and via a calibration valve to a calibration chamber enclosing a calibration volume, the method comprising the following steps in the following order: evacuating the film chamber; initiating measurement of the pressure characteristic over time, inside of the film chamber after the evacuation has been completed; and connecting the calibration volume in a gas-conducting manner to the inner volume of the film chamber while measurement of the pressure characteristic over time is continued, such that the pressure is measured from before the gas-conducting connection to the film chamber is made and is continued during the gas-conducting connection to the film chamber, wherein the pressure in the calibration chamber before the connection to the film chamber is higher or lower than the pressure in the film chamber, such that a pressure stroke results inside the film chamber upon opening the calibration valve, wherein the pressure stroke does not expand a film chamber volume, and calculating the film chamber volume based on said pressure stroke as $V_F=V_V\frac{\left(p_v-p_G\right)}{\left(p_G-p_F\right)}$ or $V_F{V}_V\frac{p_V}{p_G-p_F}$ where V.sub.F: film chamber volume, V.sub.V: calibration volume, P.sub.V: pressure in the calibration chamber before connection with the film chamber volume, P.sub.G: pressure in the film chamber after connection with the calibration volume, and P.sub.F: pressure in the film chamber before connection with the calibration volume, wherein the calibration chamber is provided with a test leak having a predefined leakage rate, a calibration of the measuring sensor being performed after the calculation of the film chamber volume on the basis of a pressure increase in the film chamber caused by the test leak.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Based on the pressure stroke and/or based on the film chamber volume (dead volume) determined, it is possible to also conclude on the shape, the size and/or the number of test objects in the film chamber.

(2) The following is a detailed description of two embodiments of the invention with reference to the Figures. In the Figures:

(3) FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the first embodiment in a first operational state,

(4) FIG. 2 shows the pressure characteristic in the first operational state,

(5) FIG. 3 shows the view of FIG. 1 in a second operational state,

(6) FIG. 4 shows the pressure characteristic in the second operational state,

(7) FIG. 5 shows the view of FIG. 1 in a third operational state,

(8) FIG. 6 shows the pressure characteristic in the third operational state,

(9) FIG. 7 shows the view of FIG. 1 in a fourth operational state,

(10) FIG. 8 shows the pressure characteristic in the fourth operational state,

(11) FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of the second embodiment in an operational state, and

(12) FIG. 10 shows the pressure characteristic in the operational state of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) The following description refers to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-8.

(14) The film chamber 12 is formed by two film layers 14, 16 enclosing a test object 18 and connected with each other in a gas-tight manner at the edge portion of the test object. The film layers 14, 16 enclose a film chamber volume 20 in the interior of the film chamber 12. In FIG. 1, the film chamber volume 20 is the volume inside the film chamber 12 in the region outside the test object 18.

(15) A gas line 22 connects the interior of the film chamber 12 in a gas-conducting manner with a vacuum pump 26 via an evacuation valve 24, with a pressure sensor 30 via a measuring valve 28, with the atmosphere surrounding the film chamber via a ventilation valve 32 and with a calibration chamber 36 via a calibration valve 34.

(16) The calibration chamber 36 encloses a calibration volume which is initially filled with air at atmospheric pressure. The calibration valve 34 is initially closed. In the Figures the open state of a valve is represented by a valve illustrated as a filled symbol and the closed state of a valve is represented by a valve illustrated as an unfilled symbol. In the first operational state shown in FIG. 1, the measuring valve 28, the ventilation valve 32 and the calibration valve 34 are closed. On the other hand, the evacuation valve 24 is open. In the first operational state illustrated in FIG. 1, the test object 18 is in the gas-tightly closed film chamber, whereas the vacuum pump 26 evacuates the film chamber 12 via the gas line 22 while the evacuation valve 24 is open.

(17) FIG. 2 shows the pressure characteristic that occurs in the film chamber 12 during the evacuation. With the measuring valve 28 open, the pressure sensor 30 would measure the pressure characteristic in FIG. 2. In FIG. 1, however, the measuring valve 28 is closed during the evacuation of the film chamber 12 to avoid damage to the pressure sensor 30.

(18) FIG. 3 shows the subsequent operational state after the evacuation of the film chamber 12. The evacuation valve 24 is closed (illustrated as unfilled) and the measuring valve 28 is open (illustrated as filled). The hermetically closed film chamber volume 20 is thereby connected with the pressure sensor 30. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pressure sensor 30 measures a pressure increase in the film chamber 12 over time. This pressure increase may result, on the one hand, from a leak in the test object 18 and, on the other hand, from an offset pressure. The increase in offset pressure is a pressure increase not caused by a leak in the test object 18 but by other physical effects such as e.g. gas molecules gassed out of the film chamber wall.

(19) After the evacuation of the film chamber 12 (first operational state) and the opening of the measuring valve 28 (second operational state), the calibration valve 34 is now opened as well. This third operational state is illustrated in FIG. 3. Air flows from the calibration chamber 36 through the open calibration valve 34 into the film chamber 12 via the gas line 22. Due to the great pressure difference between the vacuum in the film chamber 12 and the atmospheric pressure in the calibration chamber 36, the pressure in the film chamber 12 increases abruptly after the calibration valve 34 has been opened. This pressure stroke p is illustrated in FIG. 6 and is measured by the pressure sensor 30. The pressure stroke p is the difference between the pressure p.sub.G in the film chamber 12 after the calibration valve 34 has been opened and the pressure p.sub.F in the film chamber 12 before opening the calibration valve 34:
p=(p.sub.Gp.sub.F)

(20) Since the total amount of gas in the film chamber 12 and in the calibration chamber 36 remains the same before and after opening the calibration valve, the following holds:
p.sub.G(V.sub.F+V.sub.V)=p.sub.FV.sub.F+p.sub.VV.sub.V,
where P.sub.G: the pressure in the film chamber 12 after the calibration valve 34 has been opened, V.sub.F: the film chamber volume 20 to be determined, V.sub.V: the calibration volume 37 in the calibration chamber 36 (in a range between 1/1000 and 1/100 of the film chamber volume without test object) and P.sub.V: the pressure in the calibration chamber 36 before opening the calibration valve 34 (atmospheric pressure, circa 1 bar).

(21) Based on the pressure stroke p=p.sub.Gp.sub.F, the film chamber volume 20 can be calculated from this as:

(22) $V_F=V_V\frac{\left(p_v-p_G\right)}{\left(p_G-p_F\right)}=V_V\frac{\left(p_V-p_G\right)}{p}$

(23) Preferably, even after the opening of the calibration valve 34, the pressure in the film chamber 12 is much lower than the in the calibration chamber 36 before the opening of the calibration valve 34 so that p.sub.C<<p.sub.V. In this case, the following holds approximately for the film chamber volume to be determined 20:

(24) $V_F{V}_V\frac{p_V}{p_G-p_F}=V_V\frac{p_V}{p}.$

(25) Based on the pressure stroke p, it is thus possible to determine the dead volume V.sub.F that occurs between the film layers 14, 16 and the test object 18 after the evacuation of the film chamber 12.

(26) After the measurement, the film chamber 12 and the calibration chamber 36 are ventilated by opening the ventilation valve 32 in addition to the open calibration valve 34. Here, the operational state illustrated in FIG. 7 is obtained.

(27) The following description relates to the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.

(28) The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in that the wall 38 of the calibration chamber 36 has a test leak 40 with a predefined leakage rate. The test leak 40 is a capillary test leak. After a pressure stroke p, the test leak 40 causes the further linear pressure increase illustrated on the far right in FIG. 10, which can be used to calibrate the entire system. Thus, in the second embodiment, after the film chamber volume 20 has been determined based on the pressure increase p, the linear pressure increase of the test leak 40 can be used to exactly calculate the leakage rate of the test object. Since the leakage rate of the test leak 40 is known, the gradient of the linear pressure increase caused by the test leak 40 makes it possible to exactly calculate the leakage rate of the test object from the pressure increase as illustrated in FIG. 4 or from the pressure stroke p.