Apparatus for determining or monitoring a process variable of automation technology

Abstract

A vibration sensor comprising an oscillatable unit, which is composed of a membrane with an inner surface and an outer surface and, in given cases, at least one oscillatory element secured on the outer surface of the membrane. A transmitting/receiving unit is provided, which with a predetermined exciter frequency excites the oscillatable unit to execute oscillations and which receives oscillations of the oscillatable unit. A control/evaluation unit is provided, which signals reaching of the predetermined fill level or ascertains the density, respectively the viscosity, of the medium. In order to be able to apply the vibration sensor in high temperature applications, a disc shaped element of a magnetostrictive material is provided, which has a force transmitting connection with the inner surface of the membrane. The transmitting/receiving unit is an electromagnetic drive.

Claims

1. Apparatus for determining or monitoring a process variable, especially a predetermined fill level, density or viscosity of a medium in a container, comprising: a housing and an oscillatable unit, which oscillatable unit has a membrane with an inner surface and an outer surface and, in given cases, at least one oscillatory element secured on said outer surface of said membrane and which apparatus is placed at the height of the predetermined fill level or which is so placed in the container that it extends to a defined immersion depth in the medium; a transmitting/receiving unit, which with a predetermined exciter frequency excites said oscillatable unit to execute oscillations and which receives oscillations of said oscillatable unit; a control/evaluation unit, which signals reaching of the predetermined fill level or ascertains the density, respectively the viscosity, of the medium; and a disc shaped bimorph element of a magnetostrictive material, which has an area force transmitting connection with said inner surface of said membrane, wherein: said transmitting/receiving unit is an electromagnetic drive comprising a coil, and a coil core; and said electromagnetic drive is so arranged within the housing that a gap is provided between said disc shaped element of magnetostrictive material and the corresponding end region of said electromagnetic drive.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said disc shaped element of magnetostrictive material is embodied with circular or rectangular shape.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said force transmitting connection is a soldering, a welding or an adhesion.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the material of said disc shaped magnetostrictive element is nickel, cobalt, terbium-iron, an alloy referred to as Terfenol-D or an alloy as referred to Galfenol.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said force transmitting connection is implemented via a solder, especially a standard solder based on nickel or silver.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said force transmitting connection is implemented via a welding process or via an adhesion process.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said electromagnetic drive is a modularly embodied unit, which is secured in the interior of said housing by means of a securement means.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said electromagnetic drive comprises a permanent magnet.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said electromagnetic drive is so arranged within said housing that said gap has preferably a thickness of 0.1-1 mm.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein: the magnetic field strength in the case of application of said permanent magnet is so selected that it lies in a region, in which the relative expansion, respectively the relative length, respectively diameter, change of said magnetostrictive material of said disc shaped element has as a function of the magnetic field strength of said electromagnetic drive a high or maximum slope.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein: in case said permanent magnet is not present, the magnetostrictive material of said disc shaped element is so formed that the magnetostriction curve has in the region of the zero-point a high slope suitable for producing the exciter frequency.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein: adjoining regions of said coil core and said disk shaped magnetostrictive element are so embodied that magnetic field lines in the interior of said coil core and said disc shaped magnetostrictive element extend essentially plan parallel, and radially in the case of cylindrical symmetry.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said oscillatable unit is one of: an oscillatory fork, a single rod and a membrane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be explained in greater detail based on the appended drawing, the figures of which show as follows:

(2) FIG. 1a is a schematic representation of a vibration sensor known from the state of the art with an oscillatory fork;

(3) FIG. 1b is a schematic representation of a vibration sensor known from the state of the art with a single rod;

(4) FIG. 1c is a schematic representation of a vibration sensor known from the state of the art and embodied as a membrane oscillator;

(5) FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the vibration sensor of the invention in schematic representation;

(6) FIG. 2a is an enlarged representation of the membrane with applied magnetostrictive element of FIG. 2;

(7) FIG. 2b is the membrane shown in FIG. 2a with applied magnetostrictive element in the case of supply of an electromagnetic field;

(8) FIG. 3 is a graph showing longitudinal extension of a magnetostrictive material as a function of magnetic field strength;

(9) FIG. 4a is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the vibration sensor of the invention; and

(10) FIG. 4b is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the vibration sensor of the invention with optimized magnetization geometry.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DRAWINGS

(11) Schematically shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c are oscillatable units 2 of vibration sensors 1 known from the state of the art. In the case of FIG. 1a, the oscillatable unit 2 is composed of a membrane 3 and an oscillatory fork 17. In the case of FIG. 1b, a single rod 18 is secured on the membrane 3. FIG. 1c shows a membrane oscillator, in the case of which the oscillatable unit 2 is formed by the membrane 3 alone.

(12) FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the vibration sensor 1 of the invention with a magnetostrictive bimorph element 19 in schematic representation. Bimorph element 19 is composed of an essentially disk shaped element 9 of a magnetostrictive metal material, which is coupled with the membrane 3 via a force transmitting connection 10, especially a solder-, weld- or adhesive connection. Bimorph element 19 closes the tubular sensor housing 14 on one of its two end regions. Arranged in the sensor housing 14 above the disk shaped element 9, respectively above the bimorph element 19, is an electromagnetic drive 7. The electromagnetic drive 7 is composed in the illustrated case of a coil 12 with a coil core 13 and a permanent magnet 11 arranged around coil 12. Permanent magnet 11 is preferably annularly embodied. Of course, permanent magnet 11 can also be a washer shaped ring magnet.

(13) Coil core 13 is manufactured of a ferromagnetic alloy. Preferably, it is so embodied that formation of eddy currents is reduced to a minimum. Preferably, electromagnetic drive 7 is constructed as a modular unit. Via a preferably metal securement element 15, the electromagnetic drive 7 is secured in the sensor housing 14. Securement element 15 is, for example, one or more screws or a retaining ring. Of course, it is also possible to secure the electromagnetic drive 7 in the sensor housing 14 via a welding or soldering process.

(14) The disk shaped element 9 of a magnetostrictive material is separated from the permanent magnet 11 and especially the ferromagnetic coil core 13 by a gap 16. Preferably, the thickness of the gap 16 lies in the range between 0.1 and 1.0 mm. A force transmitting connection of the drive, such as required in the case of a piezoelectric drive, is absent in the case of the solution of the invention.

(15) Coil 12 is fed via the control/evaluation unit 8 with a periodic, respectively harmonic, electrical excitation current. In this way, there arises in association with the constant magnetic field strength H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 a harmonic magnetic field H=H.sub.0+H. Via this periodically changing magnetic field H, the bimorph element 19 and, thus, also the oscillatable unit 2 are excited to execute harmonic oscillations.

(16) The harmonic magnetic field of field strength H causes the disk shaped element 9 to undergo a periodic change of diameter D with the frequency of the excitation frequency. Since the disk shaped element 9 of magnetostrictive material is coupled by force transmitting connection with membrane 3 of the vibration-sensors 1, a periodic diameter, respectively length, change leads to a harmonic bending oscillation of the bimorph element 19. Controlled by the exciter current of the coil 12, the vibration sensor 1 is, thus, excited to execute oscillations with a desired oscillation frequency, especially with a resonant frequency.

(17) The driving magnetic field H is composed in the shown case of the magnetic field H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 and the alternating magnetic field, respectively the harmonic magnetic field, H of the coil 12. In such case, H is the amplitude of the alternating magnetic field, which is modulated onto the constant magnetic field H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11. Via the magnetic field H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11, it is achievedsuch as shown in FIG. 3that the vibration sensor of the invention works about the working point WP1. The working point WP1 is preferably located in a region, in which the alternating magnetic field H effects as large as possible length, respectively diameter, change of the magnetostrictive material of the disk shaped element 9. The change of the diameter, respectively the length change l, of the magnetostrictive material of the disk shaped element 9 in the region of a low magnetic field strength H can be mathematically described approximately by a parabola. The corresponding formula becomes:

(18) $\frac{l}{l_0}=.Math.H^2,$

(19) In such case,

(20) $\frac{l}{l_0}$
is the relative expansion of the magnetostrictive material in the case of the acting harmonic magnetic field, and is a coefficient, which correlates with the magnetostrictive constant . The above formula can be rewritten in the following way:

(21) $\frac{l}{l_0}=.Math.H^2=.Math.{\left(H_0+H\right)}^2=.Math.\left(H_0^2+2H.Math.H_0+H^2\right).$
The term .Math.H.sub.0.sup.2 is a constant, which is independent of the magnetic field strength of the harmonic magnetic field with the amplitude H. It corresponds to the pre-deformation of the bimorph element 19. This pre-deformation is present as a result of the magnetic field strength H.sub.0 of the magnetic field of the permanent magnet 11. The term .Math.H.sup.2 is negligible. Relevant for the excitation is the term .Math.2H.Math.H.sub.0, which shows that a maximum slope of the expansion

(22) $\frac{l}{l_0}$
as a function of field strength H of the harmonic magnetic field in the case of usual magnetostrictive materials make sense only in combination with the defined field strength of a permanent magnet 11. The magnetic field strength H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 is specific for each magnetostrictive material and should preferably lie at the maximum slope or in the region of the maximum slope of the expansion curve, respectively magnetostriction curve, illustrated in FIG. 3. For the expansion curve shown in FIG. 3, the optimal premagnetization due to the magnetic field strength H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 lies in the range between 1 and 2 kOe.

(23) The magnetic field strength H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 must not be so great that the field strength H of the magnetic field of the electromagnetic drive 7 lies in the region of saturation. Since in this region the slope of the expansion curve is very small, the oscillation of the oscillatable unit 3 would be correspondingly small. Saturation in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 occurs at a magnetic field strength H of about 5 kOe.

(24) The exciting of an oscillatable unit 2 with a magnetostrictive bimorph element 19 is suitable for use in the case of all vibration sensors 1, especially also for the vibration sensors 1 shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c. A decisive advantage of the combination of bimorph- and electromagnetic drive is that the vibration sensor 1 of the invention is also best suitable for applications in the high temperature region. The field of use of the vibration sensor of the invention is lastly only limited by the Curie temperature of the material of the permanent magnet 11, the Curie temperature of the material of the magnetostrictive element 9 and the temperature tolerance of the material of the coil 12. Typically, the solution of the invention can, however, be operated with the mentioned cost effective and available materials at least in the temperature range of 400-500 C. The temperature range can be expanded to higher temperatures, when a higher cost level for materials, which can still be used at higher temperatures, can be tolerated.

(25) As evident from FIGS. 2a and 2b, the layer structure of the invention (=bimorph element 19) composed of a metal membrane 3 and a disk shaped element 9 of a magnetostrictive alloy can be optimally used in a bimorph element 19 for producing and receiving oscillations of the oscillatable unit 2. The membrane 3 and the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 are preferably embodied as thin platelets. The force transmitting connection 10 in the bimorph element 19 is achieved, for example, via a solder layer of a hard metal alloy. As already mentioned above, a force transmitting connection 10 for use in the high temperature region can also be implemented via a welding or adhesion process.

(26) The solutions shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 utilize a permanent magnet 11, in order to bring the working point WP1 of the vibration sensor 1 of the invention into the region, in which the length, respectively diameter, change of the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 is as great as possible. Preferably aimed for is an optimal premagnetization H.sub.0 dependent on the respectively used magnetostrictive material. Subsequently correspondingly pronounced is the oscillation amplitude of the vibration sensor 1 excited by the alternating magnetic field H.

(27) FIG. 3 shows supplementally the case, in which no permanent magnet 11 is used. In the case of such a solution, the working point WP2 of the vibration sensor 1 lies in the zero-point of the magnetostriction curve. Preferably used for the disk shaped element 9, in this case, is a magnetostrictive material, such as, for example, an alloy referred to as Galfenol, which has a relatively large length, respectively diameter, change in the region of the zero-point. If a corresponding material is used, then the alternating magnetic field H effects a symmetric oscillation around the zero-point. As shown in FIG. 3, the length, respectively the diameter, of the magnetostrictive material of the disk shaped element 9 changes with a frequency, which is twice that of the exciter frequency of the alternating magnetic field H. While an embodiment of the vibration sensor 1 of the invention with permanent magnet 11 can implement a higher oscillation amplitude, the variant without permanent magnet 11 has the advantage that a lower exciter frequency can be used. In this way, the skin effect can be reduced, which is always greater at higher frequencies. Therefore, the solution without permanent magnet 11 isenergetically consideredvery advantageous.

(28) FIGS. 4a and 4b show a longitudinal section through an embodiment of the vibration sensor 1 of the invention optimized for uniform magnetizing. In order to achieve an as uniform as possible magnetizing over the entire volume of the magnetostrictive element 9, the permanent magnet 11 is so embodied (e.g. as small circular disk), such that it can be inserted in the central coil core 13. The position in the coil core 13 can, in such case, be freely selected. Alternatively, an option is to embody the permanent magnet 11 as a ring magnet and integrate such in the outer coil core 22. Furthermore, an option is, instead of the permanent magnet 11, to use an additional, second coil, or to operate the coil 12 with a superimposed DC-electrical current.

(29) Coil core 13 is composed of a material with high magnetic permeability and includes a cone 20 in the region facing the magnetostrictive element 9. The disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 is so embodied that it has in the central region, corresponding to the cone 20, a recess 23, into which the cone 20 protrudes. The edge regions of the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 and the end regions of the outer coil core 22 likewise have corresponding chamfers 24. Cone 20 and chamfers 24 serve for targeted guiding of the magnetic field lines in the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 into and out of the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9, so that the field lines within the material extend in high measure planparallelly, and radially in the case of cylindrical symmetry. Coil core 13 includes in the region around the permanent magnet 11 a bridge region 21, which likewise serves for optimal guiding of the magnetic field produced by the coil 12.

(30) The disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 is manufactured, for example, from a solid piece of material. In order to prevent eddy currents and the deformation of the magnetic field H resulting therefrom, the disk shaped magnetostrictive element 9 is preferably composed of laminated layers. The lamination can occur by an areal adhesive connecting or by a solder, weld or adhesive connecting on the edges of the individual lamella.

(31) The outer coil core 22 serves, furthermore, for magnetic shielding from external fields.

(32) Since the magnetic field H.sub.0 of the permanent magnet 11 is conveyed in the same coil core 13 as the magnetic field H of the coil 12, the two magnetic fields H.sub.0, H in the magnetostrictive material of the disk shaped element 9 are oriented optimally planparallelly, in the case of cylindrical symmetry radially, to one another, which leads to a marked increasing of the efficiency.

(33) As already described above in connection with FIG. 3, the permanent magnet 11 can be omitted, when the exciter coil 12 is operated bipolarly at the half resonant frequency. Since the magnetostriction curve (FIG. 3) is symmetric relative to H, at each zero crossing the coil current achieves a minimum deflection, whereby an excitation is generated at doubled frequency. This method enables halving the exciter frequency and, thus, a strong reduction of the arising eddy currents and the losses associated therewith. An alternative or additional reduction of the exciter frequency can be achieved by so optimizing the oscillatory elements, e.g. the fork tines, that they are suitable for operation with harmonic waves.