METHOD OF DETERMINING ONE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETER OF A CHEMICAL AGENT IN A FLUID AND A SYSTEM THEREFOR

Abstract

A method of determining one physicochemical parameter of a chemical agent in a fluid is provided the method comprising the steps of: providing a pressurized fluid of said chemical agent upstream of a dosing unit in a line; changing the opening condition of said dosing unit at a determinable time to to provide a dosing of said fluid or a change in the dosing of said fluid; determining the time, t.sub.p, at which the pressure wave in said line resulting from the pressure drop upon changing the opening condition of said dosing unit is detected at a known distance, d, from said dosing unit; determining the velocity of wave propagation from said time interval t.sub.pto and said known distance, d; and deriving the physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent from said velocity of wave propagation. The invention also pertains to a system for determining the physicochemical parameter of a chemical agent in a fluid, operating according to the same method.

Claims

1. A method of determining one physicochemical parameter of a chemical agent in a fluid the method comprising: providing a pressurized fluid of said chemical agent upstream of a dosing unit in a line; changing the opening condition of said dosing unit at a determinable time to provide a dosing of said fluid or a change in the dosing of said fluid; determining the time, t.sub.p, at which the pressure wave in said line resulting from the pressure drop upon changing the opening condition of said dosing unit is detected in said line at a known distance, d, from said dosing unit; determining the velocity of wave propagation from said time interval t.sub.pt.sub.o and said known distance, d; and deriving the physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent from said velocity of wave propagation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a means of exactly establishing the time at which a valve opens may be a pressure sensor, a control signal changing the opening condition of the injector or an injector current pattern indicative of the injector opening.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said chemical agent is urea.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said fluid is an aqueous urea solution.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said physicochemical parameter is the concentration of the chemical agent in the fluid.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of injecting said fluid of said chemical agent into an exhaust line of a vehicle.

7. A system for determining one physicochemical parameter of a chemical agent in a fluid, said system comprising a means of pressurizing said fluid, a line arranged between said means of applying pressure and a dosing unit having different opening conditions, means for detecting a change in pressure at a known distance from said dosing unit, a means of establishing a time difference between a time at which the opening condition of said dosing unit changes and a time at which the pressure wave in said fluid resulting therefrom is detected by said means for detecting a change in pressure, and processing means configured to derive the physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent from said time difference.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the means for detecting a change in pressure comprises a pressure sensor.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the means for pressurizing said fluid comprises a pump driven by an electrical current, and wherein said means for detecting a change in pressure comprises a current sensor arranged on said pump.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein said means of applying a pressure comprises a rotary pump.

11. The use of a system according to claim 7 checking the plausibility of said physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent in said fluid determined by another sensor.

12. A vehicular selective catalytic reduction assembly comprising a system according to claim 7.

13. A motor vehicle comprising a system according to claim 7.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a simulated plot of pressure against time for an initial pressure of 5 bar for urea concentrations varying between 10 and 40% by weight and the injector side (lower set of curves) and at the pump side (upper set of curves).

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a magnified part of FIG. 1 between 99.124 and 99.130 s in which curves A, B, C and D are the characteristics for aqueous solutions with 10% by weight, 20% by weight, 30% by weight and 40% by weight of urea respectively.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a system for determining the concentration of a chemical agent in a solution, according to a particular embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a system for determining a physicochemical parameter of fuel in a fluid, according to a particular embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] In the different figures, the same reference signs refer to the same or analogous elements.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Definitions

[0035] The term opening condition, as used in disclosing the present invention, means fully open and any definable condition between fully open and completely shut.

[0036] The term line, as used in disclosing the present invention, means any means capable of transporting a solution and includes entities with a circular, elliptical, rectangular or square cross-section.

[0037] The invention will now be described by a detailed description of several embodiments of the invention. It is clear that other embodiments of the invention can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit or technical teaching of the invention, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

[0038] It is to be understood that although preferred embodiments, specific constructions and configurations, as well as materials, have been discussed herein for devices according to the present invention, various changes or modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention.

[0039] While the invention is described hereinafter with limited number of examples, it is not limited thereto. In the following description, the reference to urea or fuel solutions is exemplary, and not intended to be limiting.

[0040] Method of Determining the Physicochemical Parameter of a Chemical Agent in a Fluid

[0041] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method of determining one physicochemical parameter of a chemical agent in a fluid is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a pressurized fluid of said chemical agent upstream of a dosing unit in a line; changing the opening condition of said dosing unit at a determinable time t.sub.0 to provide a dosing of said fluid or a change in the dosing of said fluid; determining the time, t.sub.p, at which the pressure wave in said line resulting from the pressure drop upon changing the opening condition of said dosing unit is detected, for example by a pressure sensor, at a known distance, d, from said valve; determining the velocity of wave propagation from said time interval t.sub.pt.sub.0 and said known distance, d; and deriving the physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent from said velocity of wave propagation.

[0042] According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the means of exactly establishing the time at which the valve opens may be a pressure sensor, the control signal changing the opening condition of the injector or an injector current pattern indicative of the injector opening.

[0043] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the pressure drop is detected by means of a pressure sensor in said line.

[0044] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, is the pressure drop is detected by reference to the motor current information of said pump.

[0045] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is urea.

[0046] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said solution is an aqueous urea solution.

[0047] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is ammonia.

[0048] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said solution is an aqueous ammonia solution.

[0049] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is a mixture of urea and ammonia.

[0050] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said solution is a mixture of an aqueous urea solution and an aqueous ammonia solution.

[0051] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is ethanol.

[0052] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is aqueous ethanol solution.

[0053] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is fuel.

[0054] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 69 GPa.

[0055] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 100 GPa.

[0056] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 200 GPa.

[0057] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said method further comprises the step of injecting said solution of said chemical agent into an exhaust line of a vehicle.

[0058] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said method further comprises the step of injecting said fluid of said chemical agent into a fuel cell of a vehicle.

[0059] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said method further comprises the step of injecting said fluid of said chemical agent into a consuming unit of a vehicle.

[0060] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminium, aramid, bronze, brass, titanium, copper, steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0061] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, bronze, brass, titanium, copper, steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0062] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0063] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is urea as an aqueous solution.

[0064] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, when said solution of said chemical agent is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

[0065] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is ammonia in a fluid.

[0066] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, when said fluid of said chemical agent is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

[0067] According to another preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, said method further comprises the step of measuring the temperature of said chemical agent fluid and the thereby measured temperature is taken into account in calculating said physicochemical parameter of said chemical agent in said fluid with the assistance of look-up tables. FIG. 1 shows a simulated plot of pressure against time for an initial pressure of 5 bar applied by a rotary pump for urea concentrations varying between 10 and 40% by weight and the injector side (lower set of curves) and at the pump side (upper set of curves) and FIG. 2 shows a magnified part of FIG. 1 between 99.124 and 99.130 s in which curves A, B, C and D are the characteristics for aqueous solutions with 10% by weight, 20% by weight, 30% by weight and 40% by weight of urea respectively at the pump side of the injector.

[0068] The set of curves at the pump side exhibits a ca. 1 ms spread in a total wave propagation time of ca. 30.7 ms between concentrations of 10 and 40% by weight.

[0069] The arrival time window of 1 ms is fairly small i.e. the spread in propagation wave arrival times for urea concentrations between 10 and 40% by weight, but in terms of the propagation time of about 30.7 ms is about 3% thereof, which taking the accuracy of time determination into account is accurately measureable. What is also clear from the ripple on these simulated plots is the presence of sinusoidal noise resulting from the action of the rotary pump.

[0070] Noise can arise from different sources: from the pump applying the pressure, from imperfections in the piping walls, generated by the injection process and from the system. These are definable and hence can be filtered out.

System

[0071] According to a second aspect of the present invention a system (1) is provided for determining one physicochemical parameter such as the concentration of a chemical agent in a fluid, said system (1) comprising a means of pressurizing said fluid (2), a line (3) arranged between said means of applying pressure (2) and a dosing unit having different opening conditions (4), a means for detecting a change in pressure (5) at a known distance from said dosing unit (4), a means of establishing a time difference (6) between a time at which the opening condition of said dosing unit (4), changes and the time at which the pressure wave in said fluid resulting therefrom is detected by said means for detecting a change in pressure (5), and a processing means (7) configured to derive the concentration of said chemical agent from said time difference.

[0072] FIG. 3 shows a schematic drawing of a system (1), according to the present invention, in which (2) represents a means of applying pressure to the fluid, (3) represents a line from which the fluid is injected, (4) represents a dosing unit, (5) represents a pressure-wave detection means, (6) represents a means of establishing the time difference t.sub.pt.sub.0 and (7) represents a processing means.

[0073] The processing means may be implemented in dedicated hardware (e.g., ASIC), configurable hardware (e.g., FPGA), programmable components (e.g., a DSP or general purpose processor with appropriate software), or any combination thereof. The same component(s) may also include other functions, and may for example form part of a vehicle's ECU.

[0074] According to a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said system further comprises a means of calculating said concentration of a chemical agent in fluid from the velocity of wave propagation of said pressure wave.

[0075] Means for pressurizing a fluid include rotary and piston pumps. According to a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said means of pressurizing comprises a rotary pump.

[0076] The means of exactly establishing the time at which the valve opens may be a pressure sensor, the control signal changing the opening condition of the injector or an injector current pattern indicative of the injector opening.

[0077] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said means for detecting a change in pressure is a pressure sensor.

[0078] Any pressure sensor, otherwise known as pressure transducers, pressure transmitters, pressure senders, pressure indicators and piezometers, known to persons skilled in the art may be used. Types include piezoresistive in which strain gauges using bonded or formed strain gauges are used to detect strain due to applied pressure, resistance increasing as pressure deforms the material; capacitive using a diaphragm and pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detect strain due to applied pressure, capacitance decreasing as pressure deforms the diaphragm; electromagnetic which measure the displacement of a diaphragm by means of changes in inductance (reluctance), LVDT, Hall Effect, or by eddy current principle; piezoelectric using the piezoelectric effect in certain materials such as quartz to measure the strain upon the sensing mechanism due to pressure.

[0079] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the means for pressurizing said fluid comprises a pump driven by an electrical current, and said means for detecting a change in pressure (5) comprises a current sensor arranged on said pump.

[0080] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 69 GPa.

[0081] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 100 GPa.

[0082] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 200 GPa.

[0083] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminium, aramid, bronze, brass, titanium, copper, steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0084] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0085] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is urea as an aqueous solution.

[0086] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is ammonia as an aqueous solution.

[0087] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is ethanol as an aqueous solution. This embodiment is applied in fuel cell system.

[0088] According to another particular embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said chemical agent is a mixture of a urea aqueous solution and a converted urea aqueous solution.

In this particular embodiment, the aqueous urea solution, for example AdBlue solution (a 32.5% commercial aqueous solution of urea) is stored into a tank (not represented). The aqueous urea solution is converted into ammonia aqueous solution (i.e. converted urea aqueous solution) in a decomposition unit (not represented) which can comprise enzyme retaining structures containing a protein component or a protein sequence acting as a bio-agent. Such bio-agent is for example the enzyme urease, which is adapted to decompose the urea into ammonia. The term ammonia aqueous solution refers to a mixture which comprises ammonia, water and carbon dioxide and other compounds than ammonia (hydrated ammonia/ammonium hydroxide). The solution may also comprise a residue of urea aqueous solution (i.e. a portion of the urea solution that has not been decomposed).
In this particular embodiment, the converted solution is stored in a Buffer tank (not represented). The solution is pressurized by means of applying pressure (2) then injected through the line (3) to the dosing unit (4) (i.e. ammonia aqueous solution injector) at a vehicle consuming unit such as exhaust line or fuel cell (not represented).
In this particular embodiment, the physicochemical parameter to determine can be the remaining concentration of urea in the converted solution. It is determined by means of calculating said concentration from the velocity of wave propagation of said pressure wave into the line as previously explained.
Thus, from this determination, the rate of conversion of urea into ammonia can be deduced. This particular embodiment can be applied in SCR system or in fuel cell system.

[0089] FIG. 4 shows a schematic drawing of another embodiment of a system (1), according to the present invention, in which (2) represents a means of applying pressure to the fuel, (3) represents a line from which the fuel is injected, (4) represents injector, (5) represents a pressure-wave detection means, (6) represents a means of establishing the time difference t.sub.pt.sub.0 and (7) represents a processing means.

[0090] The system (1) is provided for determining one physicochemical parameter such as the octane number of fuel or cetane number of fuel or Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) of fuel.

[0091] The processing means may also be implemented in dedicated hardware (e.g., ASIC), configurable hardware (e.g., FPGA), programmable components (e.g., a DSP or general purpose processor with appropriate software), or any combination thereof. The same component(s) may also include other functions, and may for example form part of a vehicle's ECU.

[0092] According to a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said system further comprises a means of calculating said physicochemical parameter of fuel from the velocity of wave propagation of said pressure wave.

[0093] Means for pressurizing fuel include rotary and piston pumps. According to a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said means of pressurizing comprises a rotary pump.

[0094] The means of exactly establishing the time at which the valve opens may be a pressure sensor, the control signal changing the opening condition of the injector or an injector current pattern indicative of the injector opening.

[0095] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said means for detecting a change in pressure is a pressure sensor.

[0096] Any pressure sensor, otherwise known as pressure transducers, pressure transmitters, pressure senders, pressure indicators and piezometers, known to persons skilled in the art may be used. Types include piezoresistive in which strain gauges using bonded or formed strain gauges are used to detect strain due to applied pressure, resistance increasing as pressure deforms the material; capacitive using a diaphragm and pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detect strain due to applied pressure, capacitance decreasing as pressure deforms the diaphragm; electromagnetic which measure the displacement of a diaphragm by means of changes in inductance (reluctance), LVDT, Hall Effect, or by eddy current principle; piezoelectric using the piezoelectric effect in certain materials such as quartz to measure the strain upon the sensing mechanism due to pressure.

[0097] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the means for pressurizing said fuel comprises a pump driven by an electrical current, and said means for detecting a change in pressure (5) comprises a current sensor arranged on said pump.

[0098] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 69 GPa.

[0099] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 100 GPa.

[0100] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material having a Young's modulus of at least 200 GPa.

[0101] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminium, aramid, bronze, brass, titanium, copper, steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0102] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said line comprises a material selected from the group consisting of steel, molybdenum and graphene.

[0103] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, said system further comprises a means of maintaining the temperature of the fluid of said chemical agent at a predetermined temperature.

[0104] According to another preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, a temperature sensor is present in said line.

[0105] While the invention has been described hereinabove with reference to specific embodiments, this was done to clarify and not to limit the invention. The skilled person will appreciate that various modifications and different combinations of disclosed features are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, details that have only been described with reference to the method embodiments may be applied mutatis mutandis to the system embodiments with the same technical effects, and vice versa.