Harsh Environment Pressure Sensors made from Shape Memory Alloys
Imagine a product that improves transportation fuel efficiency by 2%-4%: the worldwide economic equivalent of more than doubling Alaska's annual oil output. In-cylinder pressure monitoring enables this savings by allowing optimization of each engine cylinder rather than the engine block as a whole. Orbital Research Inc, is commercializing an innovative high temperature pressure sensor to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions through more precise control of diesel, gasoline, and turbine engine performance.
This presentation will highlight a MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) based sensor technology that exhibits dramatic performance and cost advantages over potentially competitive technologies. The key to this technology is an innovative shape memory alloy sensing element.
The competitive advantages of a shape memory alloy sensing element include superior sensitivity, high temperature capabilities and lower manufacturing cost. These highly sensitive sensors are currently being designed for operating temperatures able to withstand diesel and turbine engine environments. By tailoring the alloy composition, this sensor has the potential to be utilized at higher frequencies (greater than 30KHz) and operating temperatures greater than 600°C. As the pressure increases on a diaphragm, the sensing element transforms phases as indicated by a large resistance change. The high gage factor for the sensing elements (gage factor is defined as the change in resistance divided by the change in strain) compares very well with low temperature technologies that cannot operate at the high engine temperatures.
Join the ASM Houston Chapter on Monday, May 16, 2005 to recognize outstanding Chapter members, science and engineering fair students, and ASM Houston Chapter scholarship recipients.