Title :
A remote acoustic engine oil quality sensor
Author :
Lec, R.M. ; Zhang, X.J. ; Hammond, J.M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Maine Univ., Orono, ME, USA
Abstract :
A prototype model of an Acoustic Engine Oil Quality (AEOQ) sensor is presented. The AEOQ sensor utilizes changes in oil viscosity as an indicator of the oil quality. The supporting electronic circuitry employs a novel VCO based measurement set-up. The output signal from the VCO set-up is a DC voltage, which simplifies the accompanying circuitry, and is compatible with existing automotive electronics. Experimental results showed that the AEOQ sensor is capable of differentiating between engine oils of different grades and monitoring the degradation processes of oils due to their use in automotive engines and due to artificial contamination by dilution with water, ethylene glycol, and gasoline
Keywords :
automotive electronics; crystal resonators; piezoelectric transducers; remote sensing; viscosity measurement; voltage-controlled oscillators; DC output signal; VCO based measurement set-up; artificial contamination; automotive engines; calibration; oil degradation processes monitoring; oil viscosity changes; piezoelectric resonator; piezoelectric sensing probe; prototype model; remote acoustic engine oil quality sensor; ruggedness; shear mode; Acoustic measurements; Acoustic sensors; Circuits; Engines; Petroleum; Pollution measurement; Prototypes; Viscosity; Voltage; Voltage-controlled oscillators;
Conference_Titel :
Ultrasonics Symposium, 1997. Proceedings., 1997 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Toronto, Ont.
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4153-8
DOI :
10.1109/ULTSYM.1997.663052
