Hannover Messe 2017

•••8••• Innovationen No more unnecessary oil changes New sensor system can provide reliable continuous feedback on the current state of the oil We bring technologies together. Helmut Hund GmbH Artur-Herzog-Straße 2 · D-35580Wetzlar · Germany Tel. +49 (0) 6441 2004-0 · Fax +49 (0) 6441 2004-44 info@hund.de · www.hund.de 50 Jahre Innovation Elektronik • Feinwerktechnik • Optik Visit us at Hall 9 Booth A06 Anzeige U nnecessary oil changes could well be a thing of the past: A new sensor system can provide operators of combined heat and power plants with reliable con- tinuous feedback on the current state of the oil. And the system can also warn the operator if the condition of the oil suddenly de- teriorates. The oil flows through a small measuring cell where it is analysed spectroscopically to re- cord the condition of the oil. The method offers numerous ben- efits: it is better for the environ- ment, it lowers operating costs and it simplifies maintenance scheduling. The new system has been developed collaboratively by Professor Andreas Schütze and his research team at Saarland University and a group of indus- trial project partners. The team of engineers will be presenting the system at Hannover Messe at the Saarland Research and Innovation Stand (Hall 2, Stand B46). Oil change point For an engine to survive it needs oil. Oil prevents an engine over- heating and reduces friction and wear. But as time goes on, the oil deteriorates as it begins to oxi- dize. Water begins to accumulate in the oil and at some point the additives that help to maintain the oil’s lubrication properties have been consumed. To avoid damaging the engine, the oil has to be changed. But when exactly has that point been reached? The problem up until now has been that the oil change point could only be determined precisely by regular laboratory examinations. For safety’s sake, the oil in the en- gines of cars or CHP power plants is therefore changed at regular in- tervals, but in many of those cas- es the oil could have been used for longer. However, things now look set to change thanks to a new approach that is being showcased at Han- nover Messe. “In our method we put a small measuring cell into the engine, through which oil flows while the engine is running,” ex- plains Schütze. “As a result, we can continuously monitor the quality of the oil and provide a running forecast of when the next oil change is likely to be due. This enables maintenance work to be scheduled more con- veniently and it reliably elimi- nates the risk of expensive en- gine damage from a sudden deterioration in the condition of the oil.” The measuring cell con- tinuously monitors the chemi- cal composition of the oil. The oil is irradiated with infrared light, and the light that pass- es through the oil is detected. “When the chemical make-up of the oil changes, so too does the spectrum of the infrared light that we detect,” explains Eli- seo Pignanelli, a graduate engi- neer who helped to develop the method. “This enables us to infer the chemical condition of the oil, measure the degree of oxidation and determine whether water has entered the system.” The data from the measuring cell can be fed to the control system or remote monitoring system so that the team can evaluate the data no matter where the plant or equipment is located. Combined heat and power (CHP) plants generate electricity and heat locally at the site where they are needed and thus offer a way of supplying heat and power independently of the major dis- tribution networks. Small-scale CHP plants find use in industry, schools, hospitals and even pri- vate homes. These mini cogenera- tion plants achieve a high level of efficiency. CHP plants can remove the need to transport energy – a process that never occurs with- out energy loss – and any surplus electricity not used by the local consumer can be fed back into the public grid. The regular oil changes that have to be carried out in CHP plants have a negative impact both eco- nomically and environmentally. “In gas-fired CHP plants, the oil is currently changed every 1,500 op- erating hours, no matter whether strictly necessary or not. That is bad for the environment and also puts up plant operating costs – a situation that can be avoided with our measuring system,” explains Andreas Schütze. Standard component in CHP plants The Saarbrücken sensor system can be installed as a standard component in CHP plants. In ad- dition to being fitted in cogenera- tion systems, the sensor system can also be installed in industrial plants, wind turbines, machinery or even used in mobile equipment. It is also suitable for monitoring other liquids. The Saarbrücken en- gineering team have developed the system in a variety of research projects at Saarland University and at the Centre for Mechatron- ics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) that were carried out in collaboration with other academic and industrial partners. The oil flows into the measuring cell via two oil sensor modules where it is irradiated with infrared light. Photo: Oliver Dietze