GB2352523A - Fluid gauging system - Google Patents
Fluid gauging system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2352523A GB2352523A GB0014374A GB0014374A GB2352523A GB 2352523 A GB2352523 A GB 2352523A GB 0014374 A GB0014374 A GB 0014374A GB 0014374 A GB0014374 A GB 0014374A GB 2352523 A GB2352523 A GB 2352523A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- probes
- fluid
- gauging
- colinear
- outputs
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
- B64D37/00—Arrangements in connection with fuel supply for power plant
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F25/00—Testing or calibration of apparatus for measuring volume, volume flow or liquid level or for metering by volume
- G01F25/20—Testing or calibration of apparatus for measuring volume, volume flow or liquid level or for metering by volume of apparatus for measuring liquid level
- G01F25/24—Testing proper functioning of electronic circuits
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F23/00—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm
- G01F23/22—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water
- G01F23/28—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring the variations of parameters of electromagnetic or acoustic waves applied directly to the liquid or fluent solid material
- G01F23/296—Acoustic waves
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F23/00—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm
- G01F23/80—Arrangements for signal processing
- G01F23/802—Particular electronic circuits for digital processing equipment
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F23/00—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm
- G01F23/80—Arrangements for signal processing
- G01F23/806—Particular electronic circuits for handling non-digital processing equipment
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F25/00—Testing or calibration of apparatus for measuring volume, volume flow or liquid level or for metering by volume
- G01F25/20—Testing or calibration of apparatus for measuring volume, volume flow or liquid level or for metering by volume of apparatus for measuring liquid level
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
- B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
- B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
- B60K2015/0321—Fuel tanks characterised by special sensors, the mounting thereof
- B60K2015/03217—Fuel level sensors
Abstract
An aircraft ultrasonic fuel-gauging system has a number of gauging probes 2 to 7, 13 to 20 in a tank 1, 1' arranged so as to include at least one set of three colinear probes 2, 6, 7. The outputs of the probes 2 to 7, are supplied to a unit 11, 11', which checks the operation of the probes in colinear sets by extrapolating height at one of the probes from the outputs of the other probes. Where there are two sets of colinear probes having a common probe it is possible uniquely to identify if the common probe is faulty. The system rejects any faulty probe and uses only the outputs of other probes in computations of fuel quantity.
Description
2352523 FLUID-GAUGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS This invention relates to
fluid-gauging systems and methods.
Aircraft fuel tanks usually have several probes disposed to measure the height of fuel within the tank at different locations. The probes may be of any conventional kind, such as capacitive or ultrasonic probes. The probes are preferably located in a non-linear fashion, that is so that the locations of no three probes lie on a straight line. In this way, the maximum information can be obtained about the orientation of the surface plane of the fuel. In practice, however, it is not usually possible to locate all probes within a tank so that no three are arranged in a straight line or an almost straight line because of limited availability of fixing points, intrusions into the tank and other factors. The construction of fuel-gauging probes can make them prone to false readings if, for example, there is a blockage of fuel flow into or out of the probe, an accumulation of foam within the probe, adverse thermal stratification conditions, water contamination, damage to the probe or the like. Because of the movement of the fuel surface within the tank, it is not always immediately apparent when a probe is providing a false height reading.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative fluidgauging system and method.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fluid-gauging system including a set of at least three substantially colinear probes arranged to provide respective outputs indicative of the height of fluid at three different locations, the system 2 being arranged to extrapolate the height of fluid at a first of the locations from the outputs of probes at the other two locations, and the system being arranged to compare the extrapolated height with the output of the probe at the first location to determine if the probes are performing correctly.
The system preferably includes at least two sets of substantially colinear probes, the two sets having a common probe such that a fault in the common probe can be identified uniquely. The system preferably includes at least one non-colinear set of probes. The system is preferably arranged to provide an output of fluid quantity derived only from those probes identified as functioning incorrectly. The probes may be acoustic gauging probes. The system may be an aircraft fuel-gauging system, the probes being located in an aircraft fuel tank.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of fluid-gauging including the steps of receiving outputs from a set of at least three substantially colinear probes, extrapolating the height of fluid at one of the probes from outputs of the other probes, comparing the extrapolated output of the one probe with its actual output to determine whether the probes in the set are functioning correctly.
Outputs may be received from at least two sets of substantially colinear probes having a common probe, the method including the step of identifying a fault in the common probe if a fault is identified in both sets. The method preferably includes the step of providing an output indicative of fluid quantity from only those probes not identified as functioning incorrectly.
3 An aircraft fuel-gauging system and method according to the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation view of a system having six probes; Figure 2 is a plan view of the tank and probes of the system shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan view of a tank having eight probes.
With reference first to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a system including a fuel tank I having six conventional ultrasonic, acoustic fuel-gauging probes 2 to 7 mounted substantially vertically on or above the floor 8 of the tank to project upwardly within fuel 9 in the tank. The probes 2 to 7 are mounted at different locations designated A to F in Figure 2. Cables 10 connect the probes 2 to 7 with a fuel-gauging unit 11, which supplies signals to the probes in the usual way and receives their outputs. The fuel-gauging unit 11 computes the mass of fuel and provides an output to a display or other utilization means 12.
As can be seen from Figure 2, three of the probes 2, 6 and 7 are located in a colinear set at locations A, E and F which form a straight line in the plane of the surface of the fuel. All other sets of three probes are located in non-colinear sets, such as, for example, probes 2, 3 and 4, which are at locations A, B and C, or probes 5, 6 and 7, which are at locations D, E and F. Any one of these non-colinear sets of three probes can be used to identify three points 4 on the plane of the surface 13 of the fuel 9, which is sufficient to identify the position and orientation of the ftiel surface uniquely.
The fuel-gauging unit I I performs the following processing steps on the outputs of the probes:
I. Determine height of fuel at each probe using conventional processing; 2. Check whether any of the probes is inactive, that is, fully exposed (dry) or fully submerged; 3. Identify the probes in a colinear set, namely probes 2, 6 and 7; 4. If all probes within a colinear set are not inactive, extrapolate by trigonometry the expected output of one of the probes in the colinear set from the outputs of the other two probes in that set; 5. If all probes within a colinear set are not inactive, compare the extrapolated, expected output of the probes derived in step 4 with the actual output from the probes to check whether they are within accepted tolerances; 6. If step 5 indicates a discrepancy, signal that there is a possible fault in the colinear set; 7. Respond to any such signal produced at step 6 to exclude outputs from the three probes 2, 6 and 7 from calculation of the fuel plane position and orientation, and instead use outputs from a non-colinear set of probes that does not include the probes 2, 6 and 7, namely the non colinear set of probes 3, 4 and 5; 8. Compute the volume of fuel in a conventional manner from knowledge of position of the fuel surface and tank shape; and 9. Compute the mass of fuel from the volume and from density information, such as from a densitometer.
It will be appreciated that, where the colinear set of probes only comprises three probes, as above, it is not possible to identify which probe of the three provides a false reading, since a disagreement between an extrapolated height and a probe output could mean either that the output of the extrapolated probe is faulty or that the output of one of the other probes used in the extrapolation is faulty. If, however, four or more probes are arranged in a colinear fashion, it would be possible to identify one faulty probe of the set. It is also possible to identify uniquely a faulty probe in a colinear set of three probes if that probe is also a member of other colinear sets, since a fault indication in those sets would be indicative that the fault occurs in the common probe of the sets.
The probes need not be exactly aligned on a straight line to form a colinear set, although the tolerances referred to in Step 5 above would be increased. Figure 3 shows a system with a tank Phaving eight probes 13 to 20 in which there are eight colinear sets, as 6 follows: 13, 15 and 16; 13, 15 and 18; 13, 15 and 20; 13, 17 and 19; 13, 18 and 20; 14, 15 and 17; 14, 18 and 20; and 15, 18 and 20. In this system there are only two probes 16 and 19 that are members of only one colinear set. It is still, however, possible to identify uniquely when those probes are faulty because the other probes in the respective sets, that is, probes 13 and 17, and 13 and 15, can be excluded by checking the other colinear sets of which they are members. It will be appreciated that there are multiple non-colinear sets of probes within this eight- probe system. If, for example, the check on the colinear sets of probes 13, 17 and 19 and the set 14, 15 and 17 both indicate a fault, the fael- gauging unit I I'determines that probe 17, which is common to both sets, is faulty. The fuel-gauging unit I F then uses only those non-colinear sets of probes that do not include probe 17 in its calculation of fuel quantity. For example, the non-colinear set 13, 15 and 14, or 19, 18 and 20 could be used.
The invention enables incorrectly operating probes to be identified so that the fluid gauging can be performed with only those probes that are functioning correctly, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the system.
It will be appreciated that the invention is not confined to gauging in aircraft or to gauging of fuel but could be used in any fluid-gauging system having at least three probes. In systems where there are only three probes, it is not possible to identify the faulty probe but it is possible to identify that there is a fault and provide a warning.
7
Claims (13)
1. A fluid-gauging system including a set of at least three substantially colinear probes arranged to provide respective outputs indicative of the height of fluid at three different locations, wherein the system is arranged to extrapolate the height of fluid at a first of said locations from the outputs of probes at the other two locations, and wherein the system is arranged to compare the extrapolated height with the output of the probe at the first location to determine if said probes are performing correctly.
2. A system according to Claim 1 including at least two sets of substantially colinear probes.
3. A system according to Claim 2, wherein said two sets have a common probe such that a fault in the common probe can be identified uniquely.
4. A system according to any one of the preceding claims including at least one non- colinear set of probes.
5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system is arranged to provide an output of fluid quantity derived only from those probes not identified as functioning incorrectly.
6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the probes are acoustic gauging probes.
7. An aircraft fuel-gauging according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the probes are located in an aircraft fuel tank.
8. An aircraft fuel-gauging system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
9. A method of fluid-gauging including the steps of receiving outputs from a set of at least three substantially colinear probes, extrapolating the height of fluid at one of the probes from outputs of the other probes, comparing the extrapolated output of the one probe with its actual output to determine whether the probes in the set are functioning correctly.
10. A method according to Claim 9, wherein outputs are received from at least two sets of substantially colinear probes having a common probe, and including the step of identifying a fault in the common probe if a fault is identified in both sets.
11. A method according to Claim 9 or 10 including the step of providing an output of fluid quantity from outputs of only those probes not identified as functioning incorrectly.
12. A fluid-gauging method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
I 9
13. Any novel and inventive feature or combination of features as hereinbefore described.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB9915254.8A GB9915254D0 (en) | 1999-07-01 | 1999-07-01 | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB0014374D0 GB0014374D0 (en) | 2000-08-02 |
GB2352523A true GB2352523A (en) | 2001-01-31 |
GB2352523B GB2352523B (en) | 2003-07-09 |
Family
ID=10856322
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB9915254.8A Ceased GB9915254D0 (en) | 1999-07-01 | 1999-07-01 | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
GB0014374A Expired - Fee Related GB2352523B (en) | 1999-07-01 | 2000-06-14 | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB9915254.8A Ceased GB9915254D0 (en) | 1999-07-01 | 1999-07-01 | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US6332358B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4351790B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE10030628B4 (en) |
FR (1) | FR2795818B1 (en) |
GB (2) | GB9915254D0 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2376073A (en) * | 2001-05-30 | 2002-12-04 | Smiths Group Plc | A fuel gauging system for an aircraft |
EP3221671A4 (en) * | 2014-11-18 | 2018-12-12 | Versum Materials US, LLC | Ultrasonic liquid level sensing systems |
Families Citing this family (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AU2002228678A1 (en) * | 2000-11-29 | 2002-06-11 | Clark-Reliance Corporation | Method for detecting faulty liquid level sensors |
DE10300760A1 (en) * | 2002-01-23 | 2003-08-14 | Siemens Vdo Automotive Corp | Fluid level sensor monitoring method for vehicles, involves comparing actual sensor output with estimated sensor output value and setting error signal when actual sensor value falls outside threshold value |
KR100514374B1 (en) * | 2003-10-01 | 2005-09-13 | 현대자동차주식회사 | Fuel leakage monitoring controlling method of vehicle |
GB0407656D0 (en) | 2004-04-03 | 2004-05-05 | Smiths Group Plc | Fluid-quantity gauging |
GB0506466D0 (en) * | 2005-03-31 | 2005-05-04 | Smiths Group Plc | Fluid-gauging systems |
FR2909172B1 (en) * | 2006-11-28 | 2009-06-12 | Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa | METHOD FOR MEASURING THE LEVEL OF OIL IN AN OIL PAN OF A THERMAL ENGINE |
US7739897B2 (en) * | 2007-04-03 | 2010-06-22 | Gm Global Technology Operations, Inc. | System for detecting failures in fuel systems |
WO2010061155A1 (en) * | 2008-11-25 | 2010-06-03 | Airbus Uk Limited | A method of operating an aircraft fuel management system |
EP3353507B1 (en) * | 2015-09-23 | 2019-05-08 | Zodiac Aerotechnics | Fluid gauging system and fuel tank equipment |
EP3471987A1 (en) * | 2016-06-20 | 2019-04-24 | Volvo Truck Corporation | Valve assembly |
CN110793594B (en) * | 2018-08-02 | 2021-03-05 | 中国航发商用航空发动机有限责任公司 | Liquid level sensor, container, aircraft and liquid level detection method |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0289303A2 (en) * | 1987-04-28 | 1988-11-02 | Simmonds Precision Products Inc. | Liquid quantity determining apparatus and method |
EP0303874A1 (en) * | 1987-07-31 | 1989-02-22 | FIAT AUTO S.p.A. | Device for measuring the quantity of liquid contained in a tank |
Family Cites Families (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4182363A (en) * | 1976-11-29 | 1980-01-08 | Fuller Mark W | Liquid level controller |
US4224606A (en) * | 1979-03-21 | 1980-09-23 | Honeywell Inc. | Fluid level detector test switch |
US4382382A (en) * | 1979-11-01 | 1983-05-10 | General Electric Company | Multilevel liquid sensing system |
US4441157A (en) * | 1981-11-13 | 1984-04-03 | Honeywell, Inc. | Test unit for aircraft fuel gaging system |
US4553216A (en) * | 1982-12-27 | 1985-11-12 | The Boeing Company | Liquid storage gauging method and apparatus |
US5400376A (en) * | 1993-04-02 | 1995-03-21 | Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. | Ultrasonic fuel gauging system using state machine control |
-
1999
- 1999-07-01 GB GBGB9915254.8A patent/GB9915254D0/en not_active Ceased
-
2000
- 2000-06-14 GB GB0014374A patent/GB2352523B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2000-06-26 JP JP2000190423A patent/JP4351790B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2000-06-26 US US09/603,199 patent/US6332358B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2000-06-28 FR FR0008661A patent/FR2795818B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2000-06-28 DE DE10030628A patent/DE10030628B4/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0289303A2 (en) * | 1987-04-28 | 1988-11-02 | Simmonds Precision Products Inc. | Liquid quantity determining apparatus and method |
EP0303874A1 (en) * | 1987-07-31 | 1989-02-22 | FIAT AUTO S.p.A. | Device for measuring the quantity of liquid contained in a tank |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2376073A (en) * | 2001-05-30 | 2002-12-04 | Smiths Group Plc | A fuel gauging system for an aircraft |
US6715349B2 (en) | 2001-05-30 | 2004-04-06 | Smiths Group Plc | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
GB2376073B (en) * | 2001-05-30 | 2004-10-06 | Smiths Group Plc | Fluid-gauging systems and methods |
EP3221671A4 (en) * | 2014-11-18 | 2018-12-12 | Versum Materials US, LLC | Ultrasonic liquid level sensing systems |
US10809115B2 (en) | 2014-11-18 | 2020-10-20 | Versum Materials Us, Llc | Ultrasonic liquid level sensing system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
FR2795818A1 (en) | 2001-01-05 |
GB0014374D0 (en) | 2000-08-02 |
JP4351790B2 (en) | 2009-10-28 |
US6332358B1 (en) | 2001-12-25 |
DE10030628A1 (en) | 2001-02-08 |
JP2001033298A (en) | 2001-02-09 |
GB2352523B (en) | 2003-07-09 |
DE10030628B4 (en) | 2010-04-08 |
GB9915254D0 (en) | 1999-09-01 |
FR2795818B1 (en) | 2005-01-28 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US6332358B1 (en) | Fluid-gauging system and methods | |
US6715349B2 (en) | Fluid-gauging systems and methods | |
US10495564B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for an in-service measurement of the bottom thickness and corrosion rate of a tank bottom | |
US6609421B2 (en) | Sideslip correction for a multi-function three probe air data system | |
US7225671B2 (en) | Fluid-quantity gauging | |
CN104964727A (en) | Optical fiber dot mode liquid level sensor | |
US5513527A (en) | Fuel-gauging systems | |
US6658929B2 (en) | Fluid gauging | |
US8706447B2 (en) | Procedure for the prognostic of a structure subject to loads | |
CN106197334B (en) | The online three-dimensional imaging monitoring method of transformer winding ultrasonic wave and system | |
CN110132231B (en) | Method for monitoring U-shaped width of chemical tanker by using total station | |
KR101702520B1 (en) | Leakage detection device and piping facility utilizing the same | |
CN209198018U (en) | Locomotive depot's fuel delivery systems leakage alarm | |
CN209416986U (en) | Phased array combines the ultrasonic flaw detecting device to train wheel with double crystal probe | |
CN212721904U (en) | Calibration tool assembly for wharf stress detection system | |
US4876727A (en) | Method and apparatus for detecting faults in an object | |
CN112361920A (en) | Method for detecting installation position of process hole core of water jacket sand core and detection tool | |
GB2290141A (en) | Aircraft fuel tank monitoring system with fail safe redundancy | |
CN214310329U (en) | Contrast test block for detecting resolution of ultrasonic probe | |
JPH09218072A (en) | Liquid level sensor | |
CN213208834U (en) | Detection tool for detecting installation position of process hole core of water jacket sand core | |
CN216012059U (en) | Detection tool for detecting connecting hole of assembly type building wall | |
JPH037787Y2 (en) | ||
CN216409978U (en) | Tool checking fixture | |
CN101995213A (en) | Detection method of double-curvature plate after cold forming |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
732E | Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977) | ||
732E | Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977) |
Free format text: REGISTERED BETWEEN 20111222 AND 20111223 |
|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20180614 |