Design and Evaluation of a Sensor Utilizing Electrode Polarization Impedance for Flow and Debris Detection

This paper focuses on the development and implementation of multifunctional mechanisms capable of measuring flow rates and detecting metal debris in flow channels. Such sensors combine many benefits: cost-effectiveness, optimized space utilization, simplified integration, increased flexibility, enhanced accuracy and correlation, streamlined operation and maintenance, and versatility in applications. It has been argued that by integrating more than one sensing function into a single unit, these sensors reduce costs, save space in smaller systems, and adapt to changing measurement needs. This paper presents one such application: the flow rate and debris detection measurement four-electrode system, whose principle of detection is based on the polarization impedance among the electrodes. The output of the flow sensor proves to have a linear function with the flow rate, and it is thereafter converted into a DC output through an instrumentation amplifier, rectifier, and signal conditioning. The paper also describes an optical system based on a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI). Such a system produces a light signal whose intensity is directly proportional to the excitation voltage between some limits. Comprehensive design, development, and rigorous experimental testing represent the overall flow of the study, whose results have been extensively documented in this paper. Thus, this work is poised towards the enhancement of sensor technology and demonstrates the application of multifunctional sensors in the industrial world where accurate flowrate measurements and early detections of metal debris are necessary to achieve efficiency and safety in the systems.