Michael L. Rhodes

System and method to determine oil quality utilizing a single multi-function surface acoustic wave sensor

A method and system for detecting oil quality. The quality of engine oil can be determined utilizing an acoustic wave sensor to obtain viscosity and corrosivity data associated with the engine oil. The acoustic wave sensor is coated with a material that selectively reacts to at least one type of an acid in order to provide data indicative of the presence of the acids in the engine oil. The etch rate or the corrosivity of the engine oil can be determined based on the frequency data obtained as a result of the frequency measurement utilizing the acoustic wave sensor. The viscosity of the engine oil can additionally be obtained based on a measurement of phase and amplitude obtained from the data utilizing the acoustic wave sensor. The etch rate and the viscosity measurement provide data indicative of the quality of the engine oil.

On-Line Color Sensing For Industrial Automation

Modern industries around the world are daily facing problems associated with increasing their speed of production of piece parts and intermediates while maintaining quality and cost goals. Rugged, high speed sensors are readily available for sensing physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, alignment and the like. Less traditional parameters such as color, taste and texture have been left to off-line, human inspection. In the case of color, this has usually been a result of the speed, cost, operator complexity and fragility of existing equipment. This paper will attempt to review some current color sensing technologies and present some results obtained with a dispersive, high-speed Color Signature Sensor currently being developed at Honeywells Sensors and Signal Processing Laboratory.