GAS/LIQUID LEVEL AND LOCATION

DETERMINATION

Heidi ElliottEl Campo High School

El Campo ISD

POWER SET Sponsor

Cable KurwitzDepartment of Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear Power Institute

Texas A&M University

Dr. Cable Kurwitz

Department of Nuclear Engineering Office: 3rd floor of Zachry (303N)

Interphase Transport Phenomena Laboratory – Zachry BasementGraduate and Undergraduate students

○ Jake PetersonUtilize multiple facilities and methods

Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) – University Services Building

SERC Mission

To raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of important Space Technologies by assisting Business, Government, and Education with Research and Development Projects

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Og Gas/Fluid Inventory Determination

Og Gas/Fluid Inventory Determination

Accurate inventory determination is challenging due to a few factors:Substance orientationSubstance propertiesMeasurement technique

Several RFPs have been granted to develop new technologies to provide better accuracy in 1g and 0g conditions

What’s The Goal?

Develop a non-intrusive, reliable, simple instrument to accurately determine the inventory levelUse ‘dumb’ sensorsUtilize simple physicsTake advantage of ‘random’ nature of fluid

Compressed Sensing Process of acquiring and reconstructing

a signal that is supposed to be sparse or compressible.

An undetermined system has more unknowns than equations and generally has an infinite number of solutions.However, if there is a unique sparse solution

to the underdetermined system, then the Compressed Sensing framework allows the recovery of that solution.

Not all underdetermined systems of linear equations have a sparse solution.

Procedure

Develop MCNP model to stochastically track particles/photons through system and record counts at detector locations

Develop a library of known fill levels and detector responses

Query library with new detector responses to determine fill level utilizing compressed sensing approaches

More Complex System

An interest in determining fill level and location of liquid in tank in zero gravity

Utilize similar approach to earth-g system but allow liquid to be located anywhere in the tank.

Solve for both fill and location

Inventory Location

Engineering Design Process

Courtesy of Project Lead The Way

What’s My Role?

Research prototype design possibilities

What’s My Role? Design experiment

Perform calculations involving materials

What’s My Role?

Designing experiment prototypeGenerate prototype conceptsPerform design calculationsAssemble prototype

Time Permitting:Test and EvaluateRefine

Future Implications

Future Implications

Other systems involving fluids and the need for inventory sensing and location determination

Summary

A new approach to inventory fill determination has been demonstrated utilizing a unique, simple, non-intrusive detector arrangement

Approach may potentially be capable of accurately determining zero-g liquid inventory and liquid location

Classroom Application

Pre-AP Algebra II Linear programming

Students will be expected to formulate systems of equations and inequalities from this particular situation, use a variety of methods to solve, and then analyze the solution in terms of the situation.

Acknowledgements

TAMU E3 Program Nuclear Power Institute National Science Foundation

Dr. Cable Kurwitz – PI Jake Peterson – MS Student Dr. Igor Carron – Collaborator from

France

Thank you!