Accurate flow control apparatus and method for centrifugal supergravity environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12109575-B2
Application number	US-202318493790-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2023
Priority date	Sep 14, 2021
Publication date	Oct 8, 2024
Grant date	Oct 8, 2024

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment. The apparatus comprises a control center, an oil supply module, a sensor module, an execution module and a centrifugal machine; the control center and the oil supply module are deployed in a normal gravity environment, and the sensor module and the execution module are deployed in a supergravity environment. According to the present application, the liquid level information of a model box, the piston position information of a servo actuator and the water supply flow information of the model box are collected by a sensor, and the information data are processed; control of the servo actuator is achieved by controlling an oil distributor; the flow fluctuation of a reciprocating water pump is weakened by the active complementation of flows of dual pump sets.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment, comprising a control center, an oil supply module, a sensor module, an execution module and a centrifugal machine; wherein the control center and the oil supply module are deployed in a normal gravity environment, and the sensor module and the execution module are deployed in a supergravity environment;
wherein the oil supply module comprises an oil source, an oil distributor and an oil distributor servo valve, the oil source is connected to the oil distributor via an oil supply pipeline, and is further connected to a servo actuator via another oil supply pipeline for supplying oil to the servo actuator, the oil distributor is provided at a proximal end of a rotary arm of the centrifugal machine, and the oil distributor, and the oil distributor servo valve is provided on the oil distributor and is configured to control an output flow of the oil distributor;
wherein the execution module comprises a base, and two reciprocating water pump sets, support components and a model box, the two reciprocating water pump sets and the support components are fixed on the base, each reciprocating water pump set comprises the servo actuator and a reciprocating water pump connected in series, the base of the execution module is fixed on a bottom plate of a centrifugal machine basket by a screw, the servo actuator is configured to control operation of the reciprocating water pump, the reciprocating water pump is provided with a matched water distribution valve block and is communicated with the model box by a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe, the support components are respectively provided at an end of the reciprocating water pump and an end of the servo actuator, to fix the reciprocating water pump and the servo actuator, and provide support for a cantilever structure of the reciprocating water pump, so as to avoid the cantilever structure from being forced to bend under the supergravity environment, a base of the model box is fixed in the center of the bottom plate of the centrifugal machine basket by another screw, and the two reciprocating water pump sets are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the model box, in such a manner that the self-weight of the apparatus is evenly distributed on the bottom plate of the centrifugal machine basket, an internal structure of the model box comprises an upper water storage tank, a model area, a lower water storage tank, a water inlet and a water outlet, and the reciprocating water pump is connected to the water inlet of the model box by the water inlet pipe, and is connected to the water outlet of the model box by the water outlet pipe;
wherein the sensor module comprises a liquid level sensor, a displacement sensor and a flow sensor, wherein the liquid level sensor is configured to collect liquid level information of the model box, the displacement sensor is configured to collect piston position information of the servo actuator, and the flow sensor is configured to collect information of a water supply flow of the model box, the liquid level sensor is provided in an upper water storage tank of the model box, and is configured to measure and feed-back a liquid level height, the displacement sensor is provided on a piston rod of the servo actuator, and is configured to measure and feed-back the piston position information of the servo actuator, the flow sensor is provided on the water inlet pipe of the model box and measures, and is configured to feed-back information of the water supply flow of the model box, and the liquid level sensor, the displacement sensor and the flow sensor are all used in the supergravity environment, and are all connected to a remote controller to feed-back signals to the remote controller;
wherein the control center comprises a servo controller, the remote controller and a servo actuator control unit, and is configured to process data of the liquid level sensor, the displacement sensor and the flow sensor, controlling the servo actuator by controlling the oil distributor, and control the reciprocating water pump by the servo actuator to control the water supply flow, so as to achieve a goal of accurate liquid level control;
wherein the servo controller is provided at the proximal end of the rotary arm of the centrifugal machine, and is connected to the oil distributor servo valve, controls the oil distributor servo valve according to flow and liquid level requirements, and achieves control of the servo actuator by controlling the oil distributor by the oil distributor servo valve, so as to control the reciprocating water pump to complete water absorption or drainage at a certain speed and stroke;
wherein the remote controller is provided on an instrument bin of the centrifugal machine, is connected to the servo controller for controlling the servo actuator, and is connected to the sensor module for collecting sensor information and feeding the sensor information back to the servo actuator control unit; and
wherein the servo actuator control unit is provided at a user terminal outside the centrifugal machine, and is configured to generate control signals, forward the control signals to the servo controller by the remote controller, and output the control signals to the servo actuator to complete a closed-loop control of water supply flow and liquid level.

2. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the flow sensor is a customized electromagnetic flowmeter with a measuring range of 1.3 L/s and a resolution of 0.005 L/s.

3. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the displacement sensor is a customized LVDT displacement sensor, with a measuring range of ±75 mm and a resolution of 0.005 mm.

4. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid level sensor is a floating ball level gauge measuring sensor, with a measuring range of ±250 mm.

5. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the water inlet pipes of the two reciprocating water pumps are communicated with the water inlet of the model box by a tee joint, and the water outlet pipes of the two reciprocating water pumps are communicated with the water outlet of the model box by another tee joint.

6. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the centrifugal machine has an acceleration range of 1 g-150 g, a maximum load of 4 t, and a centrifugal machine capacity of 400 g·t.

7. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the oil distributor has 4 outputs, a rated working pressure of 21 MPa, and a control voltage of DC24V.

8. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the servo actuator has a stroke of 200 mm.

9. The apparatus for accurate flow control in a centrifugal supergravity environment according to claim 1 , wherein the upper water storage tank of the model box has a volume of 0.02 m 3 , and the lower water storage tank of the model box has a volume of 0.32 m 3 .

Assignees

• Univ Zhejiang

Inventors

• Tang Yao
• Chen Chen
• Huang Bo
• Ling Daosheng
• Chen Yunmin

Classifications

• G05D7/0682

  using a plurality of flow sources · CPC title

• G01F23/64

  of the free float type {without mechanical transmission elements} · CPC title

• G01F1/58

  by electromagnetic flowmeters · CPC title

• B04B13/00 Primary

  Control arrangements specially designed for centrifuges; Program control of centrifuges (control arrangements for feed, charge or discharge B04B11/00) · CPC title

• Y02E10/20

  Hydro energy · CPC title