MICROELECTRONIC FUEL GAS MONITOR

Abstract

Fuel gases such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)" and hydrogen find extensive industrial as well as domestic .applica-tions, as sources of energy for heat, light and power. Leakages of fuel gases are a major concern since not only do the gases or their components affect the human physiology, but even a minor leak is hazardous and may cause serious fire or explosion acci-dents.- Conventional- monitoring techniques_such as those based on Flame Ionization Detectors are expensive and employ complex in-strumentation. Microelectronic sensors offer a viable alternative in terms of ruggedness, sensitivity, reliability, miniaturization and economy. In the present work, a thick film tin dioxide based fuel gas sensor is fabricated and tested for hydrogen, LPG and methane. Signal processing circuits are developed for two specific applications. In the first application, the sensor is employed as a leak detector. The second application involves the incorporation of the sensor in a circuit for continuous on - line fuel gas monitoring.