Ultrasonic instrumentation system for Liquefied Petroleum Gas level monitoring

Abstract

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is commonly stored in a highly pressurized cylinder tank, where its liquid level needs to be measured accurately for a safety reason. Currently, the level of LPG is measured using a weighing scale. This approach has been constructed to facilitate the process of LPG level measurement inside a cylinder tank. In this research, a new method is developed by using a non-invasive ultrasonic instrumentation system for monitoring LPG level in a 14 kilogram cylinder. The instrumentation system was integrated with the designed experimental rig. Module ultrasonic sensors Truma. LC-V1.15 were attached vertically outside of the cylinder wall on a sensor holder of the experimental rig. The ultrasonic sensors emit the ultrasonic signals and the signals will then propagate through the cylinder wall. The reflected signal was recorded again by the ultrasonic sensors. The reflection of the ultrasonic signal depends on the type of the medium's impedance. The generated signals from the transceiver type of sensors were sent to the Pico Scope Data Acquisition System (DAQ) for data reading. The output voltage signals were processed by the computational data process system, giving a result of the LPG liquid level inside the cylinder. An image of the liquid level in the cylinder was constructed using javascript based programming. The image showed the liquid level in percentage value and a html software was used as the interface in this program. The developed instrumentation system was able to detect the level of LPG in the cylinder.