Ultrasonic instrumentation system for detecting liquefied petroleum gas level in 14 kilogram cylinders

Abstract

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is commonly stored in highly pressurized cylinder tank and needs to be measured using a non-invasive way. This approach has been constructed to facilitate the process of LPG level measurement inside a cylinder tank. Currently, liquid level of LPG inside a cylinder is measured using a weighing scale. In this research, a new method is developed by using a non-invasive ultrasonic instrumentation system for monitoring LPG level in the 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 the 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 LPG liquid level in the cylinder was constructed using javascript based programming. The image showed the liquid level in percentage value and html software was used as the interface in this program. The developed instrumentation system was also tested on 18-L testing cylinder and 14-kg LPG cylinder with various LPG liquid levels and it was able to detect the amount of LPG in the cylinders, with the maximum error of 5.68%.