Combustible gas sensor and method for detecting deterioration of catalyst

• Main Authors: KATO; NOBUHIDE, NISHIKAWA; SATOSHI, MIYASHITA; TAKEYA, IKOMA; NOBUKAZU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.07.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BLASTING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNALCOMBUSTION ENGINES; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES ORENGINES IN GENERAL; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HEATING; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LIGHTING; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MEASURING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; PHYSICS; STEAM ENGINES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TESTING; WEAPONS

A combustible gas sensor having a pair of temperature sensor sections is here disclosed. One of the pair of temperature sensor sections is covered with porous oxidizing catalytic layers (23, 24) for oxidizing a combustible gas, and the other is not covered with the oxidizing catalyst layers. In the one temperature sensor section, the combustible gas is burned, and in the other temperature sensor section, the temperature of a gas to be measured is compensated. The temperature sensor sections each comprises temperature sensitive portions (13, 14) made of a dense ceramic material, resistors (21, 22) buried therein and having a positive resistance temperature coefficient, current leads (31, 32, 41, 42) and voltage leads (33, 34, 43, 44). A method for measuring the concentration of the combustible gas by the use of this combustible gas sensor is also disclosed. A method for detecting the deterioration of a catalyst which intends to eliminate the combustible gas, by the use of this combustible gas sensor is further disclosed. When a difference between temperatures of the pair of resistors or a difference between powers fed to the pair of resistors is in excess of a predetermined value, it is judged that the catalyst has been deteriorated.