Wideband sensors

Released on = September 21, 2006, 2:42 pm

Press Release Author = John Cecil

Industry = Automotive

Press Release Summary = For many years manufacturers sought a method to extend the
range of exhaust gas sensors to cover the entire range of engine operations. In the
early 1990\'s NTK patented the pump-cell sensor now known as WBO2 or UEGO sensor.

Press Release Body = For many years manufacturers sought a method to extend the
range of exhaust gas sensors to cover the entire range of engine operations. In the
early 1990\'s NTK patented the pump-cell sensor now known as WBO2 or UEGO sensor. The
first ones (NTK L1H1) were used on lean-burn Honda engines because engine operation
could not be controlled by a NBO2 signal on the lean side of 14.7 (see curve).
It was quickly discovered that these sensors also work in a rich gas environment.
Many modern turbo engines require tight control over the air/fuel ratio to keep
emissions at minimum but nevertheless produce enough power. These applications keep
the engines just shy of the onset of knock. The Bosch LSU4 series sensors were
designed with that application in mind and are widely used by OEM\'s in turbo
engines.

WBO2 sensors combine a regular NBO2 sensor and what\'s called a pump cell in one
package. The pump cell is kind of the opposite of a NBO2 sensor. It can pump oxygen
ions in or out of the sensor cavity. An electrical current through the pump cell
transports the oxygen ions. If the current flows in one direction, oxygen ions are
transported from the outside air into the sensor, in the other direction oxygen ions
are transported out of the sensor to the outside air. The magnitude of the current
determines how many oxygen ions/second are transported, just like the electrical
current through a fuel pump determines the fuel transport rate.

Both, the NBO2 part and the pump cell, are mounted in a very small measurement
chamber open with an orifice to the exhaust gas. The pumping rate of the pump cell
is very temperature dependent. Therefore the sensor head temperature must be tightly
regulated through a built in heater. A WBO2 controller (like the LM-1) monitors and
regulates the heater to keep it at a constant temperature. In a rich condition the
WBO2 controller regulates the pump cell current such that just enough oxygen ions
are pumped into the chamber to consume all oxidizable combustion products. This
basically produces a stochiometric condition in the measurement chamber. In that
condition the NBO2 sensor part produces 0.45V. In a lean condition the controller
reverses the pump current so that all oxygen ions are pumped out of the measurement
chamber and a stochiometric condition again exists there. The pump cell is strong
enough to pump all oxygen out of the measurement chamber even if it was filled with
free air.

The task of the WB controller is then to regulate the pump current such that there
is never any oxygen nor oxidizable combustion products in the measurement chamber.
The required pump current is then a measure for the Air/Fuel ratio.

This is how analog WB meters work. They are called analog because the input/output
signals of the controller are smoothly varying voltages/currents. The PID controller
can be implemented in a microprocessor or as analog electronic circuit using
amplifiers, transistors and so on. Implementing it in a microcontroller does not
make it a digital system. The LM-1 operates the WBO2 sensor differently. Its (pat.
pend.) working principle will be explained in a future release.

For more details, Please visit : http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/press.php

Web Site = http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/

Contact Details = Innovate! Technology, Inc.
5 Jenner
Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
TEL: 949-502-8400
FAX: 949-502-8439
Email : innovatemotor@gmail.com

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