US 11,795,960 B2
Molten sulfur pump vibration and temperature sensor for enhanced condition monitoring
Keith William Brashler, Dhahran (SA); Doru Catalin Turcan, Dhahran (SA); and Ali Al Shehri, Thuwal (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on May 28, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/333,572.
Prior Publication US 2022/0381254 A1, Dec. 1, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F04D 27/00 (2006.01); F04D 29/40 (2006.01); F04D 7/00 (2006.01); F04D 29/043 (2006.01); G01H 17/00 (2006.01); G01J 5/00 (2022.01); H04Q 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC F04D 27/001 (2013.01) [F04D 7/00 (2013.01); F04D 29/043 (2013.01); F04D 29/406 (2013.01); G01H 17/00 (2013.01); G01J 5/00 (2013.01); H04Q 9/00 (2013.01); G01J 2005/0077 (2013.01); H04Q 2209/40 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
a vertical molten sulfur pump assembly comprising:
a top portion adjacent to a first end of the vertical molten sulfur pump assembly and a bottom portion adjacent to a second end of the vertical molten sulfur pump assembly;
a pump motor disposed in the top portion;
an impeller disposed in the bottom portion within an impeller casing;
a shaft disposed within a central column and connecting the pump motor with the impeller; and
a pump inlet at the second end below the impeller casing, wherein the pump inlet and the impeller casing are configured to be immersed in molten sulfur, and wherein the vertical molten sulfur pump assembly is configured to pump the molten sulfur into the inlet and upwards through a discharge passageway by rotation of the impeller;
a vibration sensor and a temperature sensor disposed on an external surface of the bottom portion, on or proximate to the impeller casing and the pump inlet, wherein the temperature sensor is configured to measure a temperature of the molten sulfur proximate to the pump inlet, and wherein the vibration sensor comprises:
a substrate comprising a polymer; and
a resonant layer disposed on a surface of the substrate, the resonant layer comprising an electrically conductive nanomaterial and configured to produce a resonant response in response to receiving a radio frequency signal;
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform computer system operations comprising:
receiving the resonating response;
processing the resonating response to determine a current vibrational strain of the resonant layer.