Oxsensis Ltd. is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

business specialising in

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

equipment. Oxsensis Ltd. has developed

dynamic pressure In fluid dynamics, dynamic pressure (denoted by or and sometimes called velocity pressure) is the quantity defined by:Clancy, L.J., ''Aerodynamics'', Section 3.5 :q = \frac\rho\, u^2 where (in SI units): * is the dynamic pressure in pascals ( ...

sensors that operate at temperatures greater than . This is a noteworthy technical achievement as existing

piezoelectric Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied Stress (mechanics), mechanical s ...

-based pressure sensors are not capable of operating at temperatures beyond . This achievement can be considered significant for industries such as power generation and aviation. This is because this technology allows manufacturers of

gas turbines A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

and

jet engines A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term typicall ...

to more closely control the combustion that is taking place in the combustor. The benefits that this offers to operating the gas turbine are increased levels of efficiency and also reduced levels of harmful pollutants such as

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...

. Oxsensis is based at the Harwell Campus close to the city of

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in the

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(UK). The company was founded in 2003 and is privately owned with backing from various

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

firms.

History

Oxsensis was a spin out using technology from the Central Microstructure Facility at the STFC’s ( Science and Technology Facilities Council) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 2003 by, Oxfordshire entrepreneur, David Gahan. After an initial proof of concept Oxsensis raised £890,000 worth of investment in July 2005 through a funding round. A further round of funding in July 2007 raised £4.36 million. In Aug 2006, Oxsensis was included in a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

which successfully bid for funding from the European Commission under a Framework Programme (FP6). The EU funded project called HEATTOP was set up with the aim of improving the measurement capabilities within the gas path of a gas turbine. This programme was concluded at the end of 2009. In Feb 2010, Oxsensis completed a third round of funding which raised £3 million, with the Carbon Trust joining the existing investors to provide this funding. Oxsensis also began working in two publicly funded projects in early 2010. The first one funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board as part of its Carbon Abatement Programme included

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd and Rolls-Royce PLC within the consortium. The project called FRETSGATE, Fast REsponse Temperature Sensors for GAs Turbine Efficiency, aims to create a fast response temperature sensor for use in gas turbines to enable this equipment to operate on high hydrogen content fuel such as

Syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

. The second project funded by the EU Seventh Framework Programme Joint Technology Undertaking Clean Sky, called COTSTEM Ceramic Optical Temperature Sensor for Turbine Engine Measurements, was set up to develop a temperature sensor that could operate close to the turbine inlet of a helicopter gas turbine engine. In August 2011 Oxsensis won a bid with the UK governments Technology Strategy Board, worth £400,000, to develop down hole sensor technology with GE Measurement and Control Solutions for the Oil and Gas Sector. In June 2013 Parker Aerospace and Oxsensis agreed to work together to develop optical instrumentation for aircraft fuel tank instrumentation applications. In August 2013 GE Aviation and Oxsensis agreed to jointly develop an aerospace instrumentation system. In 2015 Oxsensis achieved AS9100C Quality Management System accreditation, for Aerospace systems. In 2015 Oxsensis and Centrax Ltd introduced combustion dynamics monitoring products for industrial gas turbines (KB5 and KB7) between 3.5 and 5.5 MW In 2016 Oxsensis partnered with Rolls-Royce plc in an Aerospace Technology Board engine health monitoring programme (E2EEHM). In 2016 Oxsensis moved to a new build 7500 sq ft Assembly and Test facility.

Method of operation

The dynamic

pressure sensor A pressure sensor is a device for pressure measurement of gases or liquids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of force per unit area. A pressure sensor usually act ...

developed by Oxsensis Ltd, functions as a low finesse Fabry–Pérot cavity which is sensitive to changes in pressure. This cavity is manufactured from sapphire, which has a melting point of . Indeed, the

Youngs modulus Young's modulus E, the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or compression (i.e., negative tension), is a mechanical property that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness of a solid material when the force is applied leng ...

of the sapphire retains the required stiffness to allow the Fabry–Pérot cavity to function up to temperatures of around . The light that is used to interrogate the cavity is generated in an interrogator unit and passes between this and the sensor via standard silica optical fiber.

Notes

References

External links

*{{Official, http://www.oxsensis.com
Oxsensis.com: ParkerHannifinOxsensis.com: GE-OxsensisYoutube.com: Video showing high temperature operation in laboratory conditionsStfc.ac.uk: RAL IntroductionNewscientist.com: "Clean tech revolution"

Carbontrust.co.uk: emerging technologies venture capital—Oxsensis

Carbontrust.co.uk: Innovation Awards 2009
Aerospace companies of the United Kingdom Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Technology companies of England Companies based in Oxfordshire Technology companies established in 2003 2003 establishments in England British companies established in 2003

History

Method of operation

See also

Notes

References

External links