Introduction

Welcome to the Non-contact Optical Flow Sensor Senior Design homepage. The project is dedicated to building a sensor capable of measuring the laminar flow rate of water within glass tubing by tracking and measuring small particulate bits within the flow, such as bubbles, grain-like content, etc. The sensor is driven by a Raspberry Pi 3, and imaging of the flow is done via a Raspberry Pi Camera, with the field of view illuminated in a controlled fashion by LEDs.

Project Motivation

Measurement of volumetric flow of liquid is typically performed with turbine flow meters, “hot wire” sensors, or other mechanical sensors placed in the path of the flow. Such methods are adequate for applications in which the flow contains little to no matter in suspension. However, cases occasionally arise in which a measurement of flow rate in some sediment-laden flow is desired (e.g. cases in which the flow contains silt or food-grade particulate matter). In such cases, matter suspended in the flow can cause mechanical flow sensors to fail or malfunction as a result of blockage, jamming, expedited degradation, etc. making mechanical sensing less than ideal for such flows.  The project's sponsor, Justin Torgerson of Bright Matter Engineering, has proposed that an optical sensing method should be adopted in order to eliminate the need for any sensor components to be placed inside the flow. This would allow for the creation of a sensor that can accurately measure and report the flow rate of liquid containing significant particulate matter.

Advisor & Sponsor Information

Advisor: Prof. David Dickensheets | College of Engineering

David Dickensheets joined the MSU ECE Department in 1997. His primary research interests center around the study and application of micro-electro-mechanical systems, or MEMS.

Tel: (406) 994-7874
Fax: (406) 994-5958
Email: davidd@ece.montana.edu

Sponsor: Justin Torgerson | Bright Matter Engineering

Justin Torgerson is the Chief Scientist at Quantel USA. Before coming to Bozeman, Justin spent 11 years working at Los Alamos National Labs. He received his Ph.D in Physics from the University of Rochester in 1997. He currently resides in Bozeman, MT.

Email: jtorgerson@quantelusa.com