Case Study: superheat sensor for valve control
Background
In this project we worked with the world leader in refrigeration and air conditioning systems. One of the core products in their range are refrigeration control valves, which have been based on the same technology for many years.
The opportunity
Our client takes a proactive approach to integrating innovation, regularly benchmarking existing products against the opportunities offered by technological advances. This process identified an opportunity to improve the performance of the control valves through a redesign of the superheat sensor, which could not provide helpful output in two phase conditions. Improving the performance of the control valves allows the efficiency of the whole refrigeration system to take a radical step forward.
Our approach
To identify promising approaches, we went back to the fundamental physics and devoted a phase of work to a creative exercise to identify the two ideas worth further evaluation.
This was followed by a series of projects to build on this work by investigating the performance of the ideas when translated into physical prototypes, their potential production costs and the development costs associated with moving them into production.
The new sensor design is a substantial improvement on their existing technology:
- It has improved the efficiency of the system from 92% to near 100%
- It will be lower cost than existing systems
- Its response is faster than existing sensors.
The client now has a platform technology that promises to improve the efficiency of its refrigeration systems by a substantial margin, reducing the cost of ownership considerably. Sentec has successfully transferred the core technology to the client, allowing them to complete the design for manufacture in house.
