Research on High Performance Methane Gas Concentration Sensor Based on Pyramid Beam Splitter Matrix.

Area of Science:

• Chemical Sensing
• Optical Engineering
• Environmental Monitoring

Background:

• Methane gas detection requires high accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability, especially in harsh environments.
• Existing sensors face limitations in performance under adverse conditions.
• Optical path structure design is a key factor for improving methane sensor performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel methane gas sensor with enhanced sensitivity, robustness, reliability, and accuracy.
• To investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed optical path structure based on a Pyramidal beam splitter matrix.
• To evaluate sensor performance under various challenging environmental conditions.

Main Methods:

• A new optical path structure for the sensitive element was designed using a Pyramidal beam splitter matrix.
• Infrared light source modulation employed multi-frequency point-signal superimposed modulation technology.
• A four-channel methane gas concentration detection algorithm based on spectral refinement was used for calculations.

Main Results:

• The sensor demonstrated full-range measurement of methane (CH4) concentration.
• Achieved a reliability level of 0.01 parts-per-million (PPM) at the lower explosive limit (LEL).
• The limit of detection was found to be 0.5 ppm.
• Maintained PPM-level detection capabilities even with a two-thirds covered optical window, 85% humidity, or 100 mg/m³ dust concentration.

Conclusions:

• The newly designed optical path structure significantly improves methane gas sensor sensitivity, robustness, reliability, and accuracy.
• The sensor is suitable for reliable methane detection in demanding and harsh environments.
• This advancement offers improved safety and monitoring capabilities for methane gas.