Automatic Pour Point Analyzer Based On Image Sensor

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the consumption demand of oil is growing, and therefore the efficient and stability way of the oil transportation has become the research hotspot. Compared with the other mode of oil transportation, oil pipeline transportation is the most convenient and the most scientific way, with higher efficiency, lower energy consumption, and higher degree of automation. With the decreases of the temperature, the oil becomes sticky or even solidification that leads to the decrease or loss of the oil liquidity, which seriously affected the performance of the oil pipeline transportation, especially in cold areas. The flow properties of oil at low temperature assess the performance of the oil pipeline transportation. As an important evaluation indicator of the oil flow property, the accurate measurement of oil pour point is of great significance for lower cost and higher efficiency of oil transportation.Through the comparison of many standards of the point measuring, finally decided to design an automatic pour point analyzer based on image sensor according to the GB/T3535standard. In the aspect of hardware design, use the ARM Cortex-M4architecture microprocessor STM32F407ZET6as the system core to schedule the system task and process the data; Use the semiconductor refrigeration as the system refrigeration module to replace the compressor refrigeration, which is responsible for the cooling of the cold bath and the sample; Use PT100and ADS1248as the temperature sampling module, which is responsible for the cold bath and sample temperature detection; And stepper motor as the system actuator to control the lift and tilt of the tube to finish the detection process of pour point; And CMOS image sensor and video decoding chip TVP5150as the image detection module to detect the sample surface which is the basis of determining the pour point of the sample; And8inches industrial touch screen LR080ADB as man-machine interface system which displays the system data and sent control command. In terms of software design, use uC/OS-II real-time embedded operating system as the platform of the system application software, and modular design method to design the software, which shorten the development cycle.The automatic pour point analyzer use24high-precision analog-digital conversion chip as temperature detection module, temperature measurement accuracy can be0.1℃. Use semiconductor refrigeration which shortens the test time. Use image detection module as pour point determination system which achieve the automatic detection of pour point. The pour point analyzer’s result has good reproducibility, can meet the requirements of the pour point measurement under different occasions, which can provide the basis for the storage and transportation of petroleum products and applications.