Additive manufacturing extends sensor life

摘要

Industrial sensors are very sensitive components. They are deployed to monitor temperatures, flow rates, and pressure precisely and reliably over long periods of time, for example in oil and gas pipelines. They are subjected to extreme stresses while doing so. Each day, about a million barrels of crude oil pass through a pipeline of 1m diameter, the equivalent of 1,850 litres/s. Onshore gas pipelines have an extremely high internal pressure (100 bar), which can more than double in offshore pipelines. Sensor elements used to monitor the flow suffer considerable wear as a result of corrosion and abrasion.