SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING THE REGRESSION RATE OF SOLID FUELS MADE BY 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

摘要

The invention relates to a system and method for measuring the regression rate of solid fuels made by 3D printing technology, using a printer capable of working simultaneously with two materials, carrying out, within the structure of the fuel rod, a resistive sensor consisting of a number of conductors connected in parallel. The claimed system consists in that, with the combustion of fuel, the elements of the resistive system are interrupted progressively, thus modifying, in distinct steps, the resistance value of the system as a whole, and by simply measuring the system resistance, using a measuring period smaller than the regression rate of the fuel rod, a real-time information about the fuel regression rate can be obtained, an advantage brought by this method consisting in that the system can be configured so as to determine an uneven consumption along the fuel rod length as well, for this purpose a resistor matrix system being carried out by joining resistive wires (4) through a plurality of conductors, the measuring being performed at some terminals (5) of each section, and, if a complex monitorization of the phenomena occurring within the fuel rod, namely determining the rod temperature and the pressure exerted on it, is desired, the impedance of the system of conductors can be measured, where the current applied to the system terminals can be modulated in frequency. The claimed method determines the regression rate of the fuel rod by measuring the equivalent resistance of a system consisting of a pre-established number of resistive elements within the fuel rod, connected in parallel, which are interrupted as the fuel burns.