Argonne Oxygen Sensor Wins R&D 100 Award

This inexpensive, compact oxygen sensor developed by The Ohio State University and Argonne National Laboratory monitors combustion processes ranging from internal combustion engines to coal-fired power plants. Argonne researchers provided the unique deformation bonding method for producing the sensor’s gastight seal.

Researchers at Argonne and The Ohio State University will share a 2005 R&D 100 award, given annually by R&D Magazine to the 100 most significant technical products of the year. They have developed a compact sensor to monitor combustion processes in coal-fired power plants, petrochemical plants, blast furnaces, glass processing equipment, and even internal combustion engines. Because the sensor can withstand high temperatures up to 1,600°C, it can monitor in real time, providing performance information that is important to manufacturers seeking to increase energy savings and efficiency.

The new sensor is the first that does not require an external supply of reference air. Instead, the sensor is enabled by an internal reference air chamber, sealed by a unique deformation bonding method that joins the protective ceramic housing components together without altering the ceramic's oxygen conductivity. By eliminating the need for costly and bulky high-temperature external plumbing for reference air, this novel sensor provides unsurpassed oxygen-sensing accuracy for a cost that is approximately one-twentieth that of conventional oxygen sensors.

Another advantage of the new oxygen sensor technology is that it allows for very small sensors – smaller than a dime – since no external air source or plumbing is required. The ceramic housing components of the sensor are joined without intermediate bonding materials through a unique deformation bonding method developed by the researchers. And the low cost of the sensor – about $200 – allows the use of multiple sensors, making it practical and affordable to monitor the combustion of oxygen and other materials throughout the combustion process.

The oxygen sensor development was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, FreedomCar and Vehicle Technology Program.

August 3, 2005