Oshkosh - EAA 2013

CiES Inc will be at OSHKOSH for the EAA AIRVENTURE  

We will be there...... but we will not be displaying our products at the show in a trade show booth.

We are demonstrating the system to several aviation OEM customers and potential customers.  If you are interested in the system and you are at OSHKOSH the early part of the AirVenture week - please reach out and contact us, we will be more than happy to demonstrate our system.

We continue to receive praise from our customers on the retrofit CiES Cirrus Fuel Level Kit

Noah Wood sent us this message yesterday

"Really happy with them. They are running really close to the totalizer. I posted a couple of shots on one of the COPA threads. I will post a couple of more on COPA after my next couple of flights.  I thought Clearstar Aviation in Addison did a good job on the installation.

I've noticed I actually prefer the digital display on the console to the tape on the MFD. Maybe it is force of habit. 

In my opinion, dollar for dollar, one of the best upgrades you can do to a Cirrus." 

Why Anisotropic Magneto Resistive

Why use Anisotropic Magneto Resistive Sensors 

Anisotropic Magnetoresistive (AMR) Sensors Technology used by CIES Inc  for our fuel level solutions   These sensors use the basic premise that the electrical resistance of certain ferromagnetic alloys, such as permalloy, are influenced by external magnetic fields.

Like a compass that always points North no matter how you move - our sensor always points to the float.

For larger fuel tanks like those in aviation or marine applications  - we need more information or position information to correctly depict the amount of fuel in the tank.  Our sensor technology does this we can measure tiny fractions of a degree. So not only pointing North but also with a high degree of precision.  In fact we have thousands of discrete data points to measure fuel level.

Automotive resistance sensors re-configured for these critical applications - are just not adequate.   60 discrete points might be good enough for 18 gallons - but it falls short  handing 5 times that volume - plain and simple.  The 60 or so discrete points found on thick film resistance cards just don't cut it.  Fuel movement found in aviation and marine applications adds additional problems to resistive senders - float motion out of of the pivot plane tends to make the resistance wiper act as a make and break switch.

These compromised systems attempting to scale current automotive ceramic resistive elements by adding a longer float arm or other measures - simply provides poor performance.  

CIES Inc Patented Method

Utilize a solid state magnetoresistive effect or anisotropic magnetoresistance can be fabricated in thin film technology, allowing the production of a very precise yet cost-effective angular measurement sensors.  Replace the coarse variable resistor with a solid state device.

From Wikipedia: 

Anisotropic Magneto Resistive - (AMR) is the property of a material in which a dependence of electrical resistance on the angle between the direction of electric current and orientation of magnetic field is observed. 

Why is this a better way to measure fuel 

It works under all conditions, temperatures and with moving fluid volumes - PROVEN IN AVIATION 

And there is a combination of influences but for an AMR sensor the built in 

strong magnetic external field attached to the float arm locally saturates the sensor, the actual magnitude of the local field strength has no impact on the measurements. - Remember temperature effects on both the magnetic strength and the efficiency of the sensor.

Only the direction of the field is evaluated.

Only the local magnetic field on the rotor has influence - the presence of other nearby magnetic fields such as motors will have no effect on the sensor as long as the rotor magnetic field strength is dominant. 

While other magneto resistive sensors are available - AMR has the capability to work under all conditions and give proven repeatable results. 

Non-contact fuel level sensing is a good idea.  It was a good idea to remove the electronics from the fluid measured.

Other fuel level reporting systems don't measure up


SUMMARY OF AMR ADVANTAGES

• Voltage in the case of our AMR sensor is converted to a bit stream digital output.
• More information for every degree of float travel
• Independence of magnetic drift during lifetime
  
• Independence of magnetic drift with temperature
  
• Independence of mechanical assembly tolerances
  
• Independence of mechanical shifts caused by thermal stress 

Fuel Level Sender Video

Video Overview of Fuel Level History and Retrofit

We will start getting videos together of units in test and evaluation

Aerospace Logic Instrument Panel Interface

Here is the interface for the digital fuel level sender 

Fuel Level Senders - Automotive

Fuel level sending has been the providence of electrical resistance since somewhere in the 1930's when electrification of the automobile hit full stride.  The Ford Model A used a very clever sight gauge so that you actually saw a liquid representation of fuel level - neat design but expensive.

http://www.facebook.com/Fuellevel

Resistance Level worked very well and was easy to understand  -  X Ohms Full - Y Ohms Empty

Simple

And then suddenly somebody decided to add alcohol -  to fuel -

Methanol and ethanol contain soluble and insoluble contaminants.[5] Halide ions, which are soluble contaminants, such as chloride ions, have a large effect on the corrosively of alcohol fuels. Halide ions increase corrosion in two ways: they chemically attack passivating oxide films on several metals causing pitting corrosion, and they increase the conductivity of the fuel. Increased electrical conductivity promotes electrical, galvanic and ordinary corrosion in the fuel system. Soluble contaminants such as aluminum hydroxide, itself a product of corrosion by halide ions, clogs the fuel system over time. To prevent corrosion the fuel system must be made of suitable materials, electrical wires must be properly insulated and the fuel level sensor must be of pulse and hold type (or similar). In addition, high quality alcohol should have a low concentration of contaminants and have a suitable corrosion inhibitor added.

So if you turn to any car chat blog (ANY CAR CHAT BLOG)  -

Failed fuel level sensors are driving OBD II cars to the shoulder.

So we need to find a replacement  Smiths (Stewart Warner, VDO, Veglia, Et al) in a Pulse and Hold fuel senders - Not compatible 

We are producing  a patented new non-contact fuel level sensor.

We are applying the sensor presently  to aviation (aircraft, rotorcraft) - In aviation we don't have alcohol,  but we can't put wires in the tank - something about electricity and fuel

Aviation  requires - what cars - all cars using Alcohol mixed fuel need - A non contact fuel level sensor

It is also helpful in this environment 

Fuel Level Sensor Under Test

We use a new concept in our sender called Magnetoresistance - certain materials change resistance in the presence of a rotating magnetic field and they can do this from as far as 3/8" away actually from the dry side of the tank.

Most of us see this everyday in the compass on our smartphone

There is no pivot or contact resistance,  so the float can be smaller and the range can be larger (fuller fulls and emptier empties)

Neat thing is that the  output of this sensor  can mimic a resistive sensor

Hey if you find this interesting let us know

scott.philiben@ciescorp.com