Purafil, Inc.

Xiuyi Zhang

William G England

Michael W Osborne

A method and apparatus for using a coated piezoelectric crystal to monitor and report corrosion in terms recognized as conforming to an industry standard is disclosed. The present invention provides a method of and system for monitoring corrosion in a corrosive atmosphere, comprising and carrying out the steps of exciting in the atmosphere a crystal, coated with a corrodible metallic substance and having a known vibration frequency; measuring the change in the frequency of vibration resulting from corrosion of the corrodible substance during each of a plurality of intervals of time, including a reference interval and at least one subsequent measurement interval; generating a thickness signal representing the thickness of corrosion corresponding to the measured change in frequency during the measurement interval; and converting the corrosion thickness signal for the measurement interval to a reference signal representing the thickness of corrosion accumulated during the reference interval. The invention also preferably includes correcting the measured frequency change during each interval to account for any deviation in the temperature in the atmosphere from a preset standard temperature. The present invention also preferably includes a humidity sensor, which serves as the impetus for providing an alarm to the user if the relative humidity is above a preset limit, or if the relative humidity changes during an interval by more than a preset limit. A corrosion monitor according to the present invention finds application in such environments as industrial process measurement and control rooms, motor control centers, electrical rooms, semiconductor clean rooms, electronic fabrication sites, commercial data centers, museums, libraries, and archival storage rooms.

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Shandong, China

Xiuyi Zhang