Influence of Oxygen Content, Gas Flow Rate and Temperature on Detection of Dissolved Hydrogen in Oil Using Semiconductor Resistance Sensor

Hydrogen generated under internal overheating or discharge failure of oil immersed equipment. The accurate and rapid detection of hydrogen is of great significance to monitor the internal insulation state. Semiconductor resistance sensor is a preferred method to detect hydrogen with advantages of small volume and low price. In this paper the effects of oxygen content, gas flow rate and temperature on the property of the sensor was analyzed based on the detection principle of semiconductor hydrogen sensor. Then the hydrogen sensor performance test platform was built to test the basic detection performance of the sensor, such as response characteristics, repeatability, sensitivity, linearity and cross interference. The effects of oxygen content, gas flow rate and temperature on the detection performance of the sensor were studied. The results show that oxygen is an essential component for semiconductor sensor to detect hydrogen; The oxygen content has a great influence on the hydrogen detection results, so it is necessary to monitor the oxygen concentration in order to correct the detection results; The detection results were reduced by 30.5% as the gas flow rate increased from 50m1/L to 400m1/L. it is necessary to stabilize the gas flow rate to ensure the repeatability of detection; The detection results were reduced by 6.8% as the gas temperature increased from 30°C to 50°C. The influence of temperature on detection results is relatively small and the temperature control requirements in application can be moderated.