Smart Respirators - Embedded detectors for real-time monitoring of end-of-service-life in respirator filter cartridges

项目摘要： 许多行业的工人都戴着呼吸面罩，例如石油和天然气，金属加工，危险 材料、环境清理以及化学研究和制造。最常见类型的 呼吸面罩是使用者定期更换过滤筒或滤筒的面罩。这些墨盒 根据保护级别和制造商的不同，成本约为5至20美元。可更换部件的使用寿命 过滤筒不是特定于应用的并且可以根据佩戴者的肺活量而变化很大， 工作强度、化学品接触的类型和浓度以及环境因素。服务 寿命可以从几分钟到几天不等。目前还没有能够可靠地发出警报的“智能”过滤器滤芯。 使穿戴者面临即将到来的化学突破和随后的丧失对化学伤害的保护。 该提案描述了低成本微传感器的新用途，以开发新的智能呼吸器面罩， 保护工人避免吸入有害化学蒸汽。海岸科学公司提出 开发嵌入式探测器。嵌入式探测器的操作规范将由 由Honeywell，Inc.提供的规格，一家主要的呼吸器制造商拟议的探测器将监测 可更换的化学蒸汽过滤筒的剩余使用寿命， 职业，包括石油和天然气，油漆，金属加工和危险材料行业的工人。 霍尼韦尔正在开发一种无线接口，它将询问嵌入式传感器，以获得 剩余使用寿命。这是为工人提供智能服装和其他防护设备的第一步， 其他化学工业。最终，探测器可以无线连接到曝光/位置映射， 系统，以帮助识别化学品泄漏，使工作场所更安全。 对于醛类和醚类等高极性化学品，Seacoast的化学电容器是理想的检测器。为 低极性化学品，如大多数石化产品和氯氟化碳，海岸提出了一个阻抗- 基于探测器为了证明第一阶段的可行性，Seacoast将为三种常见的探测器开发一套探测器。 化学品（甲苯、三氯乙烯和丙酮）设计符合尺寸、功率、换能 机制、响应性和最小灵敏度。 Seacoast的第一阶段目标是（1）开发和优化探测器;（2）证明当这些探测器 设备被嵌入到过滤床中，在不同的位置，它们可以用于开发时空 化学突破的模型;（3）将工作原型交付给霍尼韦尔在实验室进行测试，以及（4） 为第二阶段优化、广泛测试和预生产开发设计。

Project Summary: Respirator masks are worn by workers in many industries, such as oil and gas, metal working, hazardous materials, environmental clean-up, and chemical research and manufacturing. The most common type of respirator mask is one where the user replaces the filter cannister or cartridge periodically. These cartridges cost approximately $5 to $20 depending on level of protection and manufacturer. The service life of a replaceable filter cartridge is not specific to the application and can vary greatly depending on the wearer's lung capacity, strenuousness of the work, type and concentration of chemical exposure, and environmental factors. Service life may range from minutes to days. Currently there are no “smart” filter cartridges capable of reliably alerting the wearer to imminent chemical breakthrough and subsequent loss of protection against chemical injury. This proposal describes a novel use of low-cost microsensors to develop new Smart-Respirator masks to help protect workers from inhalation exposure to harmful chemical vapors. Seacoast Science, Inc. proposes developing embeddable detectors. Operating specification for the embeddable detectors will be provided by specifications provided by Honeywell, Inc., a major respirator manufacturer. The proposed detectors will monitor the remaining service life of replaceable chemical-vapor filter-cartridges used for a wide range of high-risk occupations, including workers in the oil and gas, painting, metal working, and hazardous materials industries. Honeywell is developing a wireless interface which will interrogate embedded sensors for an indication of remaining service life. This is the first-step toward smart-clothing and other protective equipment for workers in other chemical industries. Ultimately, the detectors can be wirelessly linked to an exposure/location mapping system, to help identify chemical leaks, so the workplace can be made safer. For high polarity chemicals such as aldehydes and ethers, Seacoast's chemicapacitor is an ideal detector. For lower-polarity chemicals such as most petrochemicals and chlorocarbons, Seacoast proposes an impedance- based detector. To prove feasibility in Phase I, Seacoast will develop a set of detectors for three common chemicals (toluene, trichloroethylene, and acetone) designed to meet specifications for size, power, transduction mechanism, responsivity, and minimum sensitivity. Seacoast's Phase I objectives are to (1) develop and optimize the detectors; (2) demonstrate that when these devices are embedded into a filter bed, at various locations, they can be used to develop a spatial-temporal model of chemical breakthrough; (3) to deliver working prototypes to Honeywell for testing in their labs, and (4) develop designs for Phase II optimization, extensive testing, and pre-production.