Vol. 35 (2025): Volumen 35
Artículos de Investigación

A Copolymers based sensor to detect and pinpoint milk leaks in pipelines of lacteous process factories

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  • Felipe Samuel Hernandez Rodarte,
  • Alfredo Márquez Lucero,
  • Miguel Alonso Orozco Alvarado
Felipe Samuel Hernandez Rodarte
technologic National of México
Alfredo Márquez Lucero
Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados
Miguel Alonso Orozco Alvarado
Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15174/au.2025.4255

Published 2025-07-02

How to Cite

Hernandez Rodarte, F. S., Márquez Lucero, A., & Orozco Alvarado, M. A. (2025). A Copolymers based sensor to detect and pinpoint milk leaks in pipelines of lacteous process factories. Acta Universitaria, 35, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.15174/au.2025.4255

Abstract

Copolymer poly(n-butyl acrylate) and poly(acrylic acid), 70% and 30%, respectively, were prepared by radical emulsion polymerization. The copolymer obtained was used in a coextrusion process to make a sensor cable prototype formed of nichrome wire as core and copper wire wrapped spirally (windings 1.2 cm/cycle). A sensing system circuit was designed for milk leak detection. The polymer structure improves the processing properties for distributed shaped wire sensors and decreases sensitivity to the environmental humidity, avoiding false alarms. In simulated tests, the system detects the leak localization with high accuracy (error levels as +/- 1%).

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