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Today's wide range oxygen sensors are based on the limiting current principle, where an applied voltage induces electrochemical reactions in a ceramic cell. Since the diffusive transport of exhaust gas to the electrodes is limited by a transport barrier, the resulting electric current can be related to the exhaust gas composition. A model is presented which describes the transient transport of gas mixtures from the bulk exhaust gas to the electrodes of an oxygen sensor at variable pressure and composition. The internal structure of the transport barrier was accounted for by geometrical parameters. A variety of numerical results are compared with experimental data.

Within the scope of this work, the convective mass transfer to the zirconia sensor element of an exhaust oxygen sensor was analyzed experimentally and numerically. For the experimental setup, a heightened model of an oxygen sensor was built from Lucite® considering the similarity theory. Mass transfer is measured based on the absorption of ammonia and subsequent immediate color reaction. For the numerical investigation, a three-dimensional model of the test rig was built. To predict the flow pattern and the species transport inside the protection tubes, the commercial CFD-Code FLUENT® is used. The model for the mass transfer to the surface is implemented through user-defined functions.

Modern zirconia oxygen sensors are heated internally to achieve an optimal detection of the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas and fast light off time. The temperature of the gas in the exhaust pipe varies in a wide range. The zirconia sensor is cooled by radiation and forced convection caused by cold exhaust gas. If the zirconia temperature falls, the oxygen detection capability of the sensor decreases. To minimize the cooling effects, protection tubes cover the zirconia sensor. However, this is in conflict with the aim to accelerate the dynamics of the lambda sensor. In this paper, the heat transfer at the surface of a heated planar zirconia sensor with two different double protection tubes of a Bosch oxygen sensor is examined in detail. The geometric configuration of the tubes forces different flow patterns in the inner protection tube around the zirconia sensor. The zirconia sensor is internally electrically heated by a platinum heater layer.