CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is the national phase of International Application No. PCT/CN2017/091931, titled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR, FLUID STATE TEST DEVICE AND FLUID HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM”, filed on Jul. 6, 2017, which claims priorities to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710045410.1 titled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR, FLUID STATE TEST DEVICE AND FLUID HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM”, filed with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office on Jan. 20, 2017, and Chinese Patent Application No. 201611256859.4 titled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR, FLUID STATE TEST DEVICE AND FLUID HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM”, filed with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 30, 2016, the entire disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

This application relates to the technical field of electrical engineering, and particularly to an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system.

BACKGROUND

An electric heating tube (or called a metal tubular electric heating element) is a charged element configured to convert electrical energy into thermal energy. Compared with conventional heating, the electric heating tube is pollution-free, convenient to install and use, cheap, and belongs to environmentally friendly green production, thus the electric heating tube is widely used. The electric heating tube may be applied in multiple types of devices which require heat exchange process. For example, multiple electric heating tubes may be combined into a heat exchange system to be installed in a fluid channel of a saltpeter tank, a water tank, an oil tank, an acid-alkali tank, a fusible metal melting furnace, an air heating furnace, a drying furnace, a drying oven, a hot die and other devices.

In the case that multiple electric heating tubes are installed in a circular fluid heat exchange transmission channel (a fluid channel) in a circular ring-shaped heating device, the multiple electric heating tubes are respectively connected to fixed ends of the electric heating tubes in the fluid channel to be fixed. Phases of the electrodes of the multiple electric heating tubes are required to be connected in series or in parallel to allow a multiphase-load heat generation heater to be formed, and the multiple electric heating tubes are supplied with power via alternating current. Therefore, the electrodes of the electric heating tubes are required to be connected in a split-phase manner, connected in series or connected in parallel by means of the electrical connector, and further connection of the electric heating tubes with an external power supply is achieved. In this case, the electrical connector itself, in addition to transmitting the electric energy, is located in the channel where the fluid flows and becomes an obstacle in a flow path of the fluid-hot air, which may causes forced vibration of the electrical connector and even induces coupled vibration (i.e., resonance) of the electrical connector and the fluid, thereby causing the electrical connector to be prone to be disengaged and separated from the electrodes of the electric heating tube and thus causing a short-circuit fault.

In the conventional technology, in a method for addressing the above issue, the electrical connector is prevented from vibrating, that is, the electrical connectors (such as leads) connected to extraction electrodes of a number of branch electric heating tubes are configured to pass through and be extracted from the fluid channel directly in a radial direction of the fluid channel, and the extracted electrodes are connected in series or connected in parallel outside the fluid channel, which may cause many joints and make connection and fixing processes of external leads of a device complex. Moreover, in the case that the fluid in the fluid channel is liquid, a strict sealing process for preventing the fluid channel from leaking is further required. In another method for addressing the above issue, in the case that the fluid in the fluid channel is liquid, the electrical connector is not allowed to be extracted to the outside, and in this case, multiple electrical connectors must be connected in series or in parallel inside the fluid channel. In the case that insulation flexible leads are selected to be connected into the electrical connector for connecting the electrodes of the electric heating tubes, in order to prevent the leads from resonating in the fluid under the action of fluid pressure, the insulation leads are required to be fixed to an inner wall of the fluid channel, and after failure of insulation between insulation layers of the leads and the metal inner wall of the fluid channel, discharge of the electrical connector may be caused, resulting in a short-circuit fault of the entire heat exchange system.

Therefore, there is an urgent demand for a new electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system.

SUMMARY

An object of the present application is to provide an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system, which may measure and monitor a flow speed of a fluid without affecting a fluid flow field where the electrical connector, the fluid state test device and the fluid heat exchange system are located.

Another object of the present application is to provide an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system, which may measure and monitor a fluid pressure without affecting a fluid flow field where the electrical connector, the fluid state test device and the fluid heat exchange system are located.

Another object of the present application is to provide an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system, which may measure and monitor a fluid resistance without affecting a fluid flow field where the electrical connector, the fluid state test device and the fluid heat exchange system are located.

Another object of the present application is to provide an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system, which may measure and monitor the frequency of a lateral vibration of the electrical connector without affecting a fluid flow field where the electrical connector, the fluid state test device and the fluid heat exchange system are located.

Another object of the present application is to provide an electrical connector, a fluid state test device and a fluid heat exchange system, which may suppress a longitudinal vibration and/or lateral vibration of the electrical connector itself without affecting a fluid flow field where the electrical connector, the fluid state test device and the fluid heat exchange system are located.

According to one aspect of the present application, an electrical connector configured to measure a state of a fluid in a fluid channel is provided, and the electrical connector includes a main body portion, connection portions, a first temperature sensing element, and a second temperature sensing element. The connection portions allow the main body portion to be electrically connected to a charged element provided in the fluid channel. The main body portion includes a first side and a second side which are parallel to a flow direction of the fluid. The first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element are respectively provided at mutually opposite positions on the first side and the second side in an electrically insulated manner.

According to another aspect of the present application, a fluid state test device is provided, which includes an electrical connector and a frequency calculation unit. The electrical connector includes a main body portion, connection portions, a first temperature sensing element, and a second temperature sensing element. The main body portion includes a first side and a second side which are parallel to a flow direction of a fluid. The connection portions allow the main body portion to be electrically connected to a charged element provided in a fluid channel. The first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element are respectively provided at mutually opposite positions on the first side and the second side in an electrically insulated manner. The frequency calculation unit is configured to calculate a frequency of an alternating force applied on the electrical connector by the fluid in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the fluid, based on alternating changes of measurement values of the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element.

According to another aspect of the present application, a fluid heat exchange system is provided, and the fluid heat exchange system includes a fluid channel through which a fluid flows, a charged element fixed in the fluid channel, and the fluid state test device described hereinabove. The charged element is an electric heating element, and the electric heating element includes a heating body and an electrode located at an end of the heating body. The electrical connector is connected to the electrode of the electric heating element.

According to the present application, the structure of the electrical connector which connects the electrodes of the electric heater in a split-phase manner, in series or in parallel is developed and the function is also extended, breaking through the function in the conventional sense that a conductor can only perform the task of transmitting electric energy, and allowing the electric connector further to have sensing, testing and other functions, which makes a major breakthrough in the conventional technology. According to the present application, the original flow field in a fluid system where the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater is located may not change, and the sensor and the test system are not introduced around the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater, which avoids the destruction to the flow field around the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater. And at least one of the following information may be obtained through the present application: (1) information about forced vibration of the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater; (2) information about the speed of the fluid in the flow field where the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater is located; (3) information about the condition of convective heat exchange between the electrical connector of the electrode of the electric heater and the fluid.

