Thermochemical Temperature Indicators

Abstract

A burst temperature indicator system for determining when an electrical contact or other component reaches a predetermined temperature. In operation, a trace material may disperse into a surrounding environment, and be detected, when the electrical component reaches a predetermined threshold temperature. One or more foil barriers may be ruptured or broken by temperature-induced gas pressure. According to another aspect of this disclosure, a rupture disk may be burst at a predetermined temperature to generate, or enable emission of, a light signal. According to another aspect, a rupture disk device acts as, or is associated with, an engine to drive one or more electro-mechanical and/or acoustic devices to signal the occurrence of a predetermined temperature.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for responding to a condition of an electrical component, the device comprising:
 a reservoir;   a compressible material located within the reservoir;   a driven device; and   a rupture disc for transmitting energy from the compressible material to the driven device to generate a signal that the electrical component reached a threshold high temperature.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the driven device is a mechanical piezoelectric generator for generating an electrical output to power one or more other devices. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more other devices includes a lab-on-a-chip. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the driven device is configured to generate a piezoelectric spark detectable by a discharge monitoring system. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the driven device includes a discharge orifice for generating an acoustic signal detectable by an acoustic emission monitoring system.