Method to detect and characterize contaminants in pipes and ducts with interactive tracers
AssigneeVista Engineering Technologies LLC
InventorsWesley Bratton, Joseph Maresca
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and an apparatus for detecting, locating, and quantifying contamination in a fluid flow system like a pipe or duct. This characterization technique uses a conservative and one or more interactive tracers that are injected into the fluid flow system and then monitored at another location in the system. Detection, location, and quantification are accomplished by analysis of the characteristic features of measured curves of tracer concentration.
Claims19
A method for characterizing a contaminant in a fluid flow system, comprising the steps of:
- (a) injecting a conservative tracer and an interactive tracer into the flow system at a first location;
- (b) advecting the tracers along the flow system;
- (c) extracting the tracers at a second location in the flow system;
- (d) measuring the concentration of the extracted tracers over a period of time;
- and
- (e) characterizing the contaminant from the concentrations of the tracers.
A method for detecting the presence of a contaminant in a fluid flow system, comprising the steps of:
- (a) injecting a conservative tracer and an interactive tracer into the flow system at a first location;
- (b) advecting the tracers along the flow system with a fluid that does not interact with the tracers;
- (c) extracting the tracers at a second location in the flow system;
- (d) measuring the concentration of the extracted tracers over a period of time;
- and
- (e) detecting the presence of the contaminant from a comparison of the measured concentrations.
An apparatus for characterizing a contaminant in a fluid flow system, comprising:
- (a) a tracer injection system for injecting known amounts of conservative and interactive tracers into the flow system;
- (b) an advection driving system for moving the tracers along the flow system;
- (c) a tracer extraction system for removing the tracers from the fluid flow system;
- (d) a measurement system for determining the concentration of the tracers extracted from the fluid flow system;
- and
- (e) a processor for analyzing the concentration measurements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.