Automatic pulse tracer velocimeter
AssigneeUniversity of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorsA. James Crawford, Ni-Bin Chang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An Automatic Pulse Tracer Velocimeter (APTV) including arc-type APTVs and cross-type APTVs along with a field station and a master station capable of wireless communication with a remote computing devices. The APTV measures flow velocity in a flowable medium by injecting a small amount of a conductive tracer solution into a water column. Following injection, a plurality of wire detector pairs positioned downstream of the injection point are programmed to continuously make conductivity measurements at pre-determined time intervals. A tracer curve of the conductivity measurements over time is created and used to obtain velocity measurements.
Claims20
An arc-type automatic pulse tracer velocimeter (APTV) comprising:
- a detector frame having a bottom portion, a top portion and a side portion connecting the bottom portion and the top portion;
- a plurality of detector wire pairs connected to the detector frame top portion and the detector frame bottom portion, wherein each of the plurality of detector wire pairs are distributed at approximately equal distances from each other along the detector frame top portion and the detector frame bottom portion;
- a support frame connected to the detector frame;
- and
- an injection port connected to the support frame and positioned approximately equidistant from each of the plurality of detector wire pairs.
A cross-type APTV comprising:
- a detector frame having a vertical portion having a top portion and a bottom portion, a horizontal portion having a left portion and a right portion and a central portion, wherein the vertical portion and the horizontal portion are connected at the central portion to form a cross shape, the top portion of the vertical portion has a first opening there through, the bottom portion of the vertical portion has a second opening there through, the left portion of the horizontal portion has a third opening there through and the right portion of the horizontal portion has a fourth opening there through;
- a first detector wire pair connected to the top portion of the vertical portion of the detector frame and to the central portion, wherein the first detector wire pair is at least partially suspended over the first opening;
- a second detector wire pair connected to the bottom portion of the vertical portion of the detector frame and to the central portion, wherein the second detector wire pair is at least partially suspended over the second opening;
- a third detector wire pair connected to the left portion of the horizontal portion of the detector frame and to the central portion, wherein the third detector wire pair is at least partially suspended over the third opening;
- a fourth detector wire pair connected to the right portion of the horizontal portion of the detector frame and to the central portion, wherein the fourth detector wire pair is at least partially suspended over the fourth opening;
- a support frame connected to the detector frame at an end of the top portion of the vertical portion;
- and
- an injection port connected to the support frame and positioned about parallel to the vertical portion of the detector frame and at a predetermined distance from the third detector wire pair and the fourth detector wire pair.
An APTV field station comprising:
- an APTV;
- a pump in fluid communication with the APTV;
- a tracer reservoir in fluid communication with the pump;
- a data logger in communication with the APTV and the pump;
- a transmitter in communication with the data logger;
- and
- a power source in electrical communication with the pump and the data logger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.