US 2020/0348246 A1Published application

Method and device for measuring the physical parameters of a material

OwnerOleg Kreonidovich SIZIKOV, Vladimir Valerievich KONNOVinventors

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

The technical solution relates to measurement technology and is intended for measuring the dielectric permittivity and moisture of highly conductive loose, paste-like and fluid materials such as saline slurry, anthracite, ore, crude oil and oil sludge. The present method is based on using a sensor configured as a segment of a long transmission line, and involves feeding a high-frequency probing signal from a generator that is swept through a range of frequencies to an input of the sensor, and measuring harmonic frequencies at which a length of a signal conductor of the sensor is equal to or a multiple of a half-wavelength of the probing signal in the material filling the sensor. The harmonic frequencies are determined based on a voltage minimum at an output of a detector configured as a phase discriminator, the output voltage of which attains a minimum when input signals of the detector are either in-phase or antiphase. Inputs of the detector are coupled to an input and output of the sensor via segments of a coaxial cable which have the same electrical length, said segments being matched at the outputs. Designs for a moisture meter for carrying out the above method are proposed. For the purpose of carrying out measurements in pipelines, the sensor is configured as a conduit having the signal conductor arranged therein. For loose materials in hoppers and on conveyor belts, the sensor is configured as a shield which a U-shaped rod is secured to. The technical result is an increase of measurement accuracy.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method for measuring the physical parameters of a controlled material by using:

(a) a sensor configured as a segment of a long transmission line having a signal conductor and one or more shielding conductors,
(b) a generator,
(c) a detector,
(d) a first additional segment of the transmission line,
wherein the method comprises:
(1) filling the sensor with the controlled material,
(2) generating, by the generator, a harmonic high-frequency probing signal,
(3) feeding the probing signal to an input of the sensor,
(4) sweeping the generator through a range of frequencies,
(5) during said sweeping, measuring a voltage at an output of the detector,
(6) feeding the probing signal from the input of the sensor to an input of the detector through the first additional segment of the transmission line where a traveling-wave mode is provided,
(7) converting, by the detector, the probing signal to a low-frequency voltage,
(8) determining, based on minimum values of the low-frequency voltage, harmonic frequencies at which a length of the signal conductor is equal to or a multiple of a half-wavelength of the probing signal in the controlled material,
(9) comparing the harmonic frequency measured when filling the sensor with the controlled material to the harmonic frequency measured when filling the sensor with air, and determining the physical parameters of the controlled material based on these frequencies or the ratio thereof,
wherein the method is characterized by:
using a second additional segment of the transmission line, the second addition segment having an electrical length set equal to an electrical length of the first additional segment,
configuring the detector as a phase discriminator in which an output voltage attains a minimum when its input signals are either in-phase or antiphase,
feeding the probing signal from the output of the sensor to a second input of the detector through the second additional segment of the transmission line where the traveling-wave mode is provided, and
determining the harmonic frequencies by comparing, by the detector, a phase of the high-frequency probing signal at the input of the sensor to the phase of the high-frequency probing signal at the output of the sensor.

16 more elements

An apparatus for measuring the physical parameters of a controlled material, comprising:

a measurement and control device,
a sensor configured as a segment of a long transmission line having a signal conductor and one or more shielding conductors between which a space is to be filled with a controlled material;
a generator coupled to an input of the sensor and configured to generate a high-frequency harmonic probing signal, the generator being further configured to be swept through a range of frequencies and having a control input for frequency adjustment, the control input being coupled to the measurement and control device;
a detector having an output coupled to the measurement and control device, the detector being configured to convert the high-frequency probing signal to a low-frequency voltage;
a first additional segment of the two-conductor transmission line, the first additional segment having an input coupled to the input of the sensor and an output coupled to a first input of the detector, wherein
the first additional segment of the transmission line is matched at the output coupled to the detector, which is provided, for example, by coupling a matching resistor in parallel to the output of said segment,
an output of the generator is coupled to the input of the sensor either directly or through an input segment of the transmission line,
wherein the apparatus is characterized in that
the detector is configured as a phase discriminator in which an output voltage attains a minimum when its high-frequency input signals are either in-phase or antiphase, wherein the apparatus further comprises a second additional segment of the two-conductor transmission line, the second additional segment having an input coupled to the output of the sensor and an output coupled to a second input of the detector, the second additional segment having an electrical length equal to an electrical length of the first additional segment, and the second additional segment of the transmission line being also matched at the output coupled to the detector.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/760,617Filed 16 Nov 2018
Priority: RU 201714059321 Nov 2017
Published: 5 Nov 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G01N 22/04
Investigating or analysing materials by the use of microwaves or radio waves, i.e. electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of one millimetre or…
G01F 23/28
By measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of…:…
G01K 7/02
Measuring temperature based on the use of electric or magnetic elements directly sensitive to heat ; Power supply therefor, e.g. using…: using…
G01N 27/221
By investigating capacitance: by investigating the dielectric properties