US 4,300,386 A · Porosimeter arrangement

Abstract

A mercury instrusion type porosimeter arrangement wherein a vessel containing the mercury used for intrusion is disposed such that a conduit issuing therefrom extends downwardly to enable mercury to flow through the action of gravity. The conduit extends to a chamber which contains the sample of material whose porosity characteristics are to be determined and to the tube of a penetrometer assembly which contains the mercury whose height is to be measured, the penetrometer assembly comprising a tube and an electrically actuated transducer associated therewith which senses the height of the mercury in the tube. With this arrangement, there is eliminated the need to introduce atmospheric pressure to force mercury into the penetrometer tube, thus eliminating an initial pressure error. There is, thereby, enabled the precise measurement of the porosity characteristics of materials with larger pores, heretofore unattainable.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A porosimeter arrangement comprising, in combination, (a) a sample chamber having a first conduit extending downwardly therefrom;

(b) a penetrometer tube arranged upright at substantially the same elevation as said sample chamber, said penetrometer tube communicating at its lower end with said first conduit;
(c) a vessel containing a non-wettable sample intrusion fluid arranged at at least the same elevation as said sample chamber;
and (d) a second conduit extending downwardly from said vessel and communicating with said penetrometer tube and said first conduit to enable said fluid to flow by gravity from said vessel to said tube and said chamber.

A porosimeter assembly comprising:

(a) a plurality of porosimeter arrangements, each of said arrangements including:
(1) a chamber for containing a sample of a material whose porosity characteristics are to be determined, and (2) a penetrometer, said penetrometer including an upright tube arranged at substantially the same height as said chamber and communicating with the bottom of said chamber and an electrically actuated transducer operatively associated with said tube for sensing the height of a first and non-wetting intrusion fluid in said tube;
(b) a vessel for containing said first fluid;
(c) a conduit extending downwardly from said vessel and connected to said tubes and the bottom of said chambers in all of the porosimeter arrangements in said assembly to enable said first fluid to flow concurrently from said first vessel to all of said tubes and said chambers by the action of gravity;
(d) evacuating means adapted to be connected concurrently to all of said porosimeter arrangements and said vessel to evacuate said porosimeter assembly;
and (e) means adapted to be connected to said assembly to controllably introduce atmospheric pressure into said assembly.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Porosimeter arrangement

Life of this patent

Porosimeter arrangement

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17