Vapor-liquid ratio analyzer

A method for measuring the vapor-liquid ratio temperature of a liquid, comprising the steps of:

• discharging a fixed volume of the liquid into a chamber having a capacity which is a predetermined multiple of said fixed volume, said multiple being related to a desired vapor-liquid ratio at a specified temperature;
• maintaining said liquid, and any vapor which evaporates therefrom into said chamber, at a predetermined temperature that is related to said specified temperature;
• measuring the pressure within said chamber;
• and
• determining the vapor-liquid ratio temperature from said predetermied temperature, based upon the difference between the measured pressure and a reference pressure.

A method for controlling the addition of a volatile liquid to a blended product, comprising the steps of:

• discharging a unit volume sample of the blended product into an enclosed chamber having a capacity which is a predetermined multiple of said unit volume, said multiple being related to a desired vapor-liquid ratio for the blended product at a specified temperature and pressure;
• maintaining the temperature of fluids in said chamber at said specified temperature;
• measuring the pressure within said chamber;
• determining the difference between the measured pressure and said specified pressure;
• and
• regulating the rate at which the volatile liquid is added to the blended liquid product in accordance with said difference.

Apparatus for controlling the proportion of a volatile liquid in a blended liquid product to thereby regulate the volatility of the blended product, comprising:

• an enclosed chamber;
• means for maintaining the temperature of said chamber at a specified value;
• means for introducing a predetermined volume of a sample of the liquid product into said chamber and for enabling said sample to evaporate into a fixed volume which is a specified multiple of said predetermined volume;
• a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the contents of said chamber;
• means for mixing a volatile liquid with the blended liquid product;
• and
• a valve that is operated in response to said pressure sensor for controlling the rate at which the volatile liquid is added to the blended product by said mixing means.

A method for controlling the addition of a volatile liquid to a second liquid to produce a blended product having a predetermined vapor-liquid ratio at a specified temperature and pressure, comprising the steps of:

• generating a volume of vapor from a predetermined volume of the blended product, said vapor volume being a multiple of said predetermined volume which multiple is related to said predetermined ratio;
• maintaining the volumes of vapor and liquid at said specified temperature;
• measuring the absolute pressure of said vapor volume when an equilibrium condition is established;
• and
• regulating the proportion of said volatile liquid that is added to said second liquid in accordance with the difference between the measured pressure and said specified pressure.