Fluid density sensor and system

Abstract

A sensing element and system for determining the density of fuel housed in the tank of an aircraft, includes sensing element (10). The sensing element has a disc shaped member (20) extending through a wall (16) of the sensor body. The sensor body also encloses a chamber (14) containing dry nitrogen at a pressure of one atmosphere. Electromagnetic driving coils (24) are electrically actuated to cause member 20 to vibrate in its resonant frequency in four quadrants with a node along an axis (22) corresponding to the wall of the sensor and a second node axis (42). Pickup coils (26) in the sensor body sense displacement of the disc shaped member in a location of maximum displacement. Fluid surrounding the sensing element causes mass loading of the exposed portion of the disc shaped member and changes its resonant frequency. The changes in resonant frequency along with values determined through calibration are used by a processor (44) to calculate the density of the fluid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.