Method and apparatus for measuring fluid thermal conductivity
AssigneeSnow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd.
InventorsTomoshige Hori, Yasuhiko Shiinoki, Kensuke Ito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heating sensor is disposed within a pipe with a clearance between an inner wall of the pipe and an outer surface of the heating sensor such that a measurement of thermal conductivity is free from any influence of a convective heat transfer. Temperatures of the fluid and the heating sensor are measured and a differential temperature therebetween in steady state heating is determined. A correlation is established between the differential temperature and a thermal conductivity of the fluid and is utilized to obtain the thermal conductivity of this fluid.
Claims11
Method for measuring a thermal conductivity of a fluid comprising the steps of:
- disposing a heating sensor, having heating means for heating the heating sensor and measuring means for measuring the temperature of the heating sensor, in a container for the fluid and heating the heating sensor with the heating means at a steady state of heating and measuring the temperature of the heating sensor with the measuring means, and wherein a clearance between an inner wall of the container and an outer wall of the heating sensor is dimensioned so that the measurement of thermal conductivity is free from any influence of a convective heat transfer due to a convection caused by heat generation from the heating sensor;
- measuring a temperature of the fluid;
- determining a differential temperature between the measured temperature of the heating sensor and the measured temperature of the fluid;
- and
- determining the thermal conductivity of the fluid on a basis of a correlation between the differential temperature and the thermal conductivity.
An apparatus for measuring a thermal conductivity of a fluid, comprising:
- a heating sensor having heating means for heating the heating sensor with the heating means at a steady state of heating and measuring means for measuring the temperature of the heating sensor and being disposable in a container for the fluid wherein a clearance between an inner wall of the container and an outer wall of the heating sensor is dimensioned so that the measurement of thermal conductivity is free from any influence of convective heat transfer due to convection caused by heat generation from the heating sensor;
- means for measuring the temperature of the fluid;
- means for determining a differential temperature between the measured temperature of the fluid and the heating sensor;
- and
- means for determining the thermal conductivity of the fluid on a basis of a correlation between the differential temperature and the thermal conductivity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.