Ultrasonic fluid composition monitor
OwnerWesley Cobbinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of and apparatus for continuous monitoring of the composition of a fluid mixture traveling through a conduit. The relative component concentration of the fluid mixture of a liquid/liquid or solid/liquid mixture is monitored with a non-intrusive ultrasonic apparatus. The relative component concentration of the fluid mixture is determined by measuring ultrasonic propagation parameters and temperature and comparing these measured parameters to calibrated data based on analytical measurements of samples of the process fluid mixtures. The calibrated data is obtained by measuring propagation parameters and analyzing process fluid mixtures at a different time from the measurements of process fluid mixtures.
Claims6
An apparatus for monitoring the composition of a fluid mixture flowing through a conduit comprising:
- a transducer assembly for clamping on an outside wall of a conduit;
- means for launching ultrasonic waves through the wall of the conduit and a fluid mixture having at least two components and flowing within the conduit;
- means for detecting an ultrasonic wave that has been launched and has passed through the fluid mixture and for converting the detected ultrasonic wave into an electrical signal indicative of first and second transit times through the fluid mixture from two initially received, sequential, opposite polarity portions of the detected ultrasonic wave;
- means for computing first and second transit times and a differential transit time by subtracting the second transit time from the first transit time and for computing the relative concentrations of the components of the fluid mixture from predetermined relationships between fluid mixture composition and differential transit time;
- and
- means for indicating the computed relative concentration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.