Automatically monitoring density and viscosity of a liquid
AssigneeDynamic Solutions, Inc.
InventorErman E. Herod
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drilling mud monitoring system includes a single measurement chamber which is filled with a predetermined quantity of drilling mud. The chamber is weighed to provide a value representative of the density of the drilling mud. The time needed for the chamber to drain is measured to provide a value representative of viscosity. The system proceeds through a measurement cycle in which the chamber is filled, weighed, timed, and washed. At the end of the wash step, the weight of the chamber is compared with an empty weight and if the chamber weighs too much, the conclusion is that drilling mud adheres to the chamber so it is washed again. An alarm is sounded if the mud weight is too low and/or too high or in the case of a machine malfunction.
Claims14
Apparatus for monitoring density and viscosity of a liquid, comprising:
- an inlet for connection to a source of the liquid;
- a container disposed to receive the liquid from the inlet and having a tapered bottom and an outlet;
- an assembly for adding a predetermined quantity of the liquid to the container;
- an assembly for measuring the weight of the container and thereby determining the weight of the predetermined quantity of the liquid in the container and an assembly for displaying a value representative of the density of the liquid in response to the weight of the predetermined quantity of the liquid;
- and
- an assembly for measuring a time required for the predetermined quantity of the liquid to flow through the outlet and an assembly for displaying a value representative of viscosity in response to the measured time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.