Claims
- 1. An apparatus for characterizing fluid properties in a pipe comprising:
- first means for measuring sound velocity in the fluid with acoustic energy and producing a first signal corresponding to the sound velocity, said first measuring means disposed on the outside of the pipe and acoustic energy follows a path through the pipe wall through the fluid;
- second means for measuring at least one state variable of the fluid and providing a second signal corresponding to the state variable measured, said second means in communication with the fluid; and
- signal processing means in communication with the first and second measuring means for determining the velocity of sound in the fluid and identifying fluid properties.
- 2. An apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the second measuring means includes means for measuring temperature or means for measuring pressure of the fluid.
- 3. An apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said signal processing means also determines specific volume of the fluid.
- 4. An apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the signal processing means determines specific volume and viscosity of the fluid.
- 5. An apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein said signal processing means identifies when a boundary between fluid of a first material and fluid of a second material passes through the pipe at the diametrical path.
- 6. An apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein the signal processing means determines Reynolds number for the fluid from the specific volume of the fluid and the viscosity and calculates a profile factor.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/415,090 filed on Mar. 31, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,813.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number |
Date |
Country |
58-171625 |
Oct 1983 |
JPX |
58-171624 |
Oct 1983 |
JPX |
60-40916 |
Mar 1985 |
JPX |
60-202310 |
Oct 1985 |
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62-9224 |
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62-9223 |
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1-105857 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
415090 |
Mar 1995 |
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