Claims
- 1. An apparatus for determining the viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid over plural shear rates using a decreasing pressure differential, said apparatus comprising:
a non-Newtonian fluid source; a capillary tube having a first end and a second end, said first end being coupled to the non-Newtonian fluid source through a first riser tube, said capillary tube having capillary tube dimensions; a second riser tube having one end coupled to said second end of said capillary tube and another end being exposed to atmospheric pressure, said second riser tube being positioned at an angle greater than zero degrees with respect to a horizontal reference position, said first and second riser tubes comprising a riser tube dimension; a respective sensor for detecting the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid, caused by said decreasing pressure differential, through said first and second riser tubes, respectively, at plural shear rates as the non-Newtonian fluid moves from the non-Newtonian fluid source, through said first riser tube, through said capillary tube and into said second riser tube in a laminar flow, said sensors generating data relating to the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid over time; and a computer, coupled to said sensors, for calculating the viscosity of the non-Newtonian fluid based on said data relating to the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid over time, said capillary tube dimensions and said riser tube dimension.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said respective sensors monitors the laminar movement of the fluid over time in its respective riser tube and wherein the second one of said respective sensors detects a single data point of the laminar movement in its respective riser tube.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said riser tube is positioned vertically with respect to said horizontal reference position.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said non-Newtonian fluid is the circulating blood of a living being and the non-Newtonian fluid source is the vascular system of the living being.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said laminar movement of the fluid through said riser tubes comprises:
a rising fluid column in said second riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said rising fluid column over time, said height being defined as the distance between the top of said rising fluid column and said horizontal reference position; a falling fluid column in said first riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said falling fluid column; and said monitored changing height of said rising fluid column and said monitored changing height of said falling fluid column forming said fluid movement data.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said laminar movement of the fluid through said riser tubes comprises:
a rising fluid column in said second riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said rising fluid column over time, said height being defined as the distance between the top of said rising fluid column and said horizontal reference position; a falling fluid column in said first riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor detects a single data point of said falling fluid column; and said monitored changing height of said rising fluid column and said single data point of said falling fluid column forming said fluid movement data.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said computer determines a difference value of heights (h1(t)−h2(t)) over time between a first height (h1(t)) of a first column of non-Newtonian fluid in said first riser tube and a second height (h2(t)) of a second column of non-Newtonian fluid in said second riser tube.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said computer determines an offset (Δh) of said heights of said columns of non-Newtonian fluid after monitoring said position of said non-Newtonian fluid change for a period of time.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said analyzer calculates the viscosity using h1(t)−h2(t) and Δh to determine the consistency index, k, and the power law index, n, as given by:
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said analyzer calculates the viscosity, μ, using said determined values of n and k in the equation:
- 11. An apparatus for determining the viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid over plural shear rates using a decreasing pressure differential, said apparatus comprising:
a non-Newtonian fluid source; a first riser tube having a first end exposed to atmospheric pressure and a second end, said second end being in fluid communication with the non-Newtonian fluid source for generating a first fluid column in said first riser tube; a capillary tube having a first capillary tube end and a second capillary tube end, said first capillary tube end being in fluid communication with the non-Newtonian fluid source, said capillary tube having capillary tube dimensions; a second riser tube having one end coupled to said second capillary tube end and another end being exposed to atmospheric pressure for generating a second fluid column in said second riser tube, said second riser tube being positioned at an angle greater than zero degrees with respect to a horizontal reference position, said first and second riser tubes comprising a riser tube dimension; a respective sensor for detecting the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid, caused by said decreasing pressure differential when said second end of said first riser tube and said first capillary tube end are placed into fluid communication with each other, said movement of fluid from said first riser tube, through said capillary tube and into said second riser tube at plural shear rates forming a laminar flow, said sensors generating data relating to the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid over time; and a computer, coupled to said sensors, for calculating the viscosity of the non-Newtonian fluid based on said data relating to the movement of the non-Newtonian fluid over time, said capillary tube dimensions and said riser tube dimension.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein one of said respective sensors monitors the laminar movement of the fluid over time in its respective riser tube and wherein the second one of said respective sensors detects a single data point of the laminar movement in its respective riser tube.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said riser tube is positioned vertically with respect to said horizontal reference position.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said non-Newtonian fluid is the circulating blood of a living being and the non-Newtonian fluid source is the vascular system of the living being.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said laminar movement of the fluid through said riser tubes comprises:
a rising fluid column in said second riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said rising fluid column over time, said height being defined as the distance between the top of said rising fluid column and said horizontal reference position; a falling fluid column in said first riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said falling fluid column; and said monitored changing height of said rising fluid column and said monitored changing height of said falling fluid column forming said fluid movement data.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said laminar movement of the fluid through said riser tubes comprises:
a rising fluid column in said second riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor monitors the changing height of said rising fluid column over time, said height being defined as the distance between the top of said rising fluid column and said horizontal reference position; a falling fluid column in said first riser tube and wherein its corresponding sensor detects a single data point of said falling fluid column; and said monitored changing height of said rising fluid column and said single data point of said falling fluid column forming said fluid movement data.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said computer determines a difference value of heights (h1(t)−h2(t)) over time between a first height (h1(t)) of a first column of non-Newtonian fluid in said first riser tube and a second height (h2(t)) of a second column of non-Newtonian fluid in said second riser tube.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said computer determines an offset (Δh) of said heights of said columns of non-Newtonian fluid after monitoring said position of said non-Newtonian fluid change for a period of time.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein said step of calculating the viscosity further comprises using h1(t)−h2(t) and Δh to determine the consistency index, k, and the power law index, n, as given by:
- 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of calculating the viscosity, μ, further comprises using the determined values of n and k in the equation: where
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation application of Co-Pending application Ser. No. 09/973,639, filed on Oct. 9, 2001 which in turn is a Continuation application of application Ser. No. 09/573,267 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,703), filed on May 18, 2000 which in turn is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 09/439,795 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,524), filed on Nov. 12, 1999, all of which are entitled DUAL RISER/SINGLE CAPILLARY VISCOMETER, which in turn is a Continuation-in-Part application of application Ser. No. 08/919,906, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,735, entitled VISCOSITY MEASURING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USE, all of which are assigned to the same Assignee. as the present invention, namely, Rheologics, Inc., and all of whose entire disclosures are incorporated by reference herein.
Continuations (2)
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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09439795 |
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