Patent ID: 7096719
Filing Date: 2006-08-29
Classification: G01F,G01N

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for measuring the composition of a mixture flowing through a pipe, said apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic sensor apparatus disposed along the pipe that transmits an ultrasonic signal through the mixture and receives the ultrasonic signal, to provide a measured signal indicative of the transit time of the ultrasonic signal through the mixture, wherein the mixture includes particles suspended within a fluid; and a processor, responsive to said measured signal, that determines the speed of sound propagating through the mixture and, responsive to the speed of sound, that determines an output signal indicative of the composition of the mixture flowing through the pipe by determining the speed of sound propagating through the mixture as a function of frequency to characterize dispersion properties of the mixture and comparing the dispersion properties of the mixture to a dispersion model of the mixture.