Patent ID: 8113708

Claim:
A cloud point monitoring system, comprising: a conduit, having a first aperture and a second aperture, the apertures configured to admit diesel fuel from a fuel conduit into and through the conduit; an acoustic source disposed in the conduit and configured to emit an oscillatory sound wave in response to a first oscillatory signal from a controller; an acoustic sensor disposed in the conduit and spaced from the acoustic source, the acoustic sensor configured to receive the oscillatory sound wave emitted from the acoustic source and to generate a responsive oscillatory signal to the oscillatory sound wave; a temperature sensor disposed in the conduit and configured to generate a temperature signal indicative of the temperature of the diesel fuel in the conduit; the controller configured to generate and send the first oscillatory signal to the acoustic source, to receive the responsive oscillatory signal from the acoustic sensor, to determine a phase shift of the sound wave based on the first oscillatory signal and the responsive oscillatory signal, receive the temperature signal from the temperature sensor and to thereby determine a cloud point temperature value associated with the diesel fuel in the conduit based on the phase shift of the oscillatory wave and the temperature signal.