Patent ID: 7181955

Claim:
A meter for determining the mass ratio of the solids of a multi-phase mixture flowing through a pipe, said meter comprising: a first meter that measures the speed of sound propagating through the multi-phase mixture at a first sensing region along said pipe which provides a first effective sound speed signal; a second meter that measures the speed of sound propagating through the multi-phase mixture at a second sensing region along said pipe which provides a second effective sound speed signal; wherein said first sensing region along the pipe has a first compliance and said second sensing region along the pipe has a second compliance, and wherein said first compliance is different from said second compliance to change the speed of sound from the first sensing region to the second sensing region; and a signal processor, responsive to the difference of said first and said second effective sound speed signals, that determines a parameter signal indicative of the mass ratio of solids of the multi-phase mixture within the pipe.