Ultrasonic Tools for Detection of Gasoline/Ethanol Phase Separation

• US 20140096591A1
• Filed: 10/05/2012
• Published: 04/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dinesh Kumar, Howard Dockery, Joe Caldwell, Sidney Durham
• Original Assignee: Dinesh Kumar, Howard Dockery, Joe Caldwell, Sidney Durham
• Inventors: Caldwell, Joe, Dockery, Howard, Kumar, Dinesh, Durham, Sidney
• Application Number:
  US13/646,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20140096591A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/24.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/2962 Measuring transit time of reflected waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0224 Mixtures of three or more liquids
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02836 Flow rate, liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/101 one transducer
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/024 by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/222 Constructional or flow details for analysing fluids optoacoustic fluid cells G01N29/2425
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/44 Processing the detected response signal , e.g. electronic circuits specially adapted therefor digital signal processing per se G06F17/00

Abstract

A method to detect a phase separation of gasoline and ethanol may include the steps of generating a sound signal in a tank, determining a speed of the sound signal, determining an interface level in the tank, determining the speed of the sound signal below the interface level and determining the phase separation based upon the speed of the sound signal.

Claims

1. ) A method to detect a phase separation of gasoline and ethanol, comprising the steps of:

generating a sound signal in a tank;

determining a speed of the sound signal;

determining an interface level in the tank;

determining the speed of the sound signal below the interface level;

determining the phase separation based upon the speed of the sound signal.

2. ) A method to detect a phase separation of gasoline and ethanol as in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the interface level includes the step of determining only if one interface is detected.

3. ) A method to detect a phase separation of gasoline and ethanol as in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the interface level includes the step of determining only if two interface levels are detected.

4. ) A method to detect a phase separation of gasoline and ethanol as in claim 1, wherein the method includes the step of determining if water is present.