Viscosity measuring system

• US 4,113,384 A
• Filed: 04/26/1977
• Issued: 09/12/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sun Refining and Marketing Company
• Original Assignee: Suntech, Inc. (ChinaMallUSA.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lauer, James L., Peterkin, Melvin E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans, F. L.
• Application Number:
  US05/791,089
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• Field of Search: 250/458, 250/459, 356/70, 356/75, 356/85, 356/244, 356/246, 73/54, 73/64
• US Class Current: 356/70
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 11/00 Investigating flow properties of materials, e.g. viscosity, plasticity; Analysing materials by determining flow properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2011/0006 Calibrating, controlling or cleaning viscometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2888 Lubricating oil characteristics, e.g. deterioration lubricating properties G01N33/30
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/30 for lubricating properties

Abstract

A method for measuring the viscosity of a lubricant fluid under very high pressures by placing a sample of lubricant containing one or more ruby crystals (˜10μm diameter) in a diamond anvil cell illuminated with a point source of visible light radiation, and observing by means of appropriate optics the rate of change of band width of the ruby emission spectra at given temperatures and pressures as a measure of the viscosity of the fluid.

Claims

1. A method for measuring the viscosity of a lubricant fluid under very high pressures by placing a sample of lubricant contaning one or more rube crystals in a diamond anvil cell illuminated with a point source of visible light radiation, observing the rate of change of the width at half-height of the R₁ fluorescence band of the ruby emission spectra at given temperatures and pressures and correlating said change with an empirical calibration of a fluid of known viscosity under the same conditions.

2. The method of claim 1 where the visible light source is a zirconium arc filtered to remove blue radiation.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the ruby crystals will have a diameter of about 10 μ

m.