Multi-component flow measurement and imaging

• US 4,868,856 A
• Filed: 12/22/1988
• Issued: 09/19/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: British Technology Group Ltd.
• Original Assignee: National Research Development Corporation
• Inventors: Olatunbosun, Adeboye, Frith, Barry
• Primary Examiner(s): Fields, Carolyn E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hynds, Joseph A.
• Application Number:
  US07/289,443
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 378/86-89, 250/356.1
• US Class Current: 378/86
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/7042 using radioactive tracers
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/74 Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/86 Indirect mass flowmeters, e.g. measuring volume flow and density, temperature or pressure

Abstract

A method of measurement of mass flow rates of multicomponent systems comprises directing gamma radiation from a collimated source onto extended scattering means irradiating the flowing medium with single-scattered gamma photons, detecting scattered photons with wide angle photon energy detectors and computing the flow rates from the component velocities and densities.

Claims

1. A method of measurement of mass flow rates and reconstruction of time-averaged cross-sectional distribution of components of a multi-component flow system comprising:

directing gamma radiation from a collimated source onto extended scattering means,

irradiating substantially the entire flowing medium with single-scattered gamma radiation photons scattered by said scattering means,

detecting scattered gamma photons with wide angle photon energy detectors separated by a predetermined distance,

determining density and component velocities,

computing component mass flow rates from the respective density and velocity and

providing an image of flow cross-sectional density distribution.

2. A method of measurement of mass flow rates and reconstruction of time-averaged cross-sectional distribution of the components of a multi-component flow system according to claim 1 characterised in that the source of radiation includes a radionuclide source focussed onto a homogenous low atomic number scattering material.