Binary gas analyzer instrument and analysis method
First Claim
1. A gas analyzer instrument capable of determining the percent composition of a binary gas mixture of known constituents, said analyzer instrument comprising:
- a first reference cell having a first gas therein, said first gas having a thermal conductivity near the thermal conductivity of one of said constituent gases;
a measurement cell having said binary gas mixture therein;
means for maintaining said cells at a substantially constant temperature;
a thermistor positioned within each of said cells;
means for supplying a substantially constant electrical current to each of said thermistors for heating thereof, the gas in each of said cells conducting heat away from the thermistor;
voltage measuring means selectably connectable across each of said thermistors to measure voltage drop across said thermistors; and
computational means for automatically translating the voltage drop across said measurement cell thermistor into a percent compositional reading of said binary gas constituents, said computational means utilizing the voltage drop across said first cell thermistor as a reference.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A binary gas analyzer instrument and analysis method for determining percent composition of a cooling gas within a turbine generator is disclosed. The instrument includes a measurement block having a plurality of cells therein, some of which comprise sealed cells containing a known reference gas. One of the cells comprises a measurement cell and contains the binary gas mixture to be evaluated. Each of the cells contains a thermistor and a heater is provided for keeping the cells at a substantially constant temperature. An electric current supply provides a constant current to each thermistor for selfheating, and the gas within each cell conducts heat away from the thermistor at a distinctive rate. Measuring apparatus is selectably connectable across each cell thermistor to measure the voltage drop across said thermistors, and computational apparatus is provided to automatically translate the measured voltage drop across the measurement cell thermistor into a percent compositional reading of the binary gas constituents. Translation is accomplished by the computational apparatus with reference to the voltage drop across at least one of the reference cell thermistors.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A gas analyzer instrument capable of determining the percent composition of a binary gas mixture of known constituents, said analyzer instrument comprising:
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a first reference cell having a first gas therein, said first gas having a thermal conductivity near the thermal conductivity of one of said constituent gases; a measurement cell having said binary gas mixture therein; means for maintaining said cells at a substantially constant temperature; a thermistor positioned within each of said cells; means for supplying a substantially constant electrical current to each of said thermistors for heating thereof, the gas in each of said cells conducting heat away from the thermistor; voltage measuring means selectably connectable across each of said thermistors to measure voltage drop across said thermistors; and computational means for automatically translating the voltage drop across said measurement cell thermistor into a percent compositional reading of said binary gas constituents, said computational means utilizing the voltage drop across said first cell thermistor as a reference. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A percent composition determining instrument for use with a binary gas mixture of known constituents, said instrument comprising in combination:
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a block; means for maintaining said block at a substantially constant temperature; a plurality of gas cells positioned within said block; some of said gas cells comprising sealed reference chambers with known gases therein; means for introducing the binary gas mixture into one of said cells; a thermistor within each of said cells; means for supplying a substantially constant electrical current to each of said thermistors for heating thereof, the gas in each of said cells conducting heat away from said thermistor; voltage measuring means selectably connectable across each of said cells to measure voltage drop across said thermistors; and computational means for automatically correlating the voltage drop across the thermistor within said cell containing the binary gas mixture with a percent compositional reading of said binary gas constituents, said computational means utilizing the voltage drop across the thermistor within at least one of said sealed chambers as a reference. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for determining the percent composition of a gas mixture of two known constituents, said method comprising the steps of:
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(A) providing a first reference cell having a first gas and a thermistor sealed therein, said first gas having a thermal conductivity near the thermal conductivity of one of said two constituent gases; (B) providing a second reference cell having a second gas and a thermistor sealed therein, said second gas having a thermal conductivity near the thermal conductivity of the other of said two constituent gases; (C) providing a measurement cell and a thermistor therein; (D) introducing said binary gas mixture into said measurement cell; (E) maintaining said cells at a substantially constant temperature; (F) supplying a substantially constant electric current to each of said thermistors for heating thereof, the gas in each of said cells conducting heat away from the thermistor; (G) measuring the voltage drop across each of said thermistors; and (H) correlating the voltage drop across said measurement cell thermistor with a percent compositional reading of said binary gas mixture constituents, said correlation step utilizing the voltage drop across at least one of said first and second cell thermistors as a reference. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification