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Method and apparatus for detecting and locating explosives, biological, and chemical substances in ducts and structures using tracers

  • US 7,331,248 B2
  • Filed: 10/06/2004
  • Issued: 02/19/2008
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2003
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for determining the location of a contaminant in an enclosed gaseous flow system within a structure, comprising the steps of:

  • (a) injecting a gaseous conservative tracer and a gaseous partitioning tracer into the gaseous flow system at a first location;

    (b) advecting the tracers along the gaseous flow system at a first speed to create an advection flow field;

    (c) extracting the tracers at a second location in the gaseous flow system;

    (d) introducing a perturbation to the advection flow field at a perturbation time by changing and then re-establishing the advection flow at a second advection speed, which may be different than the first advection speed, creating a unique change in the concentration of the partitioning tracer;

    (e) extracting the partitioning tracer as a function of time relative to the perturbation time;

    (f) measuring the concentration of the partitioning tracer as a function of the time; and

    (g) determining the location of contamination from the time of arrival of the partitioning tracer relative to the perturbation time and the advection flow speed.

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