Flow monitoring system

Claim 2

A mechanism for monitoring the rate at which material dispersed in a fluid stream passes through a given region, and for giving an output signal proportional to that rate, which mechanism comprises: a. fluid flowrate measurement means for measuring the rate of flow of the fluid through the said given region, and for providing an electrical output proportional thereto; b. material concentration measurement means for measuring the concentration of the material in the fluid stream passing through the said given region, and for providing an electrical output proportional thereto; and, operatively connected to the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means c. an integrative device for multiplying together the outputs from the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means, and then summing the multiplied outputs, the integrative device incorporating a multiplying element for operating on the said electrical outputs from the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means and producing a voltage output proportional to the product thereof; the multiplying element producing an output voltage Z at any instant related to its two input voltages X and Y such that Z = KXY, where K is a constant, there being two buffer amplifiers, one of the said two buffer amplifiers operating on each of the said two inputs, a voltage-to-frequency converter for converting said product to a pulsed constant amplitude signal, the frequency of the pulses thus being proportional to the rate of passage of the said material, and a counting device for summing the pulses supplied thereto from the voltage-to-frequency converter.

Claim 3

A mechanism as in claim 1, in which the said fluid flowrate measurement means incorporates a pitot-venturi flow element having two pressure tappings, the output from the said pitot-venturi flow element being in the form of a differential pressure between the said two tappings, a differential pressure transmitter having a pneumatic output, which transmitter includes a diaphragm across which the said differential pressure is applied, the distortions of the diaphragm caused by changes in the differential pressure being used to control the said pneumatic output of the differential transmitter, and a transducer device for converting the pneumatic output to the said electrical output proportional to fluid flowrate.

Claim 4

A mechanism as in claim 2, which incorporates a pneumatic square root extractor having a pneumatic input and a pneumatic output, the pneumatic output being proportional to the square root of the pneumatic input, the said pneumatic output of the fluid flowrate measurement means being fed to the said pneumatic square root extractor, and the pneumatic output therefrom being converted to the said electrical output.

Claim 5

A mechanism as in claim 1, in which the material concentration measurement means employs infra-red radiation and means for measuring the variation between the amount of infra-red radiation adsorbed by the said fluid with an amount of the said material present therein and the amount of infra-red radiation adsorbed by said fluid alone.

Claim 6

A mechanism for monitoring the rate at which material dispersed in a fluid stream passes through a given region, and for giving an output signal proportional to that rate, which mechanism comprises: a. fluid flowrate measurement means for measuring the rate of flow of the fluid through the said given region, said fluid flowrate measurement means incorporating a pitot-venturi flow element having two pressure tappings, the output from the said pitot-venturi flow element being in the form of a differential pressure between said two tappings, and a differential pressure transmitter having a pneumatic output, which transmitter includes a diaphragm across which the said differential pressure is applied, the distortions of the diaphragm caused by changes in the differential pressure being used to produce a further pneumatic output, a pneumatic input coupled to said further pneumatic output, the output from the square root extractor being proportional to the square root of the said further pneumatic output, and a transducer device for converting the extractor output to an electrical output proportional to the fluid flowrate; b. material concentration measurement means for measuring the concentration of the material in the fluid stream passing through the said given region, said material concentration measurement means employing infra-red radiation and means for measuring the variation in the amount of infra-red radiation adsorbed by the said fluid with the said material present therein including a reference cell which contains a sample of fluid containing no dispersed material, a cell through which a sample of the fluid containing dispersed material is fed; means for directing two identical infra-red beams to pass one of said two beams through the said reference cell and the other of said two beams through the sample cell, an interrupter which alternately blocks the radiation to each of the said sample cell and the said reference cell, a detector incorporating a detector cell containing a gas and fitted with a diaphragm, the said detector cell being adapted to receive radiation alternately from each of the said sample cell and the said reference cell which in turn causes expansions and contractions of the said gas, and the said diaphragm forming one plate of a capacitor such that the movement of the said diaphragm caused by the said expansion and contraction of the said gas gives rise to corresponding changes in capacity serving to modify the operation of an electrical device to provide an electrical output proportional to said material concentration; and operatively connected to the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means c. an integrative device for operating on the electrical outputs derived from the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means, the integrative device being an electronic device having two inputs and an output and comprising two amplifiers, one of said amplifiers for each of said two inputs and a multiplying element, which multiplying element is an element whose output voltage Z at any instant is related to its input voltages X and Y at that instant by the expression Z = KXY, where K is a constant, the integrative device further comprising a voltage-to-frequency converter and a counting device, the said output from the integrative device being converted to a pulsed constant amplitude signal by the said voltage-to-frequency converter, the frequency of the pulses thus being proportional to the rate of passage of the said material, and the pulses in said pulsed constant amplitude signal being summed by the said counting device.

Claim 7

A mechanism for monitoring the rate at which material dispersed in a fluid stream passes through a given region, and for giving an output signal proportional to that rate, which mechanism comprises: a. fluid flowrate measurement means for measuring the rate of flow of the fluid through the said given region, said fluid flowrate measurement means incorporating a pitot-venturi flow element having two pressure tappings, the output from the said pitot-venturi flow element being in the form of a differential pressure between said two tappings, and a differential pressure transmitter having a pneumatic output, which transmitter includes a diaphragm across which the said differential pressure is applied, the distortions of the diaphragm caused by changes in the differential pressure being used to produce a further pneumatic output, a pneumatic input coupled to said further pneumatic output, the output from the square root extractor being proportional to the square root of the said further pneumatic output, and a transducer device for converting the extractor output to an electrical output proportional to the fluid flowrate; b. material concentration measurement means for measuring the concentration of the material in the fluid stream passing through the said given region, said material concentration measurement means employing infra-red radiation and means for measuring the variation in the amount of infra-red radiation adsorbed by the said fluid with the said material present therein including a reference cell which contains a sample of fluid containing no dispersed material, a cell through which a sample of the fluid containing dispersed material is fed; means for directing two identical infra-red beams to pass one of said two beams through the said reference cell and the other of said two beams through the sample cell, an interrupter which alternately blocks the radiation to each of the said sample cell and the said reference cell, a detector incorporating a detector cell containing a gas and fitted with a diaphragm, the said detector cell being adapted to receive radiation alternately from each of the said sample cell and the said reference cell which in turn causes expansions and contractions of the said gas, and the said diaphragm forming one plate of a capacitor such that the movement of the said diaphragm caused by the said expansion and contraction of the said gas gives rise to corresponding changes in capacity serving to modify the operation of an electrical device to provide an electrical output proportional to said material concentration; and operatively connected to the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means c. an integrative device for operating on the electrical outputs derived from the said fluid flowrate measurement means and the said material concentration measurement means, the integrative device being an electronic device having two inputs and an output and comprising two amplifiers, one of said amplifiers for each of said two inputs and a multiplying element, which multiplying element is an element whose output voltage Z at any instant is related to its input voltages X and Y at that instant by the expression Z = KXY, where K is a constant, the integrative device further comprising a voltage-to-frequency converter and a counting device, the said output from the integrative device being converted to a pulsed constant amplitude signal by the said voltage-to-frequency converter, the frequency of the pulses thus being proportional to the rate of passage of the said material, and the pulses in said pulsed constant amplitude signal being summed by the said counting device.

Claim 8

In an adsorbing installation comprising an adsorber having beds of adsorbent material through which a materialladen fluid is passed so as to adsorb the material from the fluid, the improvement of providing: a. fluid flowrate measurement means for measuring the rate of fluid flow through a given region upstream of the adsorber, and producing an electrical output proportional thereto; material concentration measurement means for measuring the concentration of material in the fluid stream passing through said given region, and producing an electrical output proportional thereto; and an electrical integrative device for operating on the two electrical outputs from the fluid flowrate measurement means and the material concentration measurement means respectively, which integrative device includes a multiplying element and a summing element, the multiplying element producing an electrical signal proportional to the product of the said two electrical outputs and the summing element integrating said electrical signals to indicate the saturation state of the beds of the adsorber.

Claim 9

In an adsorbing installation comprising an adsorber having beds of adsorbent material through which a materialladen fluid is passed so as to adsorb the material from the fluid, the improvement of providing: a. fluid flowrate measurement means for measuring the rate of fluid flow through a given region upstream of the adsorber, and producing an electrical output proportional thereto; material concentration measurement means for measuring the concentration of material in the fluid stream passing through said given region, and producing an electrical output proportional thereto; and an electrical integrative device for operating on the two electrical outputs from the fluid flowrate measurement means and the material concentration measurement means respectively, which integrative device includes a multiplying element and a summing element, the multiplying element producing an electrical signal proportional to the product of the said two electrical outputs and the summing element integrating said electrical signals to indicate the saturation state of the beds of the adsorber.