Method of and apparatus for ascertaining the volume components of a three-component mixture

Claim 1

A method of determining the proportions by volume of a three-component mixture, in which two components are substantially indistinguishable by gamma ray radiation in density and another component is substantially indistinguishable from one of the other two components by gamma ray radiation in chemical composition, comprising the steps of irradiating a flowing three-component mixture simultaneously with a first and a second gamma source having different energies, lower energy radiation from said first source being selectively absorbed by said two components differing in chemical composition, and radiation from said second source being selectively absorbed by said two components which differ in density, transmitting said radiation a known distance 1, detecting said transmitted radiation by a common detector, analyzing signals from said detector to produce a spectrogram showing solely the proportions of the two gamma energies, then evaluating the spectrogram with regard to the two radiation transmissions (t 1 , t 2 ) and with regard to the pairs of extinction coefficients for each of the three components (μ k1 , μ k2 ), (μ s1 , μ s2 ), (μ w1 , μ w2 ), and determining the proportions by volume V of the components by calculation as a function f V=f (μ.sub.k1, μ.sub.k2, μ.sub.s1, μ.sub.s2, μ.sub.w1, μ.sub.w2, t.sub.1, t.sub.2, l) with a known length (l) of the transmission path where k, s, and w are, respectively, defined as first solid component, second solid component, and liquid.

Claim 2

A method of determining the proportions by volume of a three-component mixture, in which two components are substantially indistinguishable by gamma ray radiation in density and another component is substantially indistinguishable from one of the other two components by gamma ray radiation in chemical composition, comprising the steps of irradiating a flowing three-component mixture simultaneously with a first and a second gamma source having different energies, lower energy radiation from said first source being selectively absorbed by said two components differing in chemical composition, and radiation from said second source being selectively absorbed by said two components which differ in density, transmitting said radiation a known distance 1, detecting said transmitted radiation by a common detector, analyzing signals from said detector to produce a spectrogram showing solely the proportions of the two gamma energies, then evaluating the spectrogram with regard to the two radiation transmissions (t 1 , t 2 ) and with regard to the pairs of extinction coefficients for each of the three components (μ k1 , μ k2 ), (μ s1 , μ s2 ), (μ w1 , μ w2 ), and determining the proportions by volume V of the components by calculation as a function f V=f (μ.sub.k1, μ.sub.k2, μ.sub.s1, μ.sub.s2, μ.sub.w1, μ.sub.w2, t.sub.1, t.sub.2, l) with a known length (l) of the transmission path where k, s, and w are, respectively, defined as first solid component, second solid component, and liquid.

Claim 7

An apparatus for determining the proportions by volume of a three-component mixture, comprising means for irradiating the mixture simultaneously with a first and a second gamma source having different energies, lower energy radiation from said first source being selectively absorbed by said two components differing in chemical composition, and radiation from said second source being selectively absorbed by said two components which differ in density, means for conveying said mixture past said means for irradiating, a common detector means for detecting the radiation transmitted through said mixture, and spectroscopic means for producing a spectrogram solely with regard to the proportions of the two gamma energies, the spectrogram being evaluated with regard to the two radiation transmissions (t 1 , t 2 ) and with regard to the pairs of extinction coefficients for each of the three components (μ k1 , μ k2 ), (μ s1 , μ s2 ) (μ w1 , μ w2 ) so as to determine the proportions by volume V of the components by calculation as a function f V=f (μ.sub.k1, μ.sub.k2, μ.sub.s1, μ.sub.s2, μ.sub.w1, μ.sub.w2, t.sub.1, t.sub.2, l), where k, s, and w are, respectively, defined as first solid component, second solid component, and liquid, and l is the known length of transmission between the means for irradiating and the common detector, a conveying tube having a cross-sectional plane and through which the three-component mixture is conveyed, line-shaped gamma sources and said detector means being arranged diametrically from the means to irradiate the mixture in relation to a common cross-sectional plane of the tube.

Claim 8

An apparatus for determining the proportions by volume of a three-component mixture, comprising means for irradiating the mixture simultaneously with a first and a second gamma source having different energies, lower energy radiation from said first source being selectively absorbed by said two components differing in chemical composition, and radiation from said second source being selectively absorbed by said two components which differ in density, means for conveying said mixture past said means for irradiating, a common detector means for detecting the radiation transmitted through said mixture, and spectroscopic means for producing a spectrogram solely with regard to the proportions of the two gamma energies, the spectrogram being evaluated with regard to the two radiation transmissions (t 1 , t 2 ) and with regard to the pairs of extinction coefficients for each of the three components (μ k1 , μ k2 ), (μ s1 , μ s2 ) (μ w1 , μ w2 ) so as to determine the proportions by volume V of the components by calculation as a function f V=f (μ.sub.k1, μ.sub.k2, μ.sub.s1, μ.sub.s2, μ.sub.w1, μ.sub.w2, t.sub.1, t.sub.2, l), where k, s, and w are, respectively, defined as first solid component, second solid component, and liquid, and l is the known length of transmission between the means for irradiating and the common detector, a conveying tube having a cross-sectional plane and through which the three-component mixture is conveyed, line-shaped gamma sources and said detector means being arranged diametrically from the means to irradiate the mixture in relation to a common cross-sectional plane of the tube.