Measurement of the properties of fluids inside pipes using guided longitudinal waves

Abstract

A new technique for measuring the longitudinal bulk velocity and shear viscosity of a fluid contained inside a pipe without a need for extracting a sample from inside of the pipe is presented. It is based on the measurement of the change of the dispersion properties and attenuation of longitudinal guided modes propagating in the pipe due to the presence of the fluid. The technique to extract longitudinal bulk velocity and shear viscosity is discussed and experimentally demonstrated by measuring both low-viscosity (distilled water and glycerol) and highly viscous fluids. The measured properties of glycerol agreed well with conventional methods and literature data for both the longitudinal bulk velocity (within 0.8%) and the viscosity (within 4%). For highly viscous fluid, the accuracy of the velocity measurement was found to be reduced slightly (within 1%), and the viscosity measurement became more accurate (within 1%).