An integrated in-line fluid characterization system for industrial applications

The continuous monitoring of rheological parameters of industrial fluids during production is of paramount importance for process and quality control. Up to now, no system capable of a complete and non-invasive in-line measurement is commercially available, so that only time discrete laboratory measurements on fluids specimens are possible. In this work a new, fully integrated ultrasound system for in-line fluid characterization, named Flow-Viz, is presented. The system measures the velocity profile of the fluid moving in a pipe through pulsed Doppler ultrasound, and combines it with the pressure drop. The electronics, featuring two ultrasound transmission/reception channels used alone or in pitch-catch configuration, includes powerful digital processing capabilities for real-time velocity profile calculation, and is fully programmable. Particular attention is paid to low-noise design for achieving the optimal performance in highly attenuating suspensions. An application is presented where the system, coupled to a non-invasive ultrasound sensor unit, performs in-line rheological measurements through the wall of a high-grade stainless steel pipe.