The measurement of the relative density of homogeneous fluids by means of an optical technique

Author

Hancke, Gerhard P.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Pretoria Univ., South Africa

Volume

41

Issue

6

fYear

1992

fDate

12/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1053

Lastpage

1056

Abstract

A transducer that uses an intensity-modulated optical method to measure the relative density of homogeneous fluids is described. An optical fiber is used in a special way as a refractometer, measuring index of refraction, which has a direct relationship with relative density. The method relies on the optical power loss exhibited by a fiber bent beyond a critical radius. For such a fiber the critical angle of reflection is a function of the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The latter will therefore determine the amount of leakage, which can be measured and related to the value of relative density

Keywords

density measurement; fibre optic sensors; refractive index measurement; refractometers; transducers; critical angle of reflection; homogeneous fluids; index of refraction; intensity-modulated optical method; leakage; optical power loss; refractometer; relative density; transducer; Density measurement; Optical fiber losses; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical modulation; Optical refraction; Optical sensors; Optical variables control; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Transducers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/19.199390

Filename

199390