ALBERT

Description: Method and apparatus for making measurements on fluids are disclosed, including the use of a capacitive probe for measuring the flow volume of a material within a flow stream. The capacitance probe has at least two elongate electrodes and, in a specific embodiment of the invention, has three parallel elongate electrodes with the center electrode being an extension of the center conductor of a co-axial cable. A conductance probe is also provided to provide more accurate flow volume data in response to conductivity of the material within the flow stream. A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for a gas flow stream through a micro-gravity environment that allows for monitoring a flow volume of a fluid sample, such as a urine sample, that is entrained within the gas flow stream.

Description: The invention is a method and apparatus for monitoring the presence, concentration, and the movement of fluids. It is based on utilizing electromagnetic measurements of the complex permittivity of the fluids for detecting and monitoring the fluid. More particularly the apparatus uses one or more microwave probes which are placed at the locations where the measurements are to be made. A radio frequency signal is transmitted to the probe and the reflected signal is phase and amplitude detected at a rapid rate for the purpose of identifying the fluids, based on their dielectric constant at the probe. The apparatus can be used for multiple purposes including measures of flow rates, turbulence, dispersion, fluid identification, and changes in flow conditions of multiple fluids or multiple states of a single fluid in a flowline or a holding container. The apparatus includes a probe consisting of two electrical conductors separated by an insulator. A radio frequency signal is communicated to the probe and is reflected back from the portion of the probe exposed to the fluid. The radio frequency signal also provides a reference signal. An oscillator generates a second signal which combined with each of the reference signal and the reflected signal to produce signals of lower frequencies to facilitate filtering and amplifying those signals. The two signals are then mixed in a detector to produce an output signal that is representative of the phase and amplitude change caused by the reflection of the signal at the probe exposed to the fluid. The detector may be a dual phase detector that provides two such output signals that are in phase quadrature. A phase shifter may be provided for selectively changing the phase of the reference signal to improve the sensitivity of at least one of the output signals for more accurate readings and/or for calibration purposes. The two outputs that are in quadrature with respect to each other may be simultaneously monitored to account for drift errors. The output signals are digitized and provided to a computer at a sample rate which may be very high. The computer is operable to identify the fluid based on its complex permittivity as may be useful for identifying the flow rates, determining the fluid mixture ratio, detecting impurities in the fluid, and so forth. Novelty is believed to reside in the use of the real part of complex permittivity to measure small difference in permittivity of the fluid.

Description: Method and apparatus for making measurements on fluids are disclosed, including the use of a capacitive probe for measuring the flow volume of a material within a flow stream. The capacitance probe has at least two elongate electrodes and, in a specific embodiment of the invention, has three parallel elongate electrodes with the center electrode being an extension of the center conductor of a co-axial cable. A conductance probe is also provided to provide more accurate flow volume data in response to conductivity of the material within the flow stream. A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for a gas flow stream through a microgravity environment that allows for monitoring a flow volume of a fluid sample, such as a urine sample, that is entrained within the gas flow stream.

Description: Method and apparatus for making measurements on fluids related to their complex permeability are disclosed. A microwave probe is provided for exposure to the fluids. The probe can be non-intrusive or can also be positioned at the location where measurements are to be made. The impedance of the probe is determined. in part. by the complex dielectric constant of the fluids at the probe. A radio frequency signal is transmitted to the probe and the reflected signal is phase and amplitude detected at a rapid rate for the purpose of identifying the fluids. Multiple probes may be selectively positioned to monitor the behavior of the fluids including their flow rate. Fluids may be identified as between two or more different fluids as well as multiple phases of the same fluid based on differences between their complex permittivities.

Description: An electronic instrument that could detect the potentially dangerous buildup of ice on an airplane wing is undergoing development. The instrument is based on a microwave transmission line configured as a capacitance probe: at selected spots, the transmission-line conductors are partly exposed to allow any ice and/or liquid water present at those spots to act as predominantly capacitive electrical loads on the transmission line. These loads change the input impedance of the transmission line, as measured at a suitable excitation frequency. Thus, it should be possible to infer the presence of ice and/or liquid water from measurements of the input impedance and/or electrical parameters related to the input impedance. The sensory transmission line is of the microstrip type and thus thin enough to be placed on an airplane wing without unduly disturbing airflow in flight. The sensory spots are small areas from which the upper layer of the microstrip has been removed to allow any liquid water or ice on the surface to reach the transmission line. The sensory spots are spaced at nominal open-circuit points, which are at intervals of a half wavelength (in the transmission line, not in air) at the excitation frequency. The excitation frequency used in the experiments has been 1 GHz, for which a half wavelength in the transmission line is .4 in. (.10 cm). The figure depicts a laboratory prototype of the instrument. The impedance-related quantities chosen for use in this version of the instrument are the magnitude and phase of the scattering parameter S11 as manifested in the in-phase (I ) and quadrature (Q) outputs of the phase detector. By careful layout of the transmission line (including the half-wavelength sensor spacing), one can ensure that the amplitude and phase of the input to the phase detector keep shifting in the same direction as ice forms on one or more of the sensor areas. Although only one transmission-line sensor strip is used in the laboratory version, in a practical application, it could be desirable to install multiple strips on different areas to detect localized icing. In that case, a multiplexer should be used to connect the various strips to the phase detector for sequential measurements. Experiments have been performed with freezing and thawing of water and of water/glycol mixtures. The experiments have shown that, whether or not glycol is present, it is possible to distinguish between liquid water and ice via the I and Q outputs; in particular, the equipment can be adjusted so that when water freezes, I decreases and Q increases. With respect to the operation of this instrument, the main effect of glycol is to increase the freezing or thawing time.

Description: Wheel-based sensors for detection of ice on roads and approximate measurement of the thickness of the ice are under development. These sensors could be used to alert drivers to hazardous local icing conditions in real time. In addition, local ice-thickness measurements by these sensors could serve as guidance for the minimum amount of sand and salt required to be dispensed locally onto road surfaces to ensure safety, thereby helping road crews to utilize their total supplies of sand and salt more efficiently. Like some aircraft wing-surface ice sensors described in a number of previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, the wheelbased ice sensors are based, variously, on measurements of changes in capacitance and/or in radio-frequency impedance as affected by ice on surfaces. In the case of ice on road surfaces, the measurable changes in capacitance and/or impedance are attributable to differences among the electric permittivities of air, ice, water, concrete, and soil. In addition, a related phenomenon that can be useful for distinguishing between ice and water is a specific transition in the permittivity of ice at a temperature- dependent frequency. This feature also provides a continuous calibration of the sensor to allow for changing road conditions. Several configurations of wheel-based ice sensors are under consideration. For example, in a simple two-electrode capacitor configuration, one of the electrodes would be a circumferential electrode within a tire, and the ground would be used as the second electrode. Optionally, the steel belts that are already standard parts of many tires could be used as the circumferential electrodes. In another example (see figure), multiple electrodes would be embedded in rubber between the steel belt and the outer tire surface. These electrodes would be excited in alternating polarities at one or more suitable audio or radio frequencies to provide nearly continuous monitoring of the road surface under the tire. In still another example, one or more microwave stripline(s) or coplanar waveguide(s) would be embedded in a tire near its outer surface; in comparison with lower-frequency capacitive devices, a device of this type could be more sensitive.

Description: This report describes the Orbiter Interface Unit (OIU) and the Early Communication System (ECOMM), which are systems of electronic hardware and software that serve as the primary communication links for the International Space Station (ISS). When a space shuttle is at or near the ISS during assembly and resupply missions, the OIU sends groundor crew-initiated commands from the space shuttle to the ISS and relays telemetry from the ISS to the space shuttle s payload data systems. The shuttle then forwards the telemetry to the ground. In the absence of a space shuttle, the ECOMM handles communications between the ISS and Johnson Space Center via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Innovative features described in the report include (1) a "smart data-buffering algorithm that helps to preserve synchronization (and thereby minimize loss) of telemetric data between the OIU and the space-shuttle payload data interleaver; (2) an ECOMM antenna-autotracking algorithm that selects whichever of two phased-array antennas gives the best TDRSS signal and electronically steers that antenna to track the TDRSS source; and (3) an ECOMM radiation-latchup controller, which detects an abrupt increase in current indicative of radiation-induced latchup and temporarily turns off power to clear the latchup, restoring power after the charge dissipates.