Publication Date:
2011-08-24
Description:
An acoustic sensor useful for the determination of the composition of a gaseous binary mixture in cryogenic liquid spills has been characterized. One version of the instrument traps a known mixture of helium and nitrogen at ambient temperature in a tube which is interrogated by sonic pulses to determine the speed of sound and hence the composition. Experimental data shows that this sensor is quite accurate. The second version uses two unconfined microphones which sense sound pulses. Experimental data acquired during mixing when liquid nitrogen is poured into a vessel of gaseous helium is presented. Data during transient cooling of the tubular sensor containing nitrogen when the sensor is dipped into liquid nitrogen and during transient warm-up when the sensor is withdrawn are also presented. This sensor is being developed for use in the mixing of liquid cryogens with gas evolution in the simulation of liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen explosion hazards.
Keywords:
INSTRUMENTATION AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Type:
In: Advances in cryogenic engineering. Vol. 37B - Proceedings of the 1991 Cryogenic Engineering Conference, Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, June 11-14, 1991 (A93-48578 20-37); p. 1453-1460.
Format:
text
