Long-path measurements of ultrasonic attenuation and velocity for very dilute slurries and liquids and detection of contaminates

The objective was to use multiple paths through the slurry to determine the lowest concentration that provided accurate attenuation measurements and to measure the velocity of sound through an effective long path. Ultrasonic attenuation measurements were obtained for slurries of silica (10 μm diameter) in water for concentrations of 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% silica by weight. Attenuation measurements for concentrations less than 0.1% may prove useful for process control to detect contaminants. A long path is obtained due to multiple reflections occurring within the stainless steel (SS) vessel used; broad-band transducers are affixed on the outside of the thick-walled vessel. The signal in the receive transducer permits the measurement of the attenuation and also the velocity by measuring the time-of-flight. The FFT of the appropriate signal for each echo was obtained and compared with that for water to yield the attenuation as a function of frequency. The attenuation measurements are self-calibrating because they are not affected by changes in the pulser voltage. The data show the feasibility for measuring a concentration of 0.025 wt% silica, which is equivalent to 0.25 g of silica in 1 l of water. Therefore, such measurements can prove useful for detecting contaminants in liquid. The velocity of sound measurements for solutions of hydrogen peroxide in water were obtained and accurate to about 0.3 m/s, or 0.02% uncertainty.