Ultrasonic Doppler technique

Ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry is a nonintrusive technique that has been developed into a very useful technique for opaque liquid flows [3]. This technique provides good measurement of velocity new high-frequency techniques give a space resolution on the millimeter level, and even the large turbulent scales can be resolved. 

Acoustic/ultrasonic techniques that have been developed into flow-monitoring instruments are Doppler, cross-correlation, and transit-time methods. An ultrasonic Doppler flowmeter has been applied to single-phase turbulent flows and mixed-phase (solid/liquid or gas/liquid) flows. The crosscorrelation technique is mainly for mixed-phase flows, whereas the transit-time method has been applied to single-phase flows, either liquid or gas, in large pipes. 

The second technique measures solid movement at the base. The most successful of the attempts to use this approach have utilized an ultrasonic Doppler probe . This instrument works from outside the vessel and can be used therefore on industrial equipment. The reading and positioning needs to be calibrated and checked against visual observation on the small scale. Even then, there are certain question marks. If, for example, the solid suspends from an annular ring, which point of the annulus is the last from which suspension occurs Does the point move around the annulus on the large scale as it often does on the small ... 

The paper reports a noninvasive technique to measure the mechanical properties of the bulk soft tissues by a pulsed ultrasonic Doppler system. An ultrasonic transducer was used to measure internal displacement resulting from external acoustical perturbations. Measurements were made at four sites of 8 aboveknee residual limbs. The Young s moduli were found in a range of 53-141 kPa. Superficial tissue had a significantly higher modulus than the tissue beneath. 

Another technique for measuring velocity is the use of the Doppler effect - both of ultrasonic and electromagnetic radiation. In these applications there is a balance between obtaining a reflection from the particles and penetration into the particle stream. Due to the short wavelengths associated with Laser Doppler techniques the velocity measurement is localised however the penetration, in all but low-density applications, is limited. 

Laser Doppler Velocimeters. Laser Doppler flow meters have been developed to measure Hquid or gas velocities in both open and closed conduits. Velocity is measured by detecting the frequency shift in the light scattered by natural or added contaminant particles in the flow. Operation is conceptually analogous to the Doppler ultrasonic meters. Laser Doppler meters can be appHed to very low flows and have the advantage of sensing at a distance, without mechanical contact or interaction. The technique has greatest appHcation in open-flow studies such as the deterrnination of engine exhaust velocities and ship wake characteristics. 

Ultrasonic methods can also be applied to velocity measurements based on measurement of the Doppler shift in the frequency of an ultrasonic wave scattered from a moving particle. The angle between the velocity vector and the direction of ultrasound propagation must be known, which practically limits the appHcation of the technique to the measurement of unidirectional flows. However, this Hmitation may be overcome again by the use of an array of transducers [11]. 

The discussion above that led to Eqs. (4.2.6 and 4.2.7) assumes that the no-slip condition at the wall of the pipe holds. There is no such assumption in the theory for the spatially resolved measurements. We have recently used a different technique for spatially resolved measurements, ultrasonic pulsed Doppler velocimetry, to determine both the viscosity and wall slip velocity in a food suspension [2]. From a rheological standpoint, the theoretical underpinnings of the ultrasonic technique are the same as for the MRI technique. Flence, there is no reason in principle why MRI can not be used for similar measurements. 

Solid/liquid flows are commonly found in industrial processes to avoid flow obstruction, nonintrusive flowmeters are generally preferred. Flowmeters based on ultrasonic techniques are ideal nonintrusive instruments because, in most applications, the ultrasonic transducers are simply clamped on the outside pipe wall. In this section, we describe two ultrasonic flowmeters based on the Doppler and cross-correlation methods. Both require an inherent flow tag thus both are directly applicable to solid/liquid flows because of the presence of solid particles. Both flowmeters measure mainly particle velocity liquid-phase velocity, if different from the particle velocity, is not determined. 

In principle, the ultrasonic techniques described for solid-liquid flow measurement can be applied to measure air flow rate and particle velocity. Direct measurement of air flow rate by measuring upstream and downstream transit times has been demonstrated. But, the Doppler and cross-correlation techniques have never been applied to solid/gas flow because the attenuation of ultrasound in the air is high. Recent developments have shown that high-frequency (0.5-MHz) air-coupled transducers can be built and 0.5-MI Iz ultrasound can be transmitted through air for a distance of at least 1 in. Thus, the cross-correlation technique should be applicable to monitoring of solid/gas flow. Here, we present a new cross-correlation technique that does not require transmission of ultrasonic waves through the solid/gas flow. The new technique detects chiefly the noise that interacts with the acoustic field established within the pipe wall. Because noise may be related to particle concentration, as we discussed earlier, the noise-modulated sound field in the pipe wall may contain flow information that is related to the variation in particle concentration. Therefore, crosscorrelation of the noise modulation may yield a velocity-dependent correlation function. 

The specific, particle sizing method chosen depends on the type of. size information needed and the chemical and physical properties of the sample. In addition to the three techniques discussed here, molecular sieving, electrical conductance, microscopy, capillary hydrodynamic chromatography, light obscuration counting, field-flow fractionation, Doppler anemometry, and ultrasonic spectrometry-are commonly applied. Huch of the particle sizing methods has its advantages and drawbacks for particular samples and analyses. 

Janka HU, Standi E, Mehnert H. Peripheral vascular disease in diabetes mellitus and its relation to cardiovascular risk factors screening with Doppler ultrasonic technique. Diabetes Care 1980 3 207-213. 

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