Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy of silicon carbide ceramics SiC‒AlN

The paper discusses the possibility of using resonant ultrasonic spectroscopy (RUS) as a source of information for the physics and technology of obtaining silicon carbide ceramics by the example of samples of the composition SiC ‒ 25 % AlN, obtained by the method of spark plasma sintering. The possibility of obtaining a complete set of elastic moduli (EM) of samples with an error of less than 1 % is shown. At the same time, the requirements for surface quality are significantly reduced. The revealed functional relationship between EM and porosity makes it possible to create a non-destructive method of porosity control and calculate the elastic moduli at zero porosity (i. e., the elastic modulus of the ceramic matrix EM0). Comparison of EM0 samples obtained at different parameters of the technological process allows determining their optima values..

Development of a Novel Ultrasonic Spectroscopy Method for Estimation of Viscosity Change during Milk Clotting

Ultrasonic testing is an emerging non-destructive testing technology with high repeatability and precision. Milk is a very complex liquid and the change of its viscosity is a highly relevant property throughout conversion into other dairy products. In the following paper, we propose a novel method for the monitoring of viscosity during enzymatic milk clotting by ultrasonic spectroscopy. An ultrasonic transducer–receiver couple with a 250 kHz nominal frequency was submerged in the samples and an enveloped sweep (“chirp”) signal was applied in a through-transmission mode. Simultaneously, the change in viscosity was measured with a rotational viscometer at a constant shearing speed. The data were analyzed with an algorithm developed by the authors for spectral ultrasonic testing. Estimations yielded a high adjusted R2 (0.963–0.998) and low cross-validated estimation error (RPD: 4.38–14.22), suggesting that the method is suitable for industrial use given the right instrumentation.

Comprehensive Analysis of Water Cut Metering Accuracies

Accurate oil production monitoring is essential for scheduling well work and optimizing the economic performance of primary and enhanced recovery projects. The significance of water cut monitoring accuracy on oil rate determination is discussed and illustrated. This paper provides a comprehensive uncertainty analysis of several water cut monitoring methods commonly employed by oil field operators. These include liquid sampling, capacitance, microwave, ultrasonic, spectroscopy and density methods. The basic operating principles of each monitoring method are described and measurement uncertainty analysis procedures are employed to identify key parameters that affect the overall accuracy of each water cut monitoring method. The analysis results provide useful accuracy assessments that can be used in water cut meter selection, field testing and implementation.