Condition monitoring of current media using a differential refractometer

A new design of a differential flow refractometer has been developed to monitor the condition of flowing media in a pipeline. A new method of refractive index measurement has been implemented, taking into account the specifics of flowing and closed cuvette arrangement, as well as the angles of incidence of laser radiation on their walls. The effect of changes in the optical density in the flowing liquid on the refractive index measurement result is determined. The results of experimental investigations of different media are presented.

Enhanced Refractive Index Sensing Performance Using Hydrothermally Prepared Tricomposite Nanoflower Structure of Ta2O5:Si:Graphite

We describe a tricomposite nanoflower structure based method to measure the trace amount of refractive index in aqueous solutions. It utilizes tantalum (v) oxide, silicon and graphite to fabricate the tricomposite nanostructures. The tricomposite nanoflower structures were prepared using hydrothermal method where the concentration of (x) of Si in Ta2O5 was varied while the concentration of graphite was kept constant. The concentration of Si in Ta2O5 was measured by Maxwell-Garnett model using volume filling factor 'f' (0≤f≤1) of Si in Ta2O5. The fabricated Ta2O5:Si:Graphite tricomposite nanoflower structures were characterized by SEM, XRD, UV-Vis, PL, FTIR characterization techniques. Then aqueous solution of varying refractive indices were prepared in the range 1.33-1.39 in the already prepared tricomposite nanoflower structure solution. The refractive index measurement were probed by measuring absorption spectra corresponding to each tricomposite nanoflower structures. The performance of the sensor was explored in terms of shift in peak absorption spectra, sensitivity and moreover the limit of detection. The sensor shows sensitivity and limit of detection of (156-260) nm/RIU and 5.14x10-3 RIU respectively. A linear declining of sensitivity was observed within the refractive index range. The sensor possesses a distinguished feature of using tricomposite nanoflower structure which is an efficient method for refractive index measurement.