Abstract: Methods and systems for determining the amount of water in a high water cut crude petroleum flow stream exiting from a hydrocarbon well. Electrical property measurements such as permittivity measurements are collected with a microwave analyzer system as high water cut oil exits from a well. Collection is continued until the span of the measurements of at least one property reaches at least a characteristic pre-determined value. A heuristic salinity of the water phase of the crude oil can then be determined based on the span statistics and reference equations and/or reference data. The flow-weighted average water content of the oil can then be determined using the heuristic salinity to correct for salinity variation as the output of the well changes over time.

Abstract: Methods for determining and validating a first phase fraction of a gravitationally-separated multiphase fluid by conducting physical and electrical property measurements on samples of the fluid. The water content of crude petroleum oil is determined after the oil and water have begun to separate into phase layers such as occurs during un-agitated holding of the crude petroleum oil. A series of measurements of electrical properties such as permittivity and physical properties such as density is collected. The density minima can be used to generate hindsight determinations of average properties, such as the dry oil phase density, which in turn can be used to increase the accuracy of the water percentage in the oil determined by the permittivity and density methods. Flow weighted averages of water percentages by each method can be used to determine and validate the water content of the crude petroleum oil.

Abstract: Systems and methods for determining the fraction of a first phase of a multiphase fluid flow stream, such as the amount of water in crude petroleum oil flowing from a production well or container. An electrical property, such as permittivity, and a physical property, such as density, are used as the basis of the improved characterization. The method is particularly well-suited to reduce salinity-dependent uncertainties for wells experiencing high water cuts. A time series of measurements is collected, and the extrema of the observed values are used to generate a hindsight auto-calibration and correction to the other values using knowledge of the degree of uncertainty in the measurements caused by variable salinity and variable phase state of the multiphase fluid. The hindsight auto-calibration and corrections thus permit more accurate measurements of the instantaneous and the cumulative amounts of each phase in the multiphase fluid flow stream.

Abstract: Systems and methods for measuring the moisture and sediment content of a petroleum sample. In one embodiment, a sample to be tested is collected in a field bottle. The sample from the field bottle is then transferred from the field bottle, and into and through a measurement column containing a high-uptake gelling agent, such as a superabsorbent polymer. The sample's moisture is determined by measuring the expanded volume of the high-uptake gelling agent. The measurement column also contains a sediment measurement section having a sediment filter and a sight glass with graduations to measure the sediment content of the sample.

Abstract: Systems and methods for measuring the moisture and sediment content of a petroleum sample. In one embodiment, a sample to be tested is collected in a field bottle. The sample from the field bottle is then transferred from the field bottle, and into and through a measurement column containing a high-uptake gelling agent, such as a superabsorbent polymer. The sample's moisture is determined by measuring the expanded volume of the high-uptake gelling agent. The measurement column also contains a sediment measurement section having a sediment filter and a sight glass with graduations to measure the sediment content of the sample.

Abstract: Methods of correcting on-line analyzer measurements of the content of a first component, e.g., water, in a multiple-component fluid, e.g., petroleum, are provided. The first component content measurements in a flowing multiple-component fluid may be taken using an on-line analyzer. Mixture density measurements that correspond to the first component content measurements may also be taken using a densitometer. Next, an offset value for each first component content measurement may be calculated based on the following equations: if the first component content measurement is ? a predetermined content set point, offset=slope correction factor×(the corresponding mixture density measurement?a calibration density); and ??(a) if the first component content measurement is > the predetermined content set point, offset=the offset value calculated at the predetermined content set point. ??(b) The first component content measurements may then be corrected based on the respective offset values.

Abstract: Systems and methods for the on-site determination of water content in crude oil. The water content of crude oil is determined by mixing a sample of the crude oil with a fixed amount of molecular sieves. The electromagnetic characteristics of the molecular sieves upon mixing with the sample are then measured and used to determine the water content of the sample. This provides a simple approach to measuring the moisture content in crude oil that is extremely fast, accurate, and reproducible without the use of hazardous chemicals.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring an amount of constituent elements in a wet gas mixture, particularly of a wet gas containing petrol. As the wet gas is passed through a two stage measurement system, the total permittivity of the mixture and the amount of water in the mixture are determined. These data, combined with some assumptions about the system, permit calculation of the amount of petrol in the mixture.

Abstract: A load-pulled oscillator system in which the oscillator is switched between a distributed measurement section, coupled to a material being monitored, and a constant lumped reference load.

Abstract: High-sensitivity methods and systems for measuring small or trace concentrations of molecules of interest. A haptomeric material is positioned in contact with a fluid medium, and preferably within the peak E-field-volume of an electromagnetic probe. The haptomeric material will bind with high selectivity to the desired target substance (antigen), and the bound haptomer-antigen combination changes the observed dielectric properties, as seen from the electromagnetic probe. A load-pulled oscillator is the preferred detector configuration, but alternatively other electrical configurations can be used.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and probe devices for electronic monitoring and characterization using absorbent media confined by a metallic mesh. The mesh allows a stream of liquid or gas to pass through the structure, so that the media will adsorb the material to which it is specific. This changes the permittivity of the media in which the electromagnetic field is propagating. This change in permittivity can be seen through the use of classical microwave methods such as phase shift, amplitude changes, frequency changes in a cavity or the frequency of an unbuffered oscillator. Some embodiments use a two cylinder structure, where an outer cylinder contains a material which selectively removes a chemical which may be in conflict with or would contaminate the sensing of the desired chemical. This outer cylinder does not play a part in the measurement because it is outside the metal shield which contains the measurement adsorbent, and is thus outside the electromagnetic field.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and probe devices for electronic monitoring and characterization using single-ended coupling of a load-pulled oscillator to a system under test.

Abstract: A load-pulled oscillator circuit in which RF blocking on the power supply connections is achieved by an active stage rather than an inductor. This avoids the problems of temperature dependence, low-frequency oscillation, and backward tuning which can occur when using an inductor in a load-pulled oscillator.

Abstract: A process for monitoring the state of microcrystalline change of solid materials, by observing the frequency of a load-pull oscillator which is RF-coupled to the material under test (preferably by a simple single-ended RF probe). Areas where this technique is of particular interest are in monitoring the curing of shaped aerodynamic composite materials, and in monitoring the curing of concrete and cement compositions.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and probe devices for electronic monitoring and characterization using single-ended coupling of a load-pulled oscillator to a system under test.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and probe devices for electronic monitoring and characterization using single-ended coupling of a load-pulled oscillator to a system under test.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring conditions in a fluid medium. A stream of the fluid medium is flowed through a fluid container which is electrically configured as a transmission line segment and which is electrically connected to load to UHF or microwave oscillator. The oscillator is not isolated from the load, and is operated free-running, at a starting frequency which is chosen to provide a particularly strong shift in permittivity of the fluid medium, as the chemical reaction progresses. Preferably the frequency and insertion loss of the oscillator are monitored, to gauge the progress of the reaction.

Abstract: Marksmanship training apparatus is used with air guns or weapons firing blank cartridges and comprises a housing member with an attached muzzle alignment tube for insertion into the bore of the barrel of the weapon and includes sealing apparatus around the muzzle alignment tube to minimize leakage of gas between the bore and the muzzle alignment tube and to prevent the gas from pushing the muzzle alignment tube out of the bore. The housing member includes a switch which is activated by the gas to complete an electrical circuit positioned in the housing to cause light energy to be emitted from the housing member.