Abstract: A method is proposed for determining and evaluating melt flow index values (MFR values) of thermoplastic materials with the aid of a continuously operating on-line capillary rheometer. The pressure difference .DELTA.p between the inlet and the outlet of a measuring nozzle of the capillary rheometer is controlled such that MFR.sub.on-line =MFR.sub.lab, where MFR.sub.on-line is the melt flow index value that is determined on line, and MFR.sub.lab the melt flow index value that is determined under standardized laboratory conditions.

Abstract: The viscometer of the present invention comprises a chamber, and inside the chamber is secured a measuring tube and a falling piston. The piston has a lift plate secured to its top by means of a short small shaft. There are one or more lifting fingers, which operate through a defined distance large enough to raise the piston up and then drop back down to a base position thus leaving the piston free to fall by gravity to its lowermost position. However, the mechanical design is such that these fingers when lowered will not touch the actual piston itself. Mounted underneath the piston, when it is in its lowermost position, is a proximity switch that is used to sense when the piston is in its lowermost position. The time it takes to travel from its raised position to its lowermost position is a function of viscosity. The present invention combines the concept of a "falling member" with a compact bi-directional flow concept and an easily opened and cleaned measuring chamber.

Abstract: A method and system for determining the free cement content of concrete plant waste water held in a pit or tank P in which the temperature of the water in the pit or tank and the temperature of water in a reference pit or tank R.sub.1, is measured by thermocouples (T.sub.1, T.sub.2), the difference in temperature .DELTA.T determined and used to calculate an estimate of the free cement in the waste water whereby the reduced amount of cement to be used in a concrete batching process (without compromising the strength of the concrete product) can be determined.

Abstract: The present invention enables siloxanes which have a detrimental effect on the quality of products during semiconductor production to be efficiently removed from silicon compound gases, and enables minute amounts of siloxanes in these gases to be accurately measured to a few ppb, thus allowing for improvements in quality control by offering silicon compound gases of high purity. Diatomaceous earth M filled into a removal column 2 is heated by heating means provided on the removal column 2, while an inert gas such as nitrogen or helium is fed from an inert gas delivery pipe 13 via a pressure regulator 5 and an entry valve 6 into the removal column 2, and is allowed to flow out through an outlet valve 8 in order to thermally activate the diatomaceous earth M. After activation, the removal column is cooled to a temperature of 60-0.degree. C.

Abstract: A method and improved apparatus for detecting leaks in pressurized pipeline systems, which compensate for the thermally induced volume changes of the liquid in the line during a test that are produced by both the nonlinear changes in the mean temperature of the liquid and the pressure-induced perturbations of the temperature of the liquid.

Abstract: The invention provides a low-vacuum mass specrometer for use as gas analyzer, including a drift tube having a gas inlet and an ionization region at one end thereof, a power source for supplying the required high tension, a vacuum pump connectable to the drift tube to maintain a level of vacuum of up to 1 Torr, and a detector located at the other end of the drift tube, wherein the detector is a multisphere plate comprised of a multilayer arrangement of beads bonded together in a substantially close-packing order.

Abstract: The present invention discloses an apparatus and a method for detecting a gas leakage from a gas reactor by utilizing flow sensors mounted on and in fluid communication with a gas inlet conduit and a gas outlet conduit. The volume of gas flow through the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit are continuously monitored while the gas reactor is in its operating mode so that any gas leakage can be detected and the gas reactor can be shut off or bypassed in order to eliminate fire and safety hazards.

Abstract: A miniature chemical sensor using a thin film acoustic resonator coated with a chemically sensitive sorbent coating. The thin film acoustic resonator has electrodes separated by a thin piezoelectric layer and is supported by a multilayer resonant acoustic isolator. The resonant acoustic isolator has alternating layers of high and low acoustic impedance material, each layer being one quarter acoustic wavelength thick or an odd multiple thereof at the resonant frequency. The resonant acoustic isolator is solidly mounted on a substrate but provides acoustic isolation between the thin film acoustic resonator and the substrate at a resonant frequency.

Abstract: A device for leakage and pressure testing can bodies and can body-end closure combinations includes a can clamp assembly having an expandable resilient sealing ring over which an open end of a can body is slid. The can clamp assembly automatically draws the open end of the can body into a collar and then expands the resilient sealing ring outwardly to clamp and seal the can body in the assembly. Air is pumped into or drawn out of the can by an air passage formed through an actuating rod attached to the can clamp assembly for extending and retracting the sealing ring. For testing can bodies having no end closures, the device includes a second can clamp assembly which clamps and seals the other open end of the can body. A shaft attached to the second can clamp assembly is slidably and rotatably supported in an aperture of a support plate such that the can body is free to expand axially and to rotate about its axis during loading and testing of the can body.

Abstract: A method is proposed for the contiuous determination of gaseous oxidation products from industrial process, drinking and/or waste water, particularly for determining the TOC value, at least the organically bound carbon contained in a test solution to be investigated being oxidatively transformed and the gaseous oxidation products are supplied to a measuring unit, where at least the organically bound carbon is detected, the test solution being continuously pumped into a microreactor, where it is heated to a predetermined temperature and the organic compounds in the test solution are continuously oxidatively transformed under a temperature and pressure increased in a defined manner.

Abstract: A microfluidic analyzer module. The module is constructed of a plurality of channel forming laminate layers that are directly bonded together without adhesive or other possible contaminant source located proximate the flow channels. The channel forming laminate layers define a network of fluid flow channels. A valve containing layer is directly, adhesivelessly bonded over the channel containing layers. A flexible valve member integral with the valve layer opens and closes communication between feed and sensor channels of the channel network.

Abstract: A sensor system and method for measuring very low levels of a particular gas in an atmosphere which initially has high level of the gas. A pair of sensors of the particular gas are provided, one of which senses high levels of the particular gas and the other of which senses very low levels. The sensor which senses very low levels of the gas is not exposed to the atmosphere until the gas level has reached a low level, thereby enabling it to more quickly respond to further reduction in the gas.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a gas generating device that is equipped with a gas leakage detection and control system which includes a multiple number of gas generating units each equipped with flow sensors for detecting flow rates in and out of the unit and a unit controller. The gas generating device is controlled by a main controller so that when leakage in a generating unit is detected, the unit is shut off and bypassed while the outputs of the other generating units can be increased to make up the shortage such that such that the total output from the gas generating device is not affected. The present invention novel apparatus further provides the capability that any leakage in the piping system which connects the multiple number of generating units can be detected by using flow sensors installed in a main gas inlet and a main gas outlet such that the total gas flow rates coming in and going out can be continuously monitored.

Abstract: The invention relates to a gas sensor, preferably a lambda probe for determining pollutant and/or oxygen content in the exhaust of internal combustion engines or furnaces, with a metal housing that has mounting means for installing the gas sensor in an exhaust chamber, a ceramic part located inside the metal housing to receive a sensor support with sensor elements, one end of which projects into the exhaust chamber and whose other end is connectable with electrical terminals, characterized in that the ceramic part, in its area away from the exhaust, is secured by a positive connection in at least the radial direction in a metal housing and a sealing element is provided in an area of the ceramic part located downstream from the positive connection, said element being connected firstly with the outside wall of the ceramic part and secondly abutting a wall of the metal housing in a gas-tight manner.

Abstract: The proposed method of determining dew point involves directing the gas under investigation onto a cooled section of an optically transparent body through which a luminous flux is allowed to pass and recording fluctuations in the intensity of the luminous flux, the flow-rate of the gas thus directed onto the cooled section being reduced down to zero while its molecular diffusion is preserved. To limit the flow-rate of the gas impinging on the cooled section (1) and reduce contamination of the optically transparent element, the dew point gauge is provided with a sampling tube (10).

Abstract: A firmness measuring method and device for non-destructive testing of objects (such as fruits) is disclosed. The device comprises the following components: a means to affect the size and/or shape of the object(s) through application of a compressive force (such as increased liquid, fluid, or mechanical pressure); or an expansive force (such as decreased liquid, fluid, or mechanical pressure); a means to measure or infer the volumetric change of the object(s) caused by application of the force; and/or measurement of surface deformation; an analyzer to utilize the volume change and/or amount of deformation of the surface caused by the applied force to infer the firmness of the object(s); a controller to coordinate the application of force, the measurement of object(s) response and the inference of firmness or firmness. Inference of firmness may also use additional information on the object(s) such as harvest date, manufacture date, weight, variety, chemical concentration, or water content.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for detecting the presence of explosives by analyzing a vapor sample from the suspect vicinity utilize at least one microcantilever. Explosive gas molecules which have been adsorbed onto the microcantilever are subsequently heated to cause combustion. Heat, along with momentum transfer from combustion, causes bending and a transient resonance response of the microcantilever which may be detected by a laser diode which is focused on the microcantilever and a photodetector which detects deflection of the reflected laser beam caused by heat-induced deflection and resonance response of the microcantilever.

Abstract: The invention relates to a procedure for determining a quantity dependent on the rate of diffusion in the fibre wall for diffusion occurring through it, in which procedure a diffusible tracer is introduced into the fibres under measurement, the fibres are suspended in an aqueous phase and the tracer concentration is determined after a certain time has elapsed since the time of suspension of the fibres, and the quantity dependent on the rate of diffusion is calculated on the basis of the concentration and time.

Abstract: The invention relates to a countercurrent sniffing leak detector (1) with a mass spectrometer (3) as the detector, with a high-vacuum pump (4) or high-vacuum pump stage (14) through which flows a test gas in countercurrent, with a sniffing hose (7) connected to the outlet side of the high-vacuum pump, respectively high-vacuum pump stage, and with a choke maintaining the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure in the inlet region (8) of the sniffing hose (7) and the pressure in its outlet region (9); to improve the sensitivity and response time it is suggested that at least one segment of the sniffing hose (7), preferably the entire sniffing hose (7), is dimensioned such that the desired choking is achieved.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for determining total reactive sulfur in a crude oil or fraction thereof using a mass spectrometer or gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer. Selecting fragment ions characteristic of reactive sulfur species enables the quantitative determination of total reactive sulfur species. The use of a low resolution mass spectrometer allows the rapid determination of total reactive sulfur in field or remote locations where more sophisticated instruments are not available.