Ultrasonic system for the detection of transient liquid/gas interfaces using the pulse-echo technique

An ultrasonic method has been chosen to examine liquid/gas interfacial areas in closed systems. Although commercial equipment was used for the transducer and ultrasonic analyzer, commercial transient memory devices were inadequate. Consequently, a real-time data analysis and transient memory (DATM) unit was designed and constructed. A series of flight times for a succession of 1024 signals are calculated and recorded in the transient memory. The system clock operates at 10 MHz and increments a 12-bit binary counter. The counter is capable of measuring return signal times as long as 212 μs (4.096 ms) with a 1-μs resolution. The data are available as analog voltages for display on an oscilloscope or the digital data may be directly transferred to a microcomputer for analysis, display, or archival storage. The DATM device was successfully applied, collecting data for the analysis of rising bubbles in metallurgical systems and two-phase flow in horizontal tubes.