A new developed velocity of sound measurement device for characterization of multi-component gas mixtures under...

Inline process control by measurement of velocity of sound of fluids is a direct and comprehensive technique [J. D. N. Cheeke and Z. Wang, "Acoustic wave gas sensors," Sens. Actuators B 59, 146-153 (1999); J. W. Grate, S. J. Martin, and R. M. White, "Acoustic wave microsensors," Anal. Chem. 65, 1868 (1993)]. Depending on the varying conditions of measuring fluid(s), temperatures and pressures, it is a challenging task to find the best possible acoustic setup. Taking this background into account, a velocity of sound measurement device for temperatures up to 475 K and pressures up to 24 MPa was designed and assembled that is to be used for testing different resonator types. Two bulk acoustic wave resonators out of the commonly used lead zirconatetitanate compound (PZT) were tested at different test fluids under temperatures up to 423.15 K and pressures up to 24 MPa [S. Gebhardt, L. Seffner, F. Schlenkirch, and A. Schönecker, "PZT thick films for sensor and actuator applications," J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 27, 4177-4180 (2007)]. Initially the pure gases methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium were measured, followed by multi-component gas mixtures. Beside methane-based binary and ternary gas mixtures, a quaternary gas mixture comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, and helium was analyzed. Results for all measurement fluids in a broad temperature and pressure range show a relative deviation to theoretical values derived from GERG-2008 smaller than 0.5%.