Sandia Corporation

Mary A Mitchell

Stephen J Martin

Gregory C Frye

James J Wiczer

Richard W Cernosek

Charles T Gebert

Leonard Casaus

A pair of thickness-shear mode resonators, one smooth and one with a textured surface, allows fluid density and viscosity to be independently resolved. A textured surface, either randomly rough or regularly patterned, leads to trapping of liquid at the device surface. The synchronous motion of this trapped liquid with the oscillating device surface allows the device to weigh the liquid; this leads to an additional response that depends on liquid density. This additional response enables a pair of devices, one smooth and one textured, to independently resolve liquid density and viscosity; the difference in responses determines the density while the smooth device determines the density-viscosity product, and thus, the pair determines both density and viscosity.

Textured-surface quartz resonator fluid density and viscosity monitor

Quartz resonator fluid density and viscosity monitor

Growing community of inventors

Tijeras, NM, United States of America

Mary A Mitchell