US 7,543,480 B2
System and method for ultrasonic measuring of particle properties
Steven A. Africk, Waban, Mass. (US); and Clark K. Colton, Newton, Mass. (US)
Assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. (US)
Filed on Nov. 14, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/272,032.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/627927, filed on Nov. 15, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0178581 A1, Aug. 10, 2006
Int. Cl. G01N 11/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 73—54.25  [600/440; 73/53.01; 73/54.24; 73/61.66; 73/61.71] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for measuring properties of particles in a suspension, the method comprising:
directing an ultrasonic signal having a number of identical single frequency tone bursts of at least 10 cycles toward the particles;
receiving a return signal backscattered from the particles; and
generating a high resolution power spectrum by processing the return signal to obtain properties of the particles;
wherein processing the return signal comprises estimating the energy contained in off-peak bins of the power spectrum, wherein off-peak bins represent frequencies altered from those of the tone bursts by Doppler frequency shifts due to velocity of the particles relative to a transducer and wherein estimating the energy comprises summing the power of plurality of off-peak bins.