An absolute instrument for determination of the speed of sound in water

Journal Article · Sun May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4949500· OSTI ID:22598046

Li, Zhiwei ^[1]; Zhu, Junchao; Zhang, Baofeng ^[2]; Li, Tao ^[3]

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1. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)
2. Tianjin Key Laboratory for Control Theory and Applications in Complicated Systems, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China)
3. Tianjin Entry-Exit Inspection Quarantine Bureau Technical Center for Safety of Industrial Products, Tianjin 300308 (China)

An apparatus for the absolute determination of the sound speed in water based on the time-of-flight technique is described. The time measurement is realized by hardware circuits and the distance measurement by a double-beam plane-mirror interferometer. A highly accurate time chip, with a resolution of approximately 90 ps, is employed for time measurements. The acoustic path length is adjustable and can be measured directly. Two transducers are used for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals without reflection. The transducers are immersed in a thermostatic vessel that maintains bath temperature with high stability. The speed of sound in pure water was measured at ambient pressure and at the temperatures 308 K, 303 K, 298 K, and 293 K. The achieved measurement uncertainties are 2 mK for temperature and 0.045 m/s for speed of sound. The results are compared to data from the literature, equation of state models, and measurements by two commercial sensors in the same experiment, showing excellent agreement among them.

• OSTI ID: 22598046
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 87, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
APPROXIMATIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EQUATIONS OF STATE
INTERFEROMETERS
LENGTH
MIRRORS
REFLECTION
SENSORS
SIGNALS
SOUND WAVES
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
TIME MEASUREMENT
TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD
TRANSDUCERS
VELOCITY
WATER