| abstract |
method for measuring the mass of a gas under pressure, using a piezoelectric oscillator, detector assembly, valve arrangement, gas cylinder to contain a gas under pressure, computer program product executable by a programmable processing apparatus, and storage media usable on computer. a method and apparatus for measuring the mass of a gas under pressure using a piezoelectric oscillator is presented. the gas is contained within a pressure vessel (100) having a fixed internal volume (v), and the piezoelectric oscillator (202) is immersed in the gas within the pressure vessel (100). the method comprises: a) using said piezoelectric oscillator (202) to measure the density of the gas inside the high pressure vessel (100); b) determining, by measuring the density and the internal volume (v) of said pressure vessel, the mass of the gas inside the pressure vessel (100). through the provision of this method, the actual content (ie, mass) of fluid in a pressure vessel, such as a cylinder, can be measured directly, without the need to compensate for factors such as temperature or compressibility. this allows a determination of mass, by directly obtaining the density of the gas in the cylinder, reducing the need for sensors or performing additional complex calculations. |