Measurement services
The Thermophysics Laboratory offers a commercial measurement services to industry worldwide through the auspices of Imperial Consultants Ltd. We are equipped to carry out a wide range of physical-property measurements, including working with difficult fluids under extreme conditions of temperature and/or pressure, and we can often develop customised solutions for new and challenging problems. We welcome enquires and will be happy to discuss any measurement problems in the areas of thermophysical properties, thermodynamics and phase behaviour. All such work is undertaken to high standards and on a commercial in-confidence basis.
Different Techniques
Low Pressure
| Properties | Technique | Accuracy* | Temperatures | Pressures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isobaric Heat Capacity | Flow Calorimeter | 1% | -20 to 150 ºC | ambient |
| Kinematic viscosity | Ubbelode viscometer | 0.3% | -10 to 95 ºC | ambient |
| Liquid density | Pycnometer | 0.01% | -20 to 200 ºC | ambient |
| Vibrating-tube densimeter | 0.1% | 10 to 90 ºC | ambient | |
| LLE data | Composition Analysis | 0.1 mass % | 20 to 90 ºC | ambient |
| Vapour pressure | Ebullometry | 1% | -20 to 250 ºC | 10-6 to 1 bar |
|
*Typical measurement uncertainty |
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High Pressure
| Properties | Technique | Accuracy* | Temperatures | Pressures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Density | Vibrating-wire | 0.2% | -20 to 200 ºC | 1 to 2000 bar |
| Vibrating-tube densimeter | 0.1% | 10 to 200 ºC | 1 to 1400 bar | |
| Viscosity | Vibrating-wire viscometer | 2% | -20 to 200 ºC | 1 to 2000 bar |
| Phase Equilibrium | Analitic method with visualization | -20 to 150 ºC | 1 to 450 bar | |
| Gas solubility | Synthetic method | 30 to 200 ºC | 1 to 200 bar | |
| Speed of sound (gases) | Spherical resonator | 0.01% | -80 to 110 ºC | 0.1 to 200 bar |
| Speed of sound (liquids) | Ultrasonic pulse-echo | 0.05% | -20 to 200 ºC | 1 to 2000 bar |
| *Typical measurement uncertainty | ||||