METHOD OF MEASURING MOISTURE CONTENT OF THREE-COMPONENT MIXTURES FROM PRODUCING OIL WELLS USING PERMITTIVITY AND ELECTROCONDUCTIVITY AND DEVICE FOR REALISING SAID METHOD Russian patent published in 2010 - IPC G01N27/08 G01N22/04 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed moisture metre employs two operating principles: dielcometric method of measuring moisture content for oil and water mixtures when oil is the continuous phase and an electroconductivity method when water is the continuous phase. The dielcometric method involves probing the mixture under analysis with high-frequency electromagnetic waves in the operating frequency range of the cavity resonator of a radio-wave sensor, and the electroconductivity method uses the conductometric principle of measuring electrical conductivity using toroidal sensors. Consequently there are two operation modes and two graduations ("radio-wave" when the mixture has a continuous oil phase and "electroconductive" for a mixture with a continuous aqueous phase). The operation mode is selected automatically based on determination of the type of the mixture by analysing the value of the resonance frequency. The moisture metre consists of a probing unit which has high-frequency cavity resonator of the radio-wave type sensor, an electroconductive section with a temperature sensor and an electronic unit with a frequency synthesiser and a processor module which controls and calculates functions in accordance with an operating algorithm. When the device is used to measure moisture content of a mixture with fast change in electroconductivity of water - due to change in its salinity - an extra section in the probing unit is used, which separates the water component of the mixture and is fitted with a second sensor which measures electrical conductivity of water.

EFFECT: invention enables measurement of moisture content from 0 to 100% for any type of medium from a producing oil well and independence of readings of the moisture metre from presence of gas in the measured mixture.

4 cl, 10 dwg, 2 tbl