A sensing device for measuring physical properties of fluid medium uses fiber based cantilevers embedded in a cartridge. The cartridge may include: at least one fluidic channel, at least one light channel, at least one chamber located at the intersection of the fluidic channel and the light channel, and at least one light guide placed in the light channel. The light guide is at least partially contained in the respective chamber. The light guide has a movable section. The vibration of the movable section may be externally actuatable.

For measuring rheological properties of a liquid sample, the sample is attached to two sample attachment surfaces opposing each other in a pulling direction. The sample attachment surfaces and the liquid sample attached thereto are arranged in a field of view of a light microscope and imaged onto an electronic camera by means of an objective lens of the light microscope. One of the two sample attachment surfaces is pulled away from the other one in the pulling direction, while a plurality of images of the sample attachment surfaces and the sample attached thereto are registered with the camera. For different distances of the two sample attachment surfaces, both a diameter of the liquid sample in a middle between the two sample attachment surfaces and the respective distances of the two sample attachment surfaces are determined from the images registered with the electronic camera during the step of pulling.

Fluid properties like viscosity, yield strength, and density may be measured by analyzing fluid motion in response to disturbing the surface of the fluid. For example, a method may include disturbing a surface of a fluid in one or more locations, thereby forming a deformation and waves at the surface of the fluid for the one or more locations; imaging and measuring at least one selected from the group consisting of the deformation, the waves, and a combination thereof; and calculating a property of the fluid based on the at least one selected from the group consisting of the deformation, the waves, and a combination thereof, the property selected from the group consisting of viscosity, yield strength, density, and any combination thereof.

The present disclosure provides improved viscosity measuring assemblies, and related methods of use. More particularly, the present disclosure provides advantageous measuring assemblies configured to measure the viscosity of samples/fluids (e.g., opaque or transparent liquids) using microchannels. The present disclosure provides for a viscosity measuring assembly (e.g., hand-held electronic measuring assembly) that is configured to measure the viscosity of samples/fluids (e.g., opaque or transparent Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids, including blood, etc.), in a short period of time (e.g., within a couple of minutes) utilizing only about a droplet of fluid. The viscosity measuring assembly can include a substrate having a microchannel, a light source (e.g., a collimated low coherence light source), and a sensor (e.g., photodiode). The micro-channeled substrate may be disposable, and some of the other components may be reusable since they are substantially not directly exposed to the sample during operation of the viscosity measuring assembly.

Metal oxide gel particles, may be prepared with a desired particle size, by preparing a low-temperature aqueous metal nitrate solution containing hexamethylene tetramine as a feed solution; and causing the feed solution to flow through a first tube and exit the first tube as a first stream at a first flow rate, so as to contact a high-temperature nonaqueous drive fluid. The drive fluid flows through a second tube at a second flow rate. Shear between the first stream and the drive fluid breaks the first stream into particles of the metal nitrate solution, and decomposition of hexamethylene tetramine converts metal nitrate solution particles into metal oxide gel particles. A metal oxide gel particle size is measured optically, using a sensor device directed at a flow of metal oxide gel particles within the stream of drive fluid. The sensor device measures transmission of light absorbed by either the metal oxide gel particles or the drive fluid, so that transmission of light through the drive fluid changes for a period of time as a metal oxide gel particle passes the optical sensor. If a measured particle size is not about equal to a desired particle size, the particle size may be corrected by adjusting a ratio of the first flow rate to a total flow rate, where the total flow rate is the sum of the first and second flow rates.

An apparatus is provided for measuring the flow of powders and granular materials through orifices under dynamic conditions. The apparatus consists of a container for receiving a material sample to be investigated with one or more orifices, a means of moving the container to initiate flow in the material sample and to allow it to flow through the orifices in the container, and a means of measuring the amount of material flowing through the orifices. The amount and rate of material flowing through the orifices is a measure of the flowability of the material sample.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for analytical wettability assessment of fracturing proppants for improving fluid recovery are disclosed. Embodiments include determining, for a proppant sample, a first value related to an oil-wet index of the proppant sample. Embodiments further include determining, for the proppant sample, a second value related to a water-wet index of the proppant sample. Embodiments further include determining, for the proppant sample based on the first value and the second value, a third value related to a wettability index of the proppant sample. Embodiments further include determining, based on the third value, a wetting characteristic of the proppant sample. Other embodiments may be described.

Metal oxide gel particles, may be prepared with a desired particle size, by preparing a low-temperature aqueous metal nitrate solution containing hexamethylene tetramine as a feed solution; and causing the feed solution to flow through a first tube and exit the first tube as a first stream at a first flow rate, so as to contact a high-temperature nonaqueous drive fluid. The drive fluid flows through a second tube at a second flow rate. Shear between the first stream and the drive fluid breaks the first stream into particles of the metal nitrate solution, and decomposition of hexamethylene tetramine converts metal nitrate solution particles into metal oxide gel particles. A metal oxide gel particle size is measured optically, using a sensor device directed at a flow of metal oxide gel particles within the stream of drive fluid. The sensor device measures transmission of light absorbed by either the metal oxide gel particles or the drive fluid, so that transmission of light through the drive fluid changes for a period of time as a metal oxide gel particle passes the optical sensor. If a measured particle size is not about equal to a desired particle size, the particle size may be corrected by adjusting a ratio of the first flow rate to a total flow rate, where the total flow rate is the sum of the first and second flow rates.

A synthetic hydrogel is described, including hydrated mucin glycoproteins cross-linked with multi-arm thiol functional cross-linker, which can be prepared to model viscoelastic and micro-rheological properties of natural mucus. Such synthetic hydrogel can be prepared from a wide variety of mucin raw materials. Also described is a method of microrheologically characterizing mucus, by dispersing in the mucus muco-inert particles (MIP), irradiating the mucus containing MIP with polarized light, and measuring fluorescence polarization (FP) resulting from rotational diffusion of the MIP in the mucus in response to such irradiating, as a microrheological characteristic of the mucus. This method can be carried out using a plate reader equipped with a spectrofluorometer and polarized filter set, and therefore can be readily carried out in clinical settings without the necessity of specialized microrheological equipment.

The inventors discovered that viscosity of a protein solution can be estimated by measuring the apparent particle size or apparent molecular weight by a small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) method or X-ray solution scattering method, which enables measurement of small amounts of samples, and then correlating those measurement results with viscosity of the protein solution.