Thermodynamics Research Center / ThermoML | International Journal of Thermophysics

ABSTRACT

A newly designed experimental apparatus has been used to measure the speed of sound u in high-purity water on nine isotherms between 274 and 394K and at pressures up to 90MPa. The measurement technique is based on a traditional double-reflector pulse-echo method with a single piezoceramic transducer placed at unequal distances from two stainless steel reflectors. The transit times of acoustic pulse are measured at a high sampling rate by a digital oscilloscope. The distances between the transducer and the reflectors were obtained at ambient temperature and pressure by direct measurements with a coordinate measuring machine. The speeds of sound are subject to an overall estimated uncertainty 0.05 %. The acoustic data were combined with available values of density n and isobaric heat capacity cp along one isobar at atmospheric pressure to calculate the same quantities over the whole temperature and pressure range by means a numerical integration technique. These results were compared with those calculated from the IAPWS-95 formulation with corresponding relative deviations which are within 0.1%.