Note: anti-strong-disturbance signal processing method of vortex flowmeter with two sensors

Some digital signal processing methods have been used to deal with the output signal of vortex flowmeter for extracting the flow rate frequency from the noisy output of vortex flow rate sensor and achieving the measurement of small flow rate. In applications, however, the power of noise is larger than that of flow rate sometimes. These strong disturbances are caused by pipe vibration mostly. Under this condition the previous digital signal processing methods will be unavailable. Therefore, an anti-strong-disturbance solution is studied for the vortex flowmeter with two sensors in this Note. In this solution, two piezoelectric sensors are installed in the vortex probe. One is called the flow rate sensor for measuring both the flow rate and vibration noise, and the other is called the vibration sensor for detecting the vibration noise and sensing the flow rate signal weakly at the same time. An anti-strong-disturbance signal processing method combining the frequency-domain substation algorithm with the frequency-variance calculation algorithm is proposed to identify the flow rate frequency. When the peak number of amplitude spectrum of the flow rate sensor is different from that of the vibration sensor, the frequency-domain subtraction algorithm will be adopted; when the peak number of amplitude spectrum of the flow rate sensor is the same as that of the vibration sensor, the frequency-variance calculation algorithm will be employed. The whole algorithm is implemented in real time by an ultralow power micro control unit (MCU) to meet requirements of process instrumentation. The experimental results show that this method can obtain the flow rate frequency correctly even if the power of the pipe vibration noise is larger than that of the vortex flow rate signal.     

Vortex flowmeter with enhanced turndown ratio based on high-frequency pressure sensors and improved convection velocity estimation

A novel vortex flowmeter by using pressure sensors and improved convection velocity estimation was proposed to extend the lower operation range of flowrate. The two sensors were mounted on the positions of 0.2D45° and 1.0D45° according to the signal strength and vortex wavelength criterion. The high-frequency pressure sensors were designed to acquire the undistorted signals of vortex-induced pressure fluctuation and further compute the vortex convection velocity. Aiming at the problem of multiple peaks in cross-correlation calculation, a modified transit time estimation technique combined with a moving-average-filter-based cross correlation function were introduced and verified by the tests. Then, the mean convection coefficient was obtained and the performance of the transit-time-based method was analyzed and compared with that of the frequency-based method. It indicated that the novel vortex flowmeter is robust at low Reynolds number range, which achieves a turndown ratio of 8:1 with an accuracy of ±2% in the Reynolds number range from 1.53×10⁴ to 1.23×10⁵. A remarkable improvement of turndown ratio is achieved compared to the original frequency-based method of 3:1. The proposed system of pressure sensors shows good prospect for the gas metering in small pipes due to the feature of non-invasion and sufficient high frequency response.     

差压式涡街质量流量计取压位置的研究

在涡街流量计中，流体通过涡街发生体后会产生压力损失及由旋涡引起的压力波动，根据这一特点，本文提出利用差压检测技术，通过单路差压传感器同时感受由涡街发生体引起的流体双重变化特性，测量流体质量流量的新方法。本文重点对差压检测取压位置进行研究，利用空气和水两种流体介质进行了一系列实验，得到不同取压位置的差压信号与流量关系，确定了能正确测量质量流量的差压取压位置。结果表明，该测量方法结构简单，是测量质量流量的有效方法。     

Influence of blockage and shape of a bluff body on the performance of vortex flowmeter with wall pressure measurement

Experimental and numerical investigations are carried out with various bluff body shapes to identify an appropriate shape which can be used for vortex flowmeter application. In both the cases vortex shedding frequency is inferred from the fluctuation of wall pressure. The numerical simulations are carried out with cylindrical and triangular bluff bodies to understand the vortex shedding phenomenon and to identify an appropriate turbulence model for this class of flows with wall pressure measurement. The simulations reveal that the k-ε RNG model predicts the Strouhal number closer to the experimental results than other models. The experimental investigations are carried out with several bluff body shapes, such as triangular, trapezoidal, conical, cylindrical and ring shapes, with water as the working medium. In this context, the effects of sampling rate, tap location and blockage effects are explored. The results suggest that the axisymmetric tapping is better than differential pressure tapping in terms of signal amplitude. The non-dimensional location of the static pressure tap is found to be 0.714 times diameter of pipe times blockage. The trapezoidal bluff body is found to be the best among all the bluff bodies investigated in terms of signal amplitude and constancy of Strouhal number. The vortex flowmeter performance is also measured under disturbed flow conditions created by using gate valve and bends. These results are significant because they provide an optimum bluff body shape and blockage, and also present the performance of vortex flow meter under disturbed flow conditions which is rather seldom reported in the literature.     

Influence of blockage and upstream disturbances on the performance of a vortex flowmeter with a trapezoidal bluff body

Experimental investigations are conducted on vortex flowmeter with the differential wall pressure measurement method. The bluff body employed is trapezoidal in shape and water is used as the working fluid. Three different blockages (0.14, 0.24 and 0.3) are considered in this study. The performance of the vortex flowmeter is studied both under fully developed condition and in the presence of flow disturbances. The flow disturbance is created using 45° swirl generator and gate valve placed at different upstream distances. The performance of the flowmeter is also evaluated in the presence of a Laws Vanes flow conditioner placed downstream of the swirl generator. The blockage ratio of 0.3 is found to be the best among all the blockages studied under both disturbed and undisturbed conditions.     

Mass flowmeter detecting fluctuations in lift generated by vortex shedding

Indirect measurement of mass flow rate has been widely used, combining volumetric flowmeters with the temperature and/or pressure compensation of fluid density. However, this approach has disadvantages, such as a complicated compensating algorithm, and is only applicable to ideal gases, except for highly pressurized and other gases. A flowmeter for direct measurement of mass flow is more suitable for overcoming the disadvantages of indirect measurement. The authors propose one approach to direct measurement using a vortex flowmeter. That is, Karman vortices are generated by a vortex shedder, and fluctuations in the lift and their frequency are detected by stress sensors built into the vortex shedder. The amount of lift is divided by the frequency to yield signals proportional to the mass flow rate. The proposed approach to sensing features simplicity both in principle and in sensor construction. Satisfactory results are obtained from applying this approach to water, air and other gases.     

A new approach to detection of vortices using ultrasound

The measurement principle of vortex flowmeter is based on von Karman vortex shedding phenomenon. Frequency of vortices, behind the bluff body, is proportional to the mean flow velocity. There are different ways of detection of vortices, and different sensors are used (presser sensors, capacitive sensors, thermo-resistance sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc.). Proposed method to vortex identification, presented in this paper is based on simultaneous detection of pair of vortices with opposite circulation, by means of two pairs of ultrasonic transducers. A beam of ultrasound, from ultrasonic transmitter to ultrasonic receiver is transmitted perpendicularly to the vortex street. The received ultrasonic signal is amplitude and phase modulated. Frequency of demodulated signal is equal to the frequency of vortices. This technique allows a number of advantages comparing to conventional solutions: reduction, or elimination of noises caused by installation vibration and disturbances in the flow, higher sensor sensitivity, which as a result leads to a possibility of a reduction of the bluff body size, i.e. reduction of the pressure drop on the flow meter, increase of the measurement range in the low flow region, the possibility of redundant operation of the flow meter, reduced measurement uncertainty, instrument technology improvements, improved reliability of the instrument, assured improved statement of complete uncertainty contributions, improved metrology of the equipment as such and calibration procedures that contribute to measuring capabilities etc. For experimental testing a prototype vortex flowmeter of a nominal inner diameter (ID) 50 mm is developed. A cylindrical bluff body for vortex shedding is used. Ultrasonic transducers based on piezo-crystal PZT-5A, inserted in the wall of the vortex meter casing are utilized. The testing of prototype ultrasonic vortex flowmeter is realized on the calibration station on the water. The results at the testing point to the possibility of measuring flow of liquid fluids at velocities less than 0.5 m/s, with an uncertainty better than ±1%.     

Computationally lean algorithm of novel optimal FIR adaptive filter for vortex signal extraction

In a vortex flowmeter vortices are generated by a bluff body, inserted in the path of flow, which has a piezoelectric sensor embedded in it. This piezosensor develops a signal having a fundamental frequency that is proportional to flow. The flow measurement relies completely on extraction of true vortex signal and estimation of the correct frequency. A novel adaptive FIR filter has been designed and implemented using low power computational resource (8.25 mW), which gives better results than an existing contemporary system when tested on an industrial flow rig. Further more a comparative study of autocorrelation, EMD Scales filter and proposed algorithm is carried on the good and bad vortex signals. From this comparative study it is seen that proposed algorithm is effective for bad vortex signals and low flowrates where vortex signals are weak.     

Response of a vortex flowmeter to impulsive vibrations

Experiments were performed to study the response of a vortex flowmeter to structural vibrations due to impulsive forces applied on the pipe. Vortex-shedding signals obtained by a piezoelectric sensor embedded in a vortex shedder were examined. Major findings are described as follows. First, by improving the design of the piezoelectric sensor, the sensor sensitivity to structural vibrations could be reduced. Specifically speaking, the noise component due to impulsive force with level up to 13.8 kN could be removed effectively from the output. Second, by applying repetitive impulsive forces on the pipe, characterized by a frequency greater than the vortex-shedding frequency, the quality of vortex-shedding signals measured was degraded substantially. This is explained as being due to suppression of vortex shedding, not a problem in conjunction with the characteristics of the sensor.     

Experimental verification and numerical simulation of a vortex flowmeter at low Reynolds numbers

This study presents experimental verification and numerical simulations of a vortex flow meter in the Reynolds number range between 8300 and 50,000. A custom-designed bluff body with a wedge back shape was used in the flowmeter. A shedding frequency of the flowmeter was measured in an air duct using a hot-film probe. To evaluate the accuracy of the flowmeter, a measurement uncertainty analysis was performed. Numerical simulations of the vortex flowmeter were performed with the open source code OpenFOAM. Transient simulations of periodic vortex shedding behind the bluff body were performed using different simulation methods depending on the pipe Reynolds number, such as Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) method. The simulated vortex shedding frequencies matched the experimental data very well. Experiments and simulations demonstrated a clear linear dependence of the shedding frequency on the volumetric flow rate over the entire range of Reynolds numbers. In addition, numerical simulations were used to study the main mechanisms of vortex formation and shedding behind the considered bluff body.     

A study of mass flow rate measurement based on the vortex shedding principle

Mass flow rate measurement is very important in the majority of industry processes because the mass of fluid is not affected by ambient temperature and pressure as the volume will be. Conventional mass flow rate is normally derived from the volumetric flow rate multiplied by fluid density. The density can be obtained by a densitometer or calculated according to the temperature and pressure measured by a thermometer and pressure gauge respectively. However the measurement accuracy is not always satisfactory. Flowmeters directly measuring mass flow rate have been studied and developed recently, such as Coriolis and thermal flowmeters. Unfortunately they still have some limits in practical applications. A new method in which mass flow rate can be directly measured based on the vortex shedding principle is presented in this paper. As a vortex flowmeter, von Kàrmàn vortex shedding is generated by a bluff body (vortex shedder), leading to a pressure drop and pressure fluctuation. A single differential pressure sensor is employed to detect the pressure difference between upstream and downstream sides of the vortex shedder. Both vortex shedding frequency and pressure drop are contained from the output signal of the differential pressure sensor, so that the mass flow rate can be obtained from the pressure signal. Numerical simulation has been done to analyze the characteristics of the fluid field and design the measurement device. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes Fluent were used in the numerical simulation. Experiments were carried out with water and gas, and the results show that this method is feasible and effective to measure the mass flow rate. This method has also robustness to disturbances such as pipe vibration and fluid turbulence.     

低雷诺数下涡街流量计线性度的试验

在DN25水流量标准装置上对装有梯形漩涡发生体的涡街流量计在低雷诺数下进行试验研究,利用数字信号处理方法(频谱分析方法)得到涡街脱落频率,较传统模拟信号处理方法在保证较好线性度的基础上,有效地扩展了测量下限。绘制雷诺数—仪表系数曲线,发现梯形发生体在低雷诺数下仪表系数K呈递减趋势,当Re>2 000时K趋于常数,这与圆柱发生体在低雷诺数时曲线递增的趋势截然相反。通过分析得知,管道内流速分布的影响、发生体形状的影响和流速与频率关系的影响是导致上述变化趋势的3个主要影响因素。     

Analysis of signals from vortex flowmeters

The vortex flowmeter is used to measure the flow of fluids especially where the requirements include wide rangeability and the use of flowmeters with no moving part. It is common knowledge that process conditions affect the operation of a vortex flowmeter, and a customary approach is to introduce flow conditioners so that the measurement output from a vortex flowmeter conforms to specified standards. Some recent studies have shown how to apply signal analysis to the signal from vortex flowmeters to enhance performance, but the signal which has been typically analysed is the pulse train. In this paper,we advocate a new approach which involves detailed analysis of the unconditioned signal from the sensor prior to conventional signal conditioning. The results obtained from this approach open opportunities for the development of alternative signal conditioners and transmitters which not only enhance the quality of the measurement output from a vortex flowmeter but also make it possible to use the flowmeter for monitoring the condition of the plant.     

基于经典谱估计改进方法的涡街流量计

针对涡街流量计高精度、高量程比的要求,在分析涡街信号及其噪声特点的基础上,提出一种采用自适应采样频率和Welch功率谱估计相结合的涡街信号分析处理方法。该方法首先使用经典功率谱估计的FFT算法计算出信号频率的区间范围,然后将信号通过相应截止频率的低通滤波器以防止发生混叠现象,采用信号抽取的方法降低采样频率从而减小频谱的最小频率分辨率,最后采用Welch功率谱估计的方法进行谱分析提高信噪比、减少谱失真。仿真及实验结果表明:所提出的涡街信号处理方法能有效地抑制噪声,实现高精度的功率谱计算,对于提升和改进涡街流量计的性能有良好的效果。     

高性能∑-ΔA/D转换器MAX1403在微功耗旋涡流量计中的应用

本文在旋涡流量计中采用MAX1403芯片进行温度、压力传感器的激励、信号放大和16位A/D转换,缩小了体积,提高了可靠性,满足了该流量计研制中低功耗、高精度的苛刻要求。     

基于IIR小波滤波器的涡街流量计数字信号处理系统

涡街流量计被广泛应用于过程工业,但是,由于易受由管道振动和流场扰动等因素干扰,现场测量精度无法保证,测量小流量困难。本文将小波滤波器组应用于涡街流量计信号处理中,研究基于小波滤波的涡街信号处理方法,分析了小波滤波器的幅频特性对信号分析的影响,构造了幅频特性好的IIR型小波滤波器组。本文研制了基于ADSP2181的涡街流量计数字信号处理系统,并进行了气体流量和水流量标定实验,实验结果表明,基于小波滤波的涡街流量计数字信号处理系统有良好的适配性能,性能指标优于常规的涡街流量计处理系统。     

基于信噪比的MEMS压力传感器设计与分析

为了研制高精度MEMS压阻式压力传感器,基于信噪比对其压敏结构进行了设计与分析.首先运用ANSYS有限元模拟仿真获得了不同压敏电阻结构芯片的应力分布,并对其噪声和信噪比进行了理论分析,发现在低频区闪烁噪声是传感器噪声的主要来源.仿真结果表明,芯片结构对其噪声、输出信号和信噪比均存在影响,增加压敏电阻折叠条数通常有助于获...     

一种新式差压流量计的设计与应用

该文分析了影响蒸汽流量准确计量的主要因素,介绍了传统的蒸汽流量计如孔板流量计和涡街流量计的使用局限性,详细介绍了一种基于皮托管原理的新式差压式流量计的设计原理、结构特点及其标定方法,通过实例给出了典型蒸汽工况下选择流量计的考虑因素,以及应用这种新式差压式流量计的选型和计算过程。     

基于EEMD-Hilbert谱的气液两相流钝体绕流流型识别

为了有效识别气液两相流的流型,以水和空气为实验介质,以涡街流量计为元件诱发钝体绕流,通过管壁差压法获取气液两相流钝体绕流的尾迹波动信号,采用集总经验模态分解对信号进行分解,通过Hilbert变换得到Hilbert边际谱,利用最大互相关系数法对固有模态函数进行筛选,选取特征固有模态函数能量比分别与体积含气率、两相雷诺数构建流型图。结果表明,构建的两类新流型图对单相水、泡状流、塞状流、弹状流等典型流型的识别率分别可达91.67%和88.89%,能较好地满足工程实际应用的需求。     

Numerical simulations and experimental studies on a target fluidic flowmeter

The aims of this work were to determine the flow characteristics of a target fluidic flowmeter by both experimental studies and numerical simulations, and thence to understand the flow phenomena in such a flowmeter. Experimental studies and numerical visualizations on the target flowmeter for water measurements are reported in this paper. Computational fluid dynamics using the software FLUENT were used in the numerical simulations and also to determine the best position to place the hot-film sensor for the detection of the maximum velocity oscillation signals in the flowmeter. The effect of the distance from the inlet nozzle to the target was studied. The flowmeter exhibited the least variations in the Strouhal number versus Reynolds number relationship when the ratio of the distance between the nozzle and target to the nozzle width (x₁/d) was 25.5 for Reynolds number greater than 500.