Theoretical and experimental investigation for developing a gas-liquid two-phase flow meter

Despite the intricacy, inline metering of two-phase flow has a significant impact in multitudinous applications including fusion reactors, oil, nuclear, and other cryogenic systems. Since measurement of individual flow rate is prominent in various systems, it warrants the establishment of a flow meter system that can monitor the mass flow rates of liquid. In this regard, an approach was taken towards the development of a two-phase flow meter system in the present study. The concept involves two-phase flow through narrow parallel rectangular channels resulting in laminar, stratified flow with a slope at the liquid-vapor interface. The height of the liquid column at specific channel locations is measured for determining the flow rate. However, the geometric configurations of the channels and fluid properties are pivotal in ensuring accurate measurement. Consequently, theoretical and experimental studies are performed to investigate the correspondence between flow rate and change in liquid height. Based on the governing equations, a theoretical model is established using MATLAB®. The model investigated the intricate influence of various flow and fluid properties in the estimation of the mass flow rate. The experimental investigation was done with various conditions under different liquid and vapor volume flow rates for validating the proposed supposition and the theoretical model. Both the theoretical and experimental analyses showed fair correspondence. The proposed system estimated the mass flow rate within a tolerance of ±10% and showed potential towards the development of the cryogenic two-phase flow meter.     

Measurements of the flow of supercritical pressure carbon dioxide through Venturi flow meter

The Venturi flow meter exhibits relatively low pressure loss, simple design, and low manufacturing costs. This study describes flow rates measurements for supercritical pressure CO₂ using the Venturi flow meter with pressure ranging 7.379–7.836 MPa and 5.84–7.272 MPa for in supercritical and gaseous regions, respectively. The flow rates of supercritical pressure CO₂ were accurately measured using a Venturi flow meter with a diameter ratio of 0.6468, having large and small diameters of 87.32 mm and 56.48 mm, respectively. The convergent and divergent angles were 21 $°$ ± 1 $°$ and 15 $°$ ± 1 $°$, respectively. The averaged discharge coefficient of 0.9975 was obtained, which was independent of the pressure ratio. Additionally, the expansion factors were also calculated using the experimental results, which ranged from 0.99976 to 0.99987 and 0.99945–0.99995 for the supercritical and gaseous regions, respectively. The experimental results showed that the Venturi flow meter had uncertainties ranging from 0.1 to 2.8%.     

Numerical simulations for multi-hole orifice flow meter

The measurement of flow rate is important in many industrial applications including rocket propellant stages. The orifice flow meter has the advantages of compact size and weight. However, the conventional single-hole orifice flow meter suffers from higher pressure drop due to lower discharge coefficient (Cd). This can be overcome by the use of multi-hole orifice flow meter. Flow characteristics of multi-hole orifice flow meters are determined both numerically and experimentally over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the flow in the single- and multi-hole orifice flow meters. Experiments are carried out to validate the CFD predictions. The discharge coefficients for the different orifice configurations are determined from the CFD simulations. It is observed that the pressure loss in the multi-hole orifice flow meter is significantly lower than that of single-hole orifice flow meter of identical flow area due to the early reattachment of flow in the case of the multi-hole orifice meter. The influence of different geometrical and flow parameters on discharge coefficient is also determined.     

Note: Ultrasonic liquid flow meter for small pipes

An ultrasonic flow meter for small pipes is presented. For metal pipe diameter smaller than 10 mm, clamp-on ultrasonic contrapropagation flow meters may encounter difficulties if cross talk or the short acoustic path contributes to large uncertainty in transit time measurement. Axial inline flow meters can avoid these problems, but they may introduce other problems if the transducer port is not properly positioned. Three types of pipe connecting tees are compared using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. CFD shows the 45° tee has more uniform velocity distribution over the measuring section. A prototype flow meter using the 45° tee was designed and tested. The zero flow experiment shows the flow meter has a maximum of 0.002 m∕s shift over 24 h. The flow meter is calibrated by only 1 meter factor. After calibration, inaccuracy lower than 0.1% of reading was achieved in the laboratory, for a measuring range from 15 to 150 g∕s (0.29 to 2.99 m∕s; Re = 2688 to 26,876).     

Novel mass air flow meter for automobile industry based on thermal flow microsensor. I. Analytical model and microsensor

An analytical model of the thermal flow sensor has been developed. The results of analytical model application are utilized to develop a thermal flow microsensor with optimal functional characteristics. The technology to manufacture the microsensor is described. A prototype of the microsensor suitable to be used in the mass air flow meter has been designed. The basic characteristics of the microsensor are presented.     

Performance evaluation of Coriolis mass flow meter in laminar flow regime

In many fluid flow applications, mass flow rate is preferred over volume flow rate, as it is more beneficial in terms of cost and material balance calculations. Coriolis mass flow meter (CMFM) is accepted widely for mass flow measurement owing to its accuracy and reliability. However, it has been found to under-read the mass flow rate in laminar flow region [1], thus limiting its application in this region. The secondary flow in the curved tube section influences the generated Coriolis force and leads to a deviation in meter readings. Commercial CMFMs are available with various curved tube configurations and need to be analyzed for their application in laminar region. This paper presents comprehensive experimental and numerical investigations performed to evaluate the influence of tube configuration and other meter parameters, such as drive frequency, amplitude of vibration, and sensor position, on the performance of the CMFM in laminar region. The findings of this study have put forth a suitable combination of tube configuration, drive frequency, and sensor position while using the CMFM in laminar flow regime.     

Multiphase flow measurements using coupled slotted orifice plate and swirl flow meter

Multiphase flow metering is a major focus for oil and gas industries. The performance of a modified version of a close coupled slotted orifice plate and swirl flow meter for multiphase flow was evaluated to provide further development of a new type of multiphase flow meter. The slotted orifice provides well homogenized flow for several pipe diameters downstream of the plate. This characteristic provides a homogeneous mixture at the inlet of the swirl meter for a wide range of gas volume fractions (GVF) and flow rates. In order to evaluate the performance of the designed flow-meter, its response was investigated for varying pressures and water flow rates. The proper correlations were established to provide high accurate two-phase flow measurements. The new proposed approach provides the GVF measurement with less than ±0.63% uncertainty for GVF range from 60% to 95%.     

电磁流量计的使用及电磁兼容性分析

介绍利用面板及智能终端进行电磁流量计参数设置和组态的方法,以及提高电磁流量计的电磁兼容性技术。电磁流量计的干扰源主要包括工频电磁干扰、流体电化学干扰噪声和电源干扰噪声。目前电磁流量计主要采用低频或双频矩形波励磁技术、同步采样技术、输入保护、接地技术等来降低干扰。实际应用表明,这些技术有较好的抗干扰效果。     

Dynamic analysis of Coriolis flow meter using Timoshenko beam element

Coriolis mass flow meter (CFM) is used to measure the rate of mass flow through a pipe conveying fluid. In the present work, the Coriolis effect produced in the pipe due to a lateral excitation is modeled using the finite element (FE) method in MATLAB©. The coupled equation of motion for the fluid and pipe is converted to FE equations by applying Galerkin technique. The pipe conveying fluid is excited at its fundamental natural frequency. The time lag observed between symmetrically located measurement points which are equidistant from the point of excitation, is utilized to predict the mass flow rate. The results predicted by the present code is validated using the experimental, and numerical results published in the literature. The main contribution is the development of a FE model, using three node Timoshenko beam element to analyse the dynamics of fluid conveying pipes subjected to external excitation. The direction of the Coriolis force is perpendicular to the plane containing the velocity of flow vector and angular velocity vector of the pipe. Hence a three dimensional FE model is essential. This model can include curved geometry, damping, velocity and gyroscopic effects for three dimensional flexible tubes. The reduced integration used for overcoming shear locking in two node elements, will result in the formation of spurious modes leading to an incorrect prediction of natural frequencies and velocity. These modes will not occur while using three node elements. Influence of spatial as well as temporal discretisation on the time lag and frequency are also discussed. The sensitivity analysis shows that the time lag varies linearly with the mass flow rate.     

基于ANSYS的电磁流量计建模研究

励磁系统是电磁流量计的关键部分,励磁方式和励磁参数的合理设置对电磁流量计的性能有重大影响.以前由?乏电磁流量计模型,开展相关研究非常困难,因此电磁流量计建模一直受到研究人员的关注.本文利用有限元方法建立?量计传感器场路耦合模型,根据有限元数值分析功能求解感应电势信号,模拟电磁流量计的动态性能.实验结果表明,模?真信号与理论波形近似,建立的模型有效.该模型可以作为研究励磁系统的辅助手段,提高研究效率.     

新型脉冲式热流计分析研究

现有热流计都需要流量计来计量流量.流量计很容易损坏并产生计量误差.为了解决这一问题,依据能量守恒提出了一种新型热量计,并对该装置的测量原理进行了理论分析和数值模拟,从而实现了只测量温差的情况下测出用户消耗的热量,摆脱了流量对测量结果的影响,从模拟和理论分析证明本方法能够较准确的计量热量值.     

Calculation of the virtual current in an electromagnetic flow meter with one bubble using 3D model

Based on the theory of electromagnetic induction flow measurement, the Laplace equation in a complicated three-dimensional (3D) domain is solved by an alternating method. Virtual current potentials are obtained for an electromagnetic flow meter with one spherical bubble inside. The solutions are used to investigate the effects of bubble size and bubble position on the virtual current. Comparisons are done among the cases of 2D and 3D models, and of point electrode and large electrode. The results show that the 2D model overestimates the effect, while large electrodes are least sensitive to the bubble. This paper offers fundamentals for the study of the behavior of an electromagnetic flow meter in multiphase flow. For application, the results provide a possible way to estimate errors of the flow meter caused by multiphase flow.     

发动机热膜式空气流量计设计与试验研究

针对目前国内船用双燃料发动机空气流量计设计较少以及模拟电路设计方案难以适用的问题,对流量计控制电路存在的缺陷以及非线性误差进行了研究,设计了一种基于MC9S08QD4单片机的发动机热膜式空气流量计.在充分利用芯片内部的硬件资源基础上,开发了热膜传感单元输出模拟信号采集、模/数转化以及流量信号输出控制等电路.同时,针对流量信号存在对环境温度交叉敏感等问题,采取了基于查表的自动标定方法和基于多项式拟合的误差补偿方法.对该设计进行了与标准流量计的性能对比试验和发动机不同工况下的性能对比试验.试验结果表明,该设计能有效减小的非线性误差影响以及减少工况变化对测量精度的影响,有利于实现空气流量计的自动化和智能化.     

Development of a turbine meter for two-phase flow measurement in vertical pipes

The performance of a turbine meter in two-phase (water/air) flow in a vertical pipe is assessed. If the single phase (water) meter factor is used in two-phase flow, the total (water and air) flowrate is found to be underpredicted. The error can be as much as 12.5% at a void fraction of 25%. A technique for using measurements of the fluctuations in the turbine meter rotor velocity to determine void fraction (= air flowrate/total flowrate) is described. A single meter is then used to measure, using this technique, both the water flowrate to an accuracy of ± 2% and void fraction to an accuracy of ±0.02.     

Calculation and measurement of the magnetic field in a large diameter electromagnetic flow meter

An idealized magnet model previously used in a simple coil configuration is applied to a more complicated engineering design problem, where an electromagnetic flow meter in diameter of 500 mm is used with five pairs of coils. The numerical results are compared with measurement data. The difference between theory and experiment and the possible causes of errors are discussed. It is shown that the idealized magnet model is practical for the design and the analysis of the flow meter. The work also shows that the traditional uniform field design based on two dimensional (2D) analysis is not suitable for this kind of flow meter. Thus nonuniform field and 3D analysis is needed.     

Sheathed probe thermal gas mass flow meter heat transfer analysis

The thermal gas mass flow meter is an important meter used in industrial measurement. When the environmental temperature changes, the measured gas physical parameters change correspondingly and the thermal gas mass flow meter output signal is affected, causing large measurement error. The influence of gas temperature on the sheathed probe measurements is analyzed in this paper based on experiments and heat transfer theory using a three dimensional probe and gas heat transfer mathematical model based on the heat conduction equation. The probe heat transfer process is analyzed under convection heat transfer coupling conditions. The experimental data were analyzed and compared against the theoretical results, with a maximum average relative error of only 4.56%. The rationality of the theoretical method is thus verified.     

The smart-orifice meter: a mini head meter for volume flow measurement

Differential pressure based flow meters generally consist of a flow restriction element which generates a differential pressure and a pressure transducer, externally piped to the restriction, which measures the flow related differential pressure. The smart-orifice mini head meter presented takes advantage of silicon technology by incorporating a differential pressure microsensor. In contrast to conventional head meters, it represents a single compact and economic device for general flow meter applications, in particular where small size is of concern. Computational fluid dynamics analyses were applied to develop a non-standard orifice design and prototypes of the smart-orifice were fabricated. The performance of the mini head meter in water flow measurement was determined in a computer supported test bench facility. It was compared to the results predicted by the simulation, as well as to a conventional head meter arrangement with externally mounted pressure transducer, including measurements with water at elevated temperature and different absolute line pressures. The results are very promising and verify the competitiveness of the smart-orifice as a mini head meter.     

A study of a pressure differential flow meter that is insensitive to inlet conditions

Orifice meters are a type of differential pressure flow meter widely used in industry and their behaviour is very well understood. The standard discharge coefficient can only be used if the flow approaching the meter is perfectly settled and fully developed. Thus the installation of these meters is subject to many constraints. Normally the required flow regime is established by the use of a combination of a flow conditioner and a settling length.

This paper describes the initial work carried out to show the concept of an orifice meter whose performance is independent of the inlet conditions by the introduction of a standard swirl before the meter. These results show that a swirler renders the measurements independent of the influence of upstream disturbance. This is for both a partial blockage in the pipe and also upstream swirl, and is likely to be universal.

A proposal for a new calibration equation is also made for the particular swirler employed. However, more data need to be acquired over a wide range of geometries, flow and operating conditions.     

The performance characteristics of a micro-machined Coriolis flow meter: An evaluation by simulation

Micro-machined Coriolis meters will enable measurement of very low flow rates (0.1–500 g/h) and, potentially, ultra-low flows (0.1–100 mg/h). Application areas include the delivery of medical drug infusions to patients, and a wide variety of micro-fluidic devices. An evaluation of the performance of two prototype micro-machined flow-tubes of differing shapes is reported, based upon results obtained from a virtual Coriolis meter. This tool comprises a finite element modelling capability which simulates the meter flow-tube in motion, with the flow represented simply as a continuous string, i.e. 1-dimensional and frictionless, and the model allows the generation of pseudo-data at points on the tube corresponding to sensor locations. Application of signal processing algorithms then enables the representation of an indicated flow time history output by a Coriolis meter in response to a prescribed input flow. Results indicate that the devices investigated were all highly linear and that meter sensitivity is independent of fluid density. One flow-tube shape confers higher stiffness than the other and, for both tube shapes, increasing wall thickness increases tube stiffness at a greater rate than the tube mass. Higher stiffness results in reduced meter sensitivity, but increased drive frequency (hence, faster dynamic response). The spatial averaging resulting from the use of ‘distributed’ internal sensors inevitably yields meter sensitivity values that are lower than the potential maximum value that might be achieved by use of ‘point’ sensors; however there are practical reasons why this latter approach would not work. The dynamic response to a flow step is essentially the same as found for macro-Coriolis meters.