Relationship between velocity profile and distribution of induced potential for an electromagnetic flow meter

This paper investigates the relationship between the induced electric potential and the velocity distribution of the conductive continuous phase in two-phase flows in pipes to which an electromagnetic field is applied, with a view to measuring the continuous phase velocity profile. In order to investigate the characteristics of an electromagnetic flow meter in multiphase flow, an alternating current electromagnetic flow meter was modelled using FEMLAB software. Using the model, electrodes could be placed at any position on the insulating internal surface of the flow meter to satisfy the requirement of measuring the induced potentials at specific locations at the boundary of the flow. The induced electric potential or potential differences from the electrodes were analysed for various simulated flow conditions. The numerical simulation results suggest that electromagnetic flow metering may be an effective novel method for measuring the axial velocity profile of the conducting continuous phase. Furthermore, when combined with the local volume fraction distribution of the continuous phase (obtained, for example, using Electrical Resistance Tomography, also known as ERT), it is expected that the measured continuous phase velocity profile would enable the volumetric flow rate of the continuous phase to be obtained.     

Measurement and control systems for an imaging electromagnetic flow metre

Electromagnetic flow metres based on the principles of Faraday's laws of induction have been used successfully in many industries. The conventional electromagnetic flow metre can measure the mean liquid velocity in axisymmetric single phase flows. However, in order to achieve velocity profile measurements in single phase flows with non-uniform velocity profiles, a novel imaging electromagnetic flow metre (IEF) has been developed which is described in this paper. The novel electromagnetic flow metre which is based on the ‘weight value’ theory to reconstruct velocity profiles is interfaced with a ‘Microrobotics VM1’ microcontroller as a stand-alone unit. The work undertaken in the paper demonstrates that an imaging electromagnetic flow metre for liquid velocity profile measurement is an instrument that is highly suited for control via a microcontroller.     

A two-phase flow meter for determining water and solids volumetric flow rates in stratified,inclined solids-in-water flows

This paper describes the design and implementation of a two-phase flow meter which can be used in solids-in-water two phase pipe flows to measure the in-situ volume fraction distributions of both phases, the velocity profiles of both phases and the volumetric flow rates for both phases. The system contains an Impedance Cross Correlation (ICC) device which is used in conjunction with an Electromagnetic Velocity Profiler (EVP). Experimental results were obtained for the water and solids velocity and volume fraction profiles in upward inclined flow at 30° to the vertical, in which highly non-uniform velocity and volume fraction profiles occur.     

管内螺旋导流板引发的气液两相旋流场

用数值模拟的方法研究某种螺旋导流板结构引发的管内气液两相旋流的流动特点。空气为主相,水为次相,入口为雾状流。研究旋转给流型转变、气液相分布、速度分布及旋流衰减带来的影响。发现雾状流在螺旋导流板的作用下,转变为环状流。螺旋导流板内有二次涡的生成,且二次涡结构不断发展变化,离心力分布不均匀而形成沿管壁周向不连续的液膜;流出螺旋导流板后,二次涡会衰减消失,流体做螺旋向前运动,液膜沿圆管周向逐渐分布均匀。管中心处气相切向速度小,气相切向速度较大的区域远离旋流中心区,旋流中心与圆管中心存在小的偏心距;与直管及螺旋纽带相比,螺旋导流板引发的气液两相旋流在圆管中心的气相轴向流速远高于光管和螺旋纽带;与螺旋纽带相比,螺旋导流板引发的旋流强度更大且衰减减慢。     

Analytical investigation of an inductive flow sensor with arc-shaped electrodes for water velocity measurement in two-phase flows

An inductive flow sensor with spot-shaped electrodes (IFS-SE) is sensitive to the shape of the flow profile and is restricted to be used to measure the flow rate of axisymmetric single-phase flows in a circular pipe. In many cases of application, it is not possible to provide a fully developed flow profile. Therefore, the inductive flow sensor has to cope with flow profiles that are not fully developed. To improve the accuracy, an inductive flow sensor with a pair of arc-shaped electrodes flush-mounted on the internal surface of an insulating section of a pipe is proposed in this article to investigate the characteristics of vertical gas-water two-phase flows. The effect of the flow profile on the inductive flow sensor is analyzed. A key contribution of the present work is to estimate the relationship between the induced voltage and the velocity of the conductive phase in two-phase flows. The estimation is achieved by the analytical calculation of magnetic-inductive equations through the method of variables separation. The analytical solution is compared with the results from an ideal model and from numerical simulation. Experiments are conducted to calibrate the inductive flow sensor with arc-shaped electrodes (IFS-AE). It is noted that the proposed IFS-AE can be adopted to obtain the velocity of the conductive phase in two-phase flows by measuring the voltage induced on the arc-shaped electrodes.     

阵列式静电-电容传感器灵敏度特性研究

结合静电和电容传感技术各自的特点,提出了阵列式静电-电容传感器用于气固两相流中固相颗粒的局部速度、局部浓度以及局部流量测量。利用静电极片阵列与电容极片阵列获取管道内颗粒的速度分布与浓度分布,进而计算出颗粒的局部流量。该阵列式传感器参数测量的准确性直接取决于它的空间灵敏度分布特性。对静电极片阵列和电容极片阵列的灵敏度特性进行了研究。首先,建立了静电极片阵列的三维静电场模型,通过有限元法分析静电极片阵列的结构参数(电极长度、电极覆盖角等)对传感器灵敏度特性的影响;然后根据电磁场理论建立电容极片阵列的数学模型,并对其进行数值计算,研究管道厚度、管道介电常数、电极覆盖角等参数对传感器灵敏度特性的影响;最后搭建了传动带装置进行了实验研究,实验结果证实了模拟结果的准确性,为阵列式静电-电容传感器的优化设计提供理论依据。     

Development of a flow meter for instantaneous flow rate measurements of anaesthetic liquids

An instrument has been developed for instantaneous flow rate measurements of anaesthetic liquids. For periodically time-varying flows, the instantaneous flow rate is reconstructed from the axial velocity time series measured on the centre-line of a pipe. The theoretical background for the method is given and it is demonstrated that fast variations of flow rate can be measured. The instrument is based on a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) to record the instantaneous velocity on the axis of a capillary; an ultraviolet laser permits velocity measurements with good signal-to-noise ratio from tracer particles in the submicrometer range present in anaesthetic liquids.     

Characterization of flow homogeneity downstream of a slotted orifice plate in a two-phase flow using electrical resistance tomography

Two-phase flows are complex and unpredictable in nature, commonly encountered in a majority of fluid transport systems. The accurate measurement of two-phase flow is critical for a wide range of applications from wet stream to multiphase flows. There are different methods to meter two-phase flow in various industries. One approach is to produce a flow meter that does not require the individual flow components to be separated and measured separately. This goal can be met if a homogenized mixture is produced which can be measured by a standard single phase flow meter. The slotted orifice plate was invented as a flow meter for single phase flows, it is independent upon upstream flow conditions. Slotted orifice plate flow meter's utilization in two-phase flow revealed that it is highly capable of working as a flow conditioner transforming most of the multiphase flow regimes into a fairly uniform mixture. This study measures how the relative homogeneity of an air/water mixture varies downstream of the slotted plate in a horizontal pipe for various upstream conditions including elongated bubble and slug flow regimes using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). According to this study, the optimal location with a maximum homogeneity was determined to be between 1.5 and 2.5 pipe diameters downstream of the slotted orifice plate. This indicates that placing a slotted orifice plate at the obtained distance upstream of another flow meter such as a venturi coupled with a density measuring device like a radiation based densitometer or an electrical impedance device will help in obtaining accurate multiphase flow rate measurement.     

Diagnostic flow metering using ultrasound tomography

For an accurate flow metering without considering the influences of flow control devices such as valves and elbows in closed conduits, velocity distribution in the cross-sectional area must be integrated. However, most flow meters, including multi-path ultrasonic, electromagnetic or Coriolis mass flow meters, require assumptions on the fully-developed turbulent flows to calculate flow rates from physical quantities of their own concern. Therefore, a long straight pipe has been a necessary element for accurate flow metering because the straight pipe can reduce flow disturbances caused by flow control devices. To reduce costs due to the installation of long straight pipes, another flow metering technique is required. For example, flow rates can be estimated by integrating velocity distributions in the crosssection of conduits. In the present study, ultrasound tomography was used to find the velocity distribution in the cross-section of a closed conduit where flow was disturbed by a Coriolis mass flow meter or a butterfly valve. A commercial multi-path ultrasonic flow meter was installed in the pipeline to measure the line-averaged velocity distribution in the pipe flow. The ultrasonic flow meter was rotated 180° at intervals of 10° to construct line-averaged velocity distributions in Radon space. Flow images were reconstructed by using a backprojection algorithm (inverse Radon transform). Flow diagnostic parameters were defined by calculating statistical moments, i.e., average, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis, based on the normalized velocity distribution. The flow diagnostic parameters were applied to flow images to find whether the parameters could discern flow disturbances in the reconstructed velocity distribution.     

Quantitative multiphase flow characterisation using an Earth's field NMR flow meter

We present a novel nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) multiphase flow metering system with the ability to interpret the flow regime and quantify both the liquid volumetric flowrate and holdup for gas-liquid flows. The flow measurement apparatus consists of a pre-polarising permanent magnet upstream of an Earth's field radio frequency NMR detection coil. In this work, the system is applied to measure the free induction decay (FID) NMR signal of gas-liquid flows at a range of flow rates in both the stratified and slug flow regimes. Tikhonov regularisation is applied to fit a model equation to the acquired FID signal in order to determine the relevant liquid velocity probability distribution. Signal interpretation applied to the individual NMR scans allows monitoring of both the liquid velocity and holdup with time. The NMR estimate of the liquid holdup is comparable to video analysis of the flowing stream through a transparent pipe section. The accuracy of the NMR metering system is successfully validated against an independent in-line rotameter measurement of the liquid volumetric flowrate during multiphase flow. Finally, analysis of the temporal variation in measured liquid flowrate is shown to clearly distinguish the stratified and slug flow regimes.     

Review of certain key issues in indirect measurements of the mass flow rate of solids in pneumatic conveying pipelines

On-line mass flow measurement of particulate solids in pneumatic conveying pipeline is a technically challenging area, where mass flow measurement presents a range of problems. These problems are not normally relevant to a single phase flow, but are always involved in gas–solids two-phase flows, like inhomogeneous distribution of solids over the pipe cross section, irregular velocity profiles, variations in particle size, moisture content, and deposition of fine particles on the inner wall of the pipeline. These variables may affect the response of a solids flow meter in ill-defined ways. All of these make the design and the calibration of solids’ mass flowmeter more difficult. Based on a review of non-invasive mass flow measurements of particulate solids, this paper summarizes and highlights several key issues, which often rely on structures of sensors or measurement methods, in indirect mass flow metering of pneumatically conveyed solids. They are: (i) spatial filtering effect; (ii) averaging effect; (iii) measurement resolution and sensitivity of array structures in tomography sensors.     

Ultrasonic speckle correlation imaging of 2D particle velocity profiles in multiphase flows

Two-dimensional ultrasonic speckle correlation velocimetry (USV) is a new technique that allows imaging of moving scattering media, at a high frame-rate. In this paper we apply the technique to determine two-dimensional particle velocity profiles of multiphase flows. Experiments are realized with suspensions of Sonazoid (medical contrast agent) and Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) in water. All measurements are performed in a vertical pipe with the flow moving downwards. The two-dimensional particle velocity profiles are then compared with a reference liquid volume flow velocity. As expected from theory, the heavier Magnetite particles have slightly higher velocity than the liquid, whereas the contrast agent simply follows the liquid motion.The proposed technique can be used in combination with other techniques to measure the mass flow of the solid phase, in solid/liquid multiphase flow. This is generally more interesting than measuring the bulk mass or volume flow.     

Determination of velocity and angular displacement of bubbly flows by means of wire-mesh sensors and correlation analysis

For the analysis of air–water bubbly flows in vertical pipes a method is presented which determines the radial profiles of velocity and angular displacement of the gaseous phase. Measurements rely on two so-called wire-mesh sensors, put into the flow behind each other and capturing the electrical conductivity distribution in the pipe cross-section at two different axial positions. The time-resolved signal is directly translated into transient two-dimensional distributions of the gaseous phase at both sensor positions. Sensor data analysis is based on two-dimensional cross-correlation within concentric cylindrical planes. The axial and angular displacement of the gaseous phase manifest themselves as the maximum position of the cross-correlation function.     

Ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter for visualization of axial flow fields in pipes

An ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter to provide quantitative images of axial flow fields in pipes is developed and presented in this work. To detect the flow in various directions and positions, a novel transducer configuration strategy is proposed. All-in-one transducers are mounted in two sectional planes of the pipe. In each plane, N transducers are equally spaced along the circumference. Overlapped propagation paths are introduced by the configuration strategy, and the influence of the vortex flow can be eliminated theoretically by averaging the line velocities of the overlapped paths. To achieve a fast detection speed, the projection data is collected via an electrical scan in a fan-beam mode. After rearrangement and interpolation of the projection data, the parallel beam filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the axial flow field. Numerical simulations with the theoretical velocity profiles were performed. The compensation method for the vortex flow is proved to be effective and necessary, and the number of transducers required for reconstruction of common flow profiles was estimated. Accordingly, an ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter consisting of 2×12 transducers was fabricated. Experiments were conducted in the straight pipe and downstream of a single bend pipe and compared with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. As demonstrated, the ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter was capable of visualizing both symmetric and asymmetric axial flow fields with high reliability.     

Experimental investigation of zero phase shift effects for Coriolis flowmeters due to pipe imperfections

Theoretical investigations of a single, straight, vibrating, fluid-conveying pipe have resulted in simple analytical expressions for the approximate prediction of the spatial shift in vibration phase. The expressions have lead to hypotheses for real Coriolis flowmeters (CFMs). To test these, the flexural vibrations of two bent, parallel, non-fluid-conveying pipes are studied experimentally, employing an industrial CFM. Special attention has been paid on the phase shift in the case of zero mass flow, i.e. the zero shift, caused by various imperfections to the “perfect” CFM, i.e. non-uniform pipe damping and mass, and on ambient temperature changes. Experimental observations confirm the hypothesis that asymmetry in the axial distribution of damping will induce zero shifts similar to the phase shifts due to fluid flow. Axially symmetrically distributed damping was observed to influence phase shift at an order of magnitude smaller than the primary effect of mass flow, while small added mass and ambient temperature changes induced zero shifts two orders of magnitude smaller than the phase shifts due to mass flow. The order of magnitude of the induced zero shifts indicates that non-uniform damping, added mass as well as temperature changes could be causes contributing to a time-varying measured zero shift, as observed with some commercial CFMs. The conducted experimental tests of the theoretically based hypotheses have shown that simple mathematical models and approximate analysis allow general conclusions, that may provide a direct insight, and help increasing the benefit of time consuming numerical simulations and laboratory experiments.     

Magnetic field effect on fluid flow characteristics in a pipe for laminar flow

The influence of a magnetic field on the skin friction factor of steady fully-developed laminar flow through a pipe was studied experimentally. A mathematical model was introduced and a finite difference scheme used to solve the governing equations in terms of vorticity-stream function. The model predictions agree favourably with experimental results. It is observed that the pressure drop varies in proportion to the square of the product of the magnetic field and the sine of the magnetic field angle. Also, the pressure drop is proportional to the flow rate. This situation is similar to what applies in the absence of a magnetic field. It is found that a transverse magnetic field changes the axial velocity profile from the parabolic to a relatively flat shape. At first, the radial velocity rises more rapidly and then gradually decreases along the pipe until falling to zero. A numerical correlation can be written for the considerable distance required for the new axial velocity profile to establish. Owing to the changes taking place in the axial velocity profile, it exhibits a higher skin friction factor. The new axial velocity profile asymptotically approaches its limit as the Hartmann number becomes large.     

Quality check of wire-mesh sensor measurements in a vertical air/water flow

Extensive measurements were executed for a vertical upward air/water flow to generate a high-quality database for the development and validation of CFD-Codes for two-phase flows (e.g. for models on bubble forces or on coalescence and break-up). Thereto, in a pipe with a nominal diameter of 200 mm, the wire-mesh sensor technology was used. The present paper aims on the assessment of uncertainty caused by the experimental procedure and especially global deviations arising from the use of the wire-mesh sensor technology. Special attention was paid to the plausibility and accuracy of the data regarding the evolution of the vertical multiphase flow. In the result, a clear and consistent trend regarding their evolution with increasing distance from the position of the gas injection was found. Comparisons of the trend of time and cross-section averaged gas volume fraction along the pipe height with the theoretically expected values were carried out. From the measured radial profiles of the void fraction and the velocity of the gas phase, the superficial gas velocity at the wire-mesh sensor is integrated over the cross-section and compared with the set value from the test matrix. Thus, a general uncertainty analysis of the sensor data is possible.     

Mass flow measurement of pneumatically conveyed solids using radiometric sensors

This paper describes the design and experimental evaluation of a novel radiometric instrumentation system that has been recently developed for the measurement of velocity, concentration and mass flow rate of solids in a pneumatic pipeline. The system employs a novel multi-beam, micro-sensing field interrogating the entire pipe cross-section to accommodate the irregularity of the solids velocity profile and inhomogeneity of the solids distribution within the pipeline. Experimental results obtained on a pneumatic conveyer circulating ilmenite powder demonstrate that the system is capable of detecting various velocity profiles and solids distributions across the pipe section and providing an absolute mass flow rate of solids within a good agreement to the reference reading from load cells.     

A two-dimension velocity field measurement method for the thermal smoke basing on the optical flow technology

The confine and heat are remarkable features in building fire research, as well as is a barrier for flow velocity profiles measurement, which the general method is unsuitable for this experimental environment. Therefore, this paper develops a measurement method for the acquisition of the thermal smoke flow velocity profiles in the fire building experiment. Firstly, we utilize the smoke itself particle distribution to replace the manual track particles in which reduce the complexity of the measurement method for fire experiments system. Secondly, we optimize the non-uniform distribution of smoke soot particle and utility the smoke stratification characteristics basing on the optical flow technology. The four optimized methods were compared to acquire reasonable smoke velocity distributions. Finally, we take advantage of filter post-process method to smooth the smoke velocity profiles in the main transportation direction. Moreover, a series of experiments and simulations show the feasibility of this image-based method in which the pre-process, optical calculation and smooth methods were established to denote reasonably the smoke flow velocity gradient and inclined upward trend nearby the corridor open. Meanwhile, it is not only in acquiring two-dimension smoke field velocity, while also can fulfill the other particle flow movement.     

Dual energy gamma tomography system for high pressure multiphase flow

For physical understanding and detailed modelling of multiphase flow in pipelines, the distributions of the individual phases are of significant importance. For this reason a dual energy gamma tomography system has been designed, constructed and commissioned at the Norsk Hydro multiphase flow laboratory in Porsgrunn. The system is designed for implementation in a high pressure–high temperature crude oil facility for measurements of the gas–oil–water distribution in a 3″ test pipe. Data from the dual energy system will serve as a basis for further mechanistic modelling of multiphase flow. The set-up uses a ¹³³Ba source along with a CdZnTe detector and a digital spectrum analyser to acquire gamma attenuation data for different chordal positions of the pipe cross section. Special attention has been paid to the transparency of the test pipe, to the choice of isotope and to the spectrum analysis for maximizing the signal to noise ratio. Raw data from the dual energy set-up is used as input to an image reconstruction computer program, and this paper presents three stationary commissioning experiments of the system using different fluid configurations in the pipe cross section. The results from these experiments are encouraging with respect to the overall performance of the system, and prove the ability of the system to resolve different flow configurations in the form of reconstructed tomograms of the pipe cross section.