A dual phase-locked loop for vortex flow metering

Abstract

A vortex-shedding flow meter produces an approximately sinusoidal signal whose average frequency is proportional to volumetric flow rate. The frequency of vortex shedding varies over a large range (up to 1:100), depending on the size of the flow meter. The conventional frequency estimator uses a zero-crossing algorithm (ZC), but this approach fails at low flows, where the signal-to-noise ratio is poor. An alternative is to use a phase-locked loop (PLL), but typical single PLL designs cannot cope with a wide frequency range at high noise levels. This paper describes a dual PLL structure that can be used to track the vortex shedding frequency over the flow meter’s full range of operation. This dual PLL provides improved accuracy and tracking ability compared with the conventional zero-crossing algorithm.