Abstract
Ultrasonic flowmeters with a small or medium diameter are widely used in process industries. The flow field disturbance on acoustic propagation caused by a vortex near the transducer inside the sensor as well as the mechanism and details of flow-acoustic interaction are needed to strengthen research. For that reason, a new hybrid scheme is proposed; the theories of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), wave acoustics, and ray acoustics are used comprehensively by a new step-by-step method. The flow field with a vortex near the transducer, and its influence on sound propagation, receiving, and flowmeter performance are analyzed in depth. It was found that, firstly, the velocity and vortex intensity distribution were asymmetric on the sensor cross-section and acoustic path. Secondly, when passing through the vortex zone, the central ray trajectory was deflected significantly. The sound pressure on the central line of the sound path also changed. Thirdly, the pressure deviation becomes larger with as the flow velocity increases. The deviation was up to 17% for different velocity profiles in a range of 0.6 m/s to 53 m/s. Lastly, in comparison to the theoretical value, the relative deviation of the instrument coefficient for the velocity profile with a vortex near the transducer reached up to −17%. In addition, the rationality of the simulation was proved by experiments.
Highlights
Gas ultrasonic flowmeters with a small or medium diameter are widely used in natural gas metrology and process control areas
From the review of ultrasonic flowmeter done by Lynnworth [1], Rajita [2], and Lansing [3], the working mechanism inside the sensor is an interaction process between the flow field and sound propagation
The new “step-by-step approach” is introduced in detail. By using this approach, the flow field with a vortex near the transducer, and its influence on sound propagation, receiving, and flowmeter performance are analyzed in depth, as well as compared with the results from the U and T profiles
Summary
Gas ultrasonic flowmeters with a small or medium diameter are widely used in natural gas metrology and process control areas. A very important category of ultrasonic flowmeter is based on the principle of transit time difference. Flow velocity is calculated using the time difference between upstream and downstream. From the review of ultrasonic flowmeter done by Lynnworth [1], Rajita [2], and Lansing [3], the working mechanism inside the sensor is an interaction process between the flow field and sound propagation. The flowmeter performance is influenced by the flow-acoustic interaction process. The mechanism and details of flow-acoustic coupling are worth intensive study
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