Simulation of Novel Thermal Mass Flow Meter

Abstract

Abstract For measuring the amount of flow of a fluid which goes through a conduit, there are several methods which can be used for this purpose like electromagnetic, thermal, and light methods. One of the useful methods and cost efficient one is using thermal technique to measure the flow. This paper presents a new device for measuring the flow of a fluid. This sensor can measure the amount of mass of the flow in variety velocities which a fluid can has. In this paper a 2-D thermal mass flow meter sensor has been introduced. The proposed sensor consists of two elements that can measure 0-45 m/s in accuracy of 0.01. The first part is heater and the second part is temperature sensor. Keywords Mass flow meter, Temperature sensor, Incompressible fluid dynamics, Heat transfer, COMSOL Multiphysics 1 INTRODUCTION There are two types of thermal mass flow meters in industry. Industrial thermal mass flow meters, also known as thermal dispersion comprise a family of instruments for measurement of total mass flow rate of a fluid, primarily gases, flowing through closed conduits. A second type is the capillary-tube type of thermal mass flow meter; capillary types are primarily used for smaller flows of clean gases or liquids in tubes. This type is most widely used for thermal mass flow meters in industry. Nevertheless, the capillary type is not the subject of this discussion but both types measure fluid mass flow rate by means of the heat convected from a heated surface to the flowing fluid. In the case of the thermal dispersion, or immersible, type of flow meter, the heat is transferred to the boundary layer of the fluid flowing over the heated surface. The fundamental law governing all heat transfer is the first law of thermodynamics [1], commonly referred to as the principle of conservation of energy. However, internal energy,