Structured methods for improving flow measurement accuracy in pipelines

Abstract

In the age of digital transformation of production processes in industry and science the development and design of intelligent flow sensors for granular and liquid substances transferring through pipelines becomes more important. With this in view new approaches for improving the accuracy of microwave flowmeters are proposed. Taking into account the characteristics ofelectromagnetic waves propagating through a pipeline, a wave scattered by inhomogeneities of the controlled medium is analyzed. Features of the transformation of the polarized scattered wave limiting the geometric dimensions of the pipeline and optimizing the values of the useful scattered signal are revealed. Expediency of collection of the information signal with orthogonal polarization of the scattered wave and through a directional coupler is substantiated. The method of estimating the measurement accuracy with reference to the signal-to-noise ratio at the input of the processing device is given. The research results can be used in cryogenic machine engineering to measure volume and mass flows of liquid cryogenic products.