CN108885129B - Method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter - Google Patents
Method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter Download PDFInfo
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- CN108885129B CN108885129B CN201680083458.5A CN201680083458A CN108885129B CN 108885129 B CN108885129 B CN 108885129B CN 201680083458 A CN201680083458 A CN 201680083458A CN 108885129 B CN108885129 B CN 108885129B
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01F1/00—Measuring the volume flow or mass flow of fluid or fluent solid material wherein the fluid passes through a meter in a continuous flow
- G01F1/66—Measuring the volume flow or mass flow of fluid or fluent solid material wherein the fluid passes through a meter in a continuous flow by measuring frequency, phase shift or propagation time of electromagnetic or other waves, e.g. using ultrasonic flowmeters
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter (1), comprising the steps of: generating a reference fingerprint comprising one or more initial system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter (1); and comparing the generated reference fingerprint with the same system parameter currently being measured when using the ultrasonic flow meter (1). According to the invention, reference digital samples of an initial ultrasound signal are generated in order to generate data of the reference fingerprint, the initial ultrasound signal is transmitted and received by the ultrasound flow meter (1), and the transmitted (Tx) and/or received (Rx) initial ultrasound signal is digitally sampled by the ultrasound flow meter (1) in order to obtain Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter, comprising the following steps: generating a reference fingerprint, the reference fingerprint comprising one or more initial system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter; and comparing the generated reference fingerprint to the same system parameters currently being measured when using the ultrasonic flowmeter. Furthermore, the invention relates to an ultrasonic flow meter adapted for performing the method for monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter.
Background
In an ultrasonic flow meter based on the transit time difference principle, the volumetric flow rate q through the meter is proportional to the time difference Δ t between the transit times of the ultrasonic signals transmitted upstream and downstream between a first transducer and a second transducer placed opposite in the flow tube, the acoustic velocity c and the overall sensor geometry constant K:
the quality of the flow measurement is therefore directly dependent on the accuracy of these three factors K, Δ t and c.
The constant K may be determined during production flow calibration and therefore need only be constant over time. K may include characteristics of the overall sensor geometry, preferably the transducer location, the acoustic beam pattern from the transducer, the acoustic reflector angle, the acoustic characteristics of the liner and fixture materials, or the geometry of the spool piece, flow liner and fixture.
C is often measured indirectly by a known relationship between the speed of sound c and the temperature of the flowing medium. Thus, the accuracy of c depends on the temperature sensor of the ultrasonic flow meter, the temperature measurement circuitry of the electronics of the ultrasonic flow meter, and the medium flowing through the ultrasonic flow meter.
The accuracy of the time difference measurement Δ t depends mainly on the time measurement circuitry in the electronic components of the ultrasonic flow meter.
To detect changes affecting K, Δ t, and c that may require recalibration or maintenance of the ultrasonic flow meter, it is known to use fingerprinting for ultrasonic flow meters. Thus, it is known to generate a reference fingerprint comprising one or more initial system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter; and when using an ultrasonic flowmeter, compare the generated reference fingerprint to the same system parameters that are currently being measured. This allows to provide a method by which it can be detected whether K or any measurement circuit for measuring time difference and temperature has changed over time and thus possible flow meter inaccuracies can be diagnosed.
Disclosure of Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter that allows for easy fingerprinting and monitoring of the ultrasonic flow meter.
The object of the invention is solved according to the method described in the opening paragraph by: the method comprises the following steps: reference digital samples of an initial ultrasound signal are generated in order to generate data of the reference fingerprint, the initial ultrasound signal is transmitted and received by the ultrasound flowmeter, and the transmitted (also called Tx) and/or received (also called Rx) initial ultrasound signal is digitally sampled by the ultrasound flowmeter in order to obtain Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively.
In this context, Tx and Rx refer to signals derived from the transducer signals and are not directly Tx and Rx signals across the two transducers.
The method according to the invention allows the use of an ultrasonic flow meter for self-monitoring. The method according to the invention allows to generate a reference fingerprint and to compare the reference fingerprint with current system parameters in order to monitor the ultrasonic flow meter function only by using measurement circuitry already comprised in the ultrasonic flow meter, thus without using any external device.
Preferably, the ultrasonic flow meter comprises a first ultrasonic transducer and a second ultrasonic transducer, the initial ultrasonic signal is transmitted between the first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer, and the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasonic signal is sampled by an analog-to-digital converter of the ultrasonic flow meter in order to obtain Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively. Preferably, the analog-to-digital converter is part of the electronic circuitry for extracting the transit time from the ultrasonic signal during use of the ultrasonic flow meter. Thus, the same analog-to-digital converter can be used for multiple purposes, allowing the ultrasonic flow meter to be easily monitored at lower cost. However, in some embodiments of the invention, separate analog-to-digital converters are provided in the ultrasonic flow meter to obtain the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, in addition to the analog-to-digital converter used to extract the transmission time. Preferably, the analog-to-digital converter used to obtain the reference digital samples is part of a microcontroller of the ultrasonic flow meter. Preferably, the initial ultrasound signal is sampled in one or more series of digital samples, each series having preferably the same sampling frequency, having a separate start time relative to the start of transmitting the ultrasound signal, and/or each series having a separate sampling frequency. This allows the use of an undersampled analog-to-digital converter to obtain oversampled resolution information extracted from the original ultrasound signal under conditions where the ultrasound signal is constant. Preferably, a plurality of series of digital samples are combined to digitally reconstruct the characteristics of the initial ultrasound signal, which should be stored in the reference fingerprint. Preferably, both the transmitted initial ultrasound signal and the received initial ultrasound signal are digitally sampled, and for each of the two, an initial digital sample is generated.
Preferably, the method includes the step of monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter geometry for changes using reference digital samples of Tx and/or Rx ultrasonic signals. The ultrasonic flow meter has a flow meter geometry described by a constant K that affects the calculation of the volumetric flow rate q through the ultrasonic flow meter, as explained previously. K includes the system characteristics of the ultrasonic flow meter geometry, preferably the transducer location, the acoustic beam pattern from the transducer, the acoustic reflector angle, the acoustic characteristics of the liner and fixture materials, the geometry of the spool piece, flow liner and fixture, and sometimes other system parameters. Monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter geometry using Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of the ultrasonic signal thus allows for the detection of time-dependent changes in the constant K, which may be indicative of flow meter inaccuracies. Thus, a change in the ultrasonic flow meter geometry, and thus a change in K, may cause a recalibration or repair of the ultrasonic flow meter. Thus, indirectly monitoring changes in ultrasonic flow meter geometry over time using Rx and/or Tx reference digital samples may provide an easy way to detect possible flow meter inaccuracies.
In a preferred method, the method comprises the steps of: the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of the initial ultrasonic signal are used to monitor the transit time measurement circuit and/or the temperature measurement circuit of the ultrasonic flow meter. Both electronic circuits provide information for calculating the flow rate q, as explained before. Monitoring of the complete temperature measurement may be accomplished by comparing transit times, e.g., calculated from the correlation between the Rx initial ultrasound signal and the Rx current ultrasound signal, as calculated from temperature, flow meter geometry, and known relationship between sound velocity and temperature. This therefore assumes that the speed of sound versus temperature relationship is known. The temperature measurement circuit itself can be checked by comparing the calibration reference measurement value of the temperature measurement circuit with the current calibration measurement value. Thus, by monitoring the time-dependent changes of one or both electronic circuits using Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of the initial ultrasound signal and comparing the characteristics of the initial ultrasound signal with the characteristics of the current ultrasound signal, it may allow for easy detection of a fault in each of the electronic circuits.
Preferably, the method comprises the steps of: the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples are included as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint and/or initial system parameters are derived from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples such that the derived initial system parameters are included in the reference fingerprint. When Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples are included in the reference fingerprint, it can later be determined which characteristics of the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasound signals will be compared with the characteristics of the current ultrasound signals, respectively, allowing great flexibility for monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter. When deriving initial system parameters from Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples to include the derived initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint, the amount of data to be stored may be reduced, thus allowing the complexity and cost of the fingerprint storage device of the ultrasonic flow meter to be reduced. In some embodiments, the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples are included as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint, and the initial system parameters are derived from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples and also included as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint. This allows great flexibility and also recovers the usual system parameters derived from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples in order to reduce the amount of computation required when comparing the reference fingerprint with the current ultrasound signal. However, in some embodiments, some of the initial system parameters included in the reference fingerprint are not derived from Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples. These initial system parameters may be added, for example, manually, or derived from other sources than the reference digital samples.
Preferably, the reference fingerprint includes as the initial system parameter one or more of measurement clock calibration data, temperature measurement circuit calibration data, time measurement circuit calibration data, measurement statistics, initial ultrasound signal amplitude, or initial zero crossing pattern. Such information may give detailed information about time-dependent changes of the ultrasonic flow meter. Preferably, the initial system parameters are derived from reference digital samples, most preferably ultrasound system parameters. Preferably, the other parameters are derived from other parts of the circuit.
Preferably, the method comprises the steps of: deriving an initial zero-crossing pattern from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and during use of the flow meter, comparing the initial zero-crossing pattern with a current zero-crossing pattern of the current ultrasound signal. As explained before, the initial zero-crossing pattern itself may be stored as an initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint after being derived numerically from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, or the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples may be stored in the reference fingerprint and the initial zero-crossing pattern of the initial ultrasound signal may be derived from the stored Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples later when the initial zero-crossing pattern should be compared with the current zero-crossing pattern of the current ultrasound signal. Thus, time-dependent changes in the zero-crossing pattern may be detected, and maintenance of the ultrasonic flow meter may be initiated accordingly upon request. As another initial system parameter, Tx and/or Rx signal slopes through zero crossings can be derived, stored and compared, and as explained above, mutatis mutandis.
Preferably, the method comprises the steps of: deriving initial signal amplitudes from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and during use of the flow meter, comparing the initial signal amplitude to a current signal amplitude of the current ultrasound signal. As explained before, the initial ultrasound signal amplitudes themselves may be stored as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint after being derived in numerical form from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, or the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples may be stored in the reference fingerprint and the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasound amplitudes may be later derived from the stored Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples when the initial ultrasound signal amplitudes should be compared with the current ultrasound signal amplitudes. Thus, time-dependent changes in the ultrasonic signal amplitude can be detected, and maintenance of the ultrasonic flow meter can be initiated accordingly.
A preferred method according to the invention comprises the steps of: deriving an initial envelope function from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and during use of the flow meter, comparing the initial envelope function to a current envelope function of the current ultrasound signal. In some embodiments, the Tx and/or Rx initial envelope functions themselves may be stored as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint after being derived in numerical form from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, or the Tx and/or Rx reference digital signals may be stored in the reference fingerprint, and the initial envelope functions of the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasound signals may be derived from the stored Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples later when the initial envelope functions should be compared with the current envelope functions of the current ultrasound signals. Thus, time-dependent changes in the ultrasonic signal envelope function can be detected, and maintenance of the ultrasonic flow meter can be initiated accordingly.
Preferably, the method comprises the steps of: deriving initial frequency content from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and comparing the initial frequency content to a current frequency content of the current ultrasonic signal during use of the flow meter. Preferably, the frequency content comprises the frequency of the received signal in numerical form. Here, the frequency content may for example refer to FFT or DTFT of the signal, possibly a data reduced version of this. The initial frequency content itself may be stored as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint after being derived from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, or the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples may be stored in the reference fingerprint and the initial frequency content may be derived from the stored Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples at a later time when the initial frequency content should be compared with the current frequency content of the current ultrasound signal. Thus, time-dependent changes in frequency content can be detected, and maintenance of the ultrasonic flow meter can be initiated accordingly.
A preferred method according to the invention comprises the steps of: the initial system parameter is compared to the current measured system parameter by one or more of correlation-based comparison, difference calculation, and ratio calculation. This allows easy comparison. All initial system parameters stored in the fingerprint may be compared in the same way with the corresponding current system parameters. However, in some embodiments, different comparison methods are used to compare different system parameters to each other. The comparison is preferably performed by the microprocessor of the ultrasonic flow meter. Preferably, the microprocessor also has the function of calculating the fluid flow through the flow meter. This allows the complexity of the ultrasonic flow meter to be reduced by using only a single microprocessor and thus allows the method to be easily implemented. However, in some embodiments, the fluid flow is calculated by an analog-to-digital converter of the ultrasonic flow meter that is separate from the microprocessor. This is preferred when the analog-to-digital converter is a high-speed analog-to-digital converter for oversampling the ultrasound signal.
Preferably, the method comprises the steps of: the reference fingerprint is stored in a local flow meter memory and/or in a remote data storage device via a network connection. The ultrasonic flow meter preferably has local flow meter memory, such as, for example, flash memory, EEPROM, or any type of non-volatile memory. However, in some embodiments the ultrasonic flow meter additionally or alternatively comprises a network connection to remotely store the reference fingerprint data in a remote data storage, preferably a cloud or server. In some embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: the reference fingerprint is stored in a local flow meter memory, and a backup of the reference fingerprint is stored in a remote data storage device via a network connection. This may allow a simple remote storage or backup solution to be provided for the reference fingerprint. In some embodiments, data may be retrieved from a local flow meter memory via a connected device (e.g., a PC or mobile phone). Also, the PC or mobile device may retrieve a reference fingerprint from a remote storage device via the PC's or mobile device's network connection so that the reference fingerprint may be compared with the current fingerprint retrieved from the device by the PC/mobile device.
Preferably, the reference fingerprint is generated during production and/or calibration of the ultrasonic flow meter. This may allow storing the reference fingerprint and monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter already during a production phase and/or a calibration phase of the ultrasonic flow meter. Thus, based on the reference fingerprint generated early, a simple long-term monitoring is made possible.
Furthermore, the problem of the present invention is solved by an ultrasonic flow meter adapted for performing the method according to the present invention. Having such an ultrasonic flow meter allows for easy monitoring of system parameters based on reference fingerprints including initial system parameters generated from Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasonic signals, respectively.
A preferred ultrasonic flow meter according to the invention comprises an analog-to-digital converter adapted for repeatedly generating a series Tx and/or Rx digital samples of the initial ultrasonic signal at preferably the same sampling frequency and/or at a separate sampling frequency for each digital sample, wherein for each digital sample there is a separate start time relative to the start of the signal transmission. Thus, the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasound signals may be multi-sampled, and thus even oversampled. Generating two or more series of digital samples and combining them to generate fingerprint data may allow the use of an undersampled analog-to-digital converter, but nevertheless allow the establishment of even an oversampled reference digital rendition of the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasound signals. However, the high speed analog to digital converter may also be provided by an ultrasonic flow meter. This may allow oversampling to be performed directly without multiple sampling.
Drawings
The invention will be described in more detail below by disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates an ultrasonic flow meter according to the present invention; and is
Fig. 2 shows a flow chart depicting an embodiment of the method according to the invention.
Detailed Description
The use of fingerprinting in ultrasonic flow meters is known in industrial flow meters, which typically include multiple acoustic paths. Fingerprints for these types of meters are typically application-dependent parameters and include various types of measurement statistics, such as:
1) flow profile (derived from multi-path measurements)
2) Flow profile symmetry (derived from multi-path measurements)
3) Speed of sound variation
4) Turbulent flow pattern of each path
5) Signal to noise ratio variation
6) Amplitude variation of signal
Variations in parameters using various measurement circuits and variations in transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) signal characteristics are not known. In addition, various measurement statistics may be included, such as signal amplitude, signal-to-noise ratio, and standard deviation of various measurements.
Fig. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an ultrasonic flow meter according to the present invention. The ultrasonic flow meter 1 comprises a spool piece 2 in which a flow liner 3 is housed. The flow liner 3 is arranged between the inflow opening 4 and the outflow opening 5 of the drum 2. The ultrasonic flow meter 1 further comprises reflector fixing means of the sound reflectors 6, 7. The sound reflectors 6, 7 establish a sound path (dashed line) between a first transducer 8 as an ultrasound transducer and a second transducer 9. The ultrasonic signal may be transmitted between the first ultrasonic transducer 8 and the second ultrasonic transducer 9. The transmitted (Tx) and received (Rx) ultrasonic signals may be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter (not shown) housed in the housing 10 that houses the electronic PCB 11. The analog-to-digital converter is adapted for generating Rx and Tx reference digital samples of Rx and Tx initial ultrasound signals for generating data of a reference fingerprint for the ultrasonic flow meter 1, the initial ultrasound signals being transmitted and received by the first transducer 8 and the second transducer 9, and the Rx initial ultrasound signals being digitally sampled by the analog-to-digital converter to obtain Rx reference digital samples, and the Tx initial ultrasound signals being digitally sampled by analog-to-digital to obtain Tx reference digital samples.
As explained before, the ultrasonic flow meter 1 is thus adapted to be self-monitoring, since no external devices need to be used to calibrate the various electronic circuits of the ultrasonic flow meter 1, or monitoring can also be performed upon request from a connected device. Although time-dependent changes in the system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter 1 may affect the accuracy of the flow measurement of the fluid flow from the inflow 4 to the outflow 5, the ultrasonic flow meter 1 is adapted to indirectly monitor the geometry of the ultrasonic flow meter, the transit time measurement circuit (not shown) stored in the housing 10, and changes in the temperature measurement circuit of the ultrasonic flow meter 1, the temperature sensor 12 of which is shown in fig. 1. Thus, the change in K can be monitored indirectly by monitoring the Rx and/or Tx current ultrasound signals. As described previously, C can be monitored by indirect measurement of temperature, and the quality of the Δ t measurement can be monitored by monitoring the calibration of the time measurement circuit and the clock calibration.
Fig. 2 now schematically shows a preferred method according to the invention. In a first step (S21), an initial ultrasound signal is transmitted. More specifically, in this embodiment, the first ultrasonic transducer 8 transmits a Tx initial ultrasonic signal to the second ultrasonic transducer 9. Accordingly, in the second step (S22), the second transducer 9 receives an Rx initial ultrasonic signal. In a third step (S23), Rx reference digital samples of the received Rx initial ultrasound signal are generated using the ultrasound flowmeter 1. More specifically, the analog-to-digital converter of the ultrasonic flow meter 1 generates Rx reference digital samples from the Rx initial ultrasonic signal. In this embodiment, the analog-to-digital converter generates two series of digital samples of the initial ultrasound signal, each series of samples having a separate sampling frequency and a separate start time relative to the start of transmitting the initial ultrasound signal. Thus, detailed Rx reference digital samples are generated. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, a high speed analog to digital converter is used that allows oversampling of the Rx initial ultrasound signal. In these embodiments, the Rx reference digital samples may be generated with a single series of digital samples that are very close to each other in time such that it allows digitally reconstructing the Rx initial ultrasound signal. In a fourth step (S24), data of a reference fingerprint of the ultrasonic flow meter 1 is generated from the Rx reference digital samples. In a first sub-step, not shown, Rx reference digital samples are included as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint. In a second sub-step, not shown, an initial zero-crossing pattern is derived from the Rx reference digital samples and included as a further initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint. In a third sub-step, not shown, an initial signal amplitude is derived from the Rx reference digital samples and included as a further initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint. In a fourth sub-step, not shown, measurement clock calibration data is included as a further initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint. In a fifth sub-step, not shown, an initial envelope function is derived from the Rx reference digital samples and included as another initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint. In a sixth sub-step, not shown, an initial frequency content containing the frequency of the initial ultrasound signal is derived from the Rx reference digital sample and included as another initial system parameter in the reference fingerprint. Deriving the initial system parameters is done by the same microprocessor that calculates the flow rate. Thus, in a fifth step (S25) of the method of the present invention, the above-mentioned initial system parameters are included in the reference fingerprint of the ultrasonic flow meter. In a sixth step of the method as shown in fig. 2, when using an ultrasound flowmeter, the generated reference fingerprint is compared to the same Rx system parameters currently being measured (S26). Thus, more specifically, each of the aforementioned initial system parameters is compared with the respective current system parameter of the Rx current ultrasound signal being received by the second ultrasound transducer 9. All initial system parameters included in the reference fingerprint are compared with the corresponding current system parameters by a difference calculation. When the difference between a pair of initial and current system parameters crosses a predetermined threshold, the ultrasonic flow meter 1 sends an alarm via the network connection to initiate maintenance on request.
In the present embodiment of the ultrasonic flow meter 1 and the implemented method, the ultrasonic flow meter 1 comprises a local flow meter memory (not shown) in the housing 10. The local flow meter memory is a flash memory (or any other type of non-volatile memory) that stores the reference fingerprint locally. The reference fingerprint is permanently stored in the production phase of the ultrasonic flow meter 1. An alternative embodiment (not shown) of the ultrasonic flow meter 1 comprises a network connection, e.g. a wireless network connection, for instead storing the reference fingerprint in a remote data storage device.
As can be seen, the present invention provides a method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter 1, the method comprising the steps of: generating a reference fingerprint comprising one or more initial system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter 1; and when using the ultrasonic flow meter 1, compare the generated reference fingerprint to the same system parameters that are currently being measured. By generating Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasonic signals, respectively, in order to generate data of reference fingerprints, monitoring the ultrasonic flow meter becomes very simple, since the initial ultrasonic signals are transmitted and received by the ultrasonic flow meter itself, and the transmitted (Tx) and/or received (Rx) initial ultrasonic signals are digitally sampled by the ultrasonic flow meter itself in order to obtain the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively. Therefore, no external device for monitoring is required. For example, in addition to or instead of generating Rx reference digital samples from the Rx initial ultrasound signal, Tx reference digital samples may be generated from the Tx initial ultrasound signal. Further, the reference digital samples may be generated from an initial ultrasound signal running from the first ultrasound transducer to the second ultrasound transducer or vice versa.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the described exemplary embodiments. For example, in addition to or instead of generating Rx reference digital samples from the Rx initial ultrasound signal, Tx reference digital samples may be generated from the Tx initial ultrasound signal. Further, the reference digital samples may be generated from an initial ultrasound signal running from the first ultrasound transducer to the second ultrasound transducer or vice versa.
Furthermore, in an embodiment not shown, at least 4 samples are initially generated: tx samples from both transducers and Rx samples from both transducers.
These at least 4 samples are typically sampled under zero flow conditions, but additional series of samples may be sampled at high flow rates for later reference. Each of the at least 4 series of sampled signals may be generated by one or more of the 2 different undersampling/interleaving methods or by direct oversampling by a high speed analog-to-digital converter.
Claims (15)
1. A method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter (1), the method comprising the steps of:
-generating a reference fingerprint comprising one or more initial system parameters of the ultrasonic flow meter (1); and
-comparing the generated reference fingerprint with the same system parameters currently being measured when using the ultrasonic flow meter (1),
the method is characterized by comprising the following steps:
-generating reference digital samples of an initial ultrasound signal at zero flow conditions in order to generate data of the reference fingerprint, the initial ultrasound signal being transmitted and received by the ultrasound flow meter (1) and the transmitted Tx and/or the received Rx initial ultrasound signal being digitally sampled by the ultrasound flow meter (1) in order to obtain Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively,
wherein the initial ultrasound signal is sampled in one or more series of digital samples, each series having a sampling frequency, having a separate start time relative to the start of transmitting the initial ultrasound signal, and/or each series having a separate sampling frequency.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the ultrasonic flow meter (1) comprises a first ultrasonic transducer and a second ultrasonic transducer, the initial ultrasonic signal being sent between the first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer, and the Tx and/or Rx initial ultrasonic signal being sampled by an analog-to-digital converter of the ultrasonic flow meter (1) in order to obtain the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples, respectively.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-monitoring the change in geometry of the ultrasonic flow meter (1) using the Tx and/or the Rx reference digital samples of the initial ultrasonic signal.
4. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-monitoring a transit time measurement circuit and/or a temperature measurement circuit of the ultrasonic flow meter (1) using the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples of the initial ultrasonic signal.
5. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-including the Tx and/or the Rx reference digital samples as initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint, and/or deriving initial system parameters from the Tx and/or the Rx reference digital samples, so as to include the derived initial system parameters in the reference fingerprint.
6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reference fingerprint includes as initial system parameters one or more of measurement clock calibration data, temperature measurement circuit calibration data, time measurement circuit calibration data, measurement statistics, initial ultrasound signal amplitude, initial zero crossing pattern, initial envelope function, or initial frequency content.
7. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-deriving an initial zero crossing pattern from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and
-comparing the initial zero-crossing pattern with a current zero-crossing pattern of a current ultrasound signal during use of the ultrasound flow meter (1).
8. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-deriving an initial signal amplitude from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and
-comparing the initial signal amplitude with a current signal amplitude of a current ultrasonic signal during use of the ultrasonic flow meter (1).
9. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-deriving an initial envelope function from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and
-comparing the initial envelope function with a current envelope function of a current ultrasound signal during use of the ultrasound flow meter (1).
10. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-deriving initial frequency content from the Tx and/or Rx reference digital samples; and
-comparing the initial frequency content with a current frequency content of a current ultrasonic signal during use of the ultrasonic flow meter (1).
11. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-comparing the initial system parameter with the currently measured system parameter by one or more of correlation-based comparison, difference calculation and ratio calculation.
12. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
-storing the reference fingerprint in a local flow meter memory and/or in a remote data storage via a network connection.
13. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reference fingerprint is generated during production and/or calibration of the ultrasonic flow meter (1).
14. An ultrasonic flow meter (1) adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.
15. The ultrasonic flow meter (1) according to claim 14, characterized in that the ultrasonic flow meter (1) comprises an analog-to-digital converter adapted for repeatedly generating a series of digital samples of the initial ultrasonic signal at the same sampling frequency and/or at a separate sampling frequency for each digital sample, wherein for each digital sample there is a separate start time relative to the start of the signal transmission.
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| PCT/EP2016/057168 WO2017167389A1 (en) | 2016-03-31 | 2016-03-31 | Method for monitoring an ultrasonic flow meter |
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2016
- 2016-03-31 CN CN201680083458.5A patent/CN108885129B/en active Active
- 2016-03-31 EP EP16711960.1A patent/EP3436787A1/en not_active Ceased
- 2016-03-31 WO PCT/EP2016/057168 patent/WO2017167389A1/en active Application Filing
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Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO2017167389A1 (en) | 2017-10-05 |
| CN108885129A (en) | 2018-11-23 |
| EP3436787A1 (en) | 2019-02-06 |
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