GB2159283A - Detecting fluid flow and determining the velocity of flow - Google Patents
Detecting fluid flow and determining the velocity of flow Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2159283A GB2159283A GB08512707A GB8512707A GB2159283A GB 2159283 A GB2159283 A GB 2159283A GB 08512707 A GB08512707 A GB 08512707A GB 8512707 A GB8512707 A GB 8512707A GB 2159283 A GB2159283 A GB 2159283A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- throttling
- flow
- drag
- detecting
- medium
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- 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
- G01F1/05—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 using mechanical effects
- G01F1/20—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 using mechanical effects by detection of dynamic effects of the flow
- G01F1/206—Measuring pressure, force or momentum of a fluid flow which is forced to change its direction
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01P—MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, OR SHOCK; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT
- G01P5/00—Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft
- G01P5/02—Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft by measuring forces exerted by the fluid on solid bodies, e.g. anemometer
- G01P5/06—Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft by measuring forces exerted by the fluid on solid bodies, e.g. anemometer using rotation of vanes
- G01P5/07—Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft by measuring forces exerted by the fluid on solid bodies, e.g. anemometer using rotation of vanes with electrical coupling to the indicating device
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- Measuring Volume Flow (AREA)
Abstract
A flowmeter includes a housing 7 containing rotatable vanes 2 resiliently connected to leaf springs 3 on which strain gauge pressure transducers 14 are mounted. The output signals of the transducers 14 are fed to an amplifier to obtain an output. Alternatively, an opto- electric switch can detect rotation and by means of a current output amplifier supplying a coil, the rotor can be effectively maintained in a stationary position, the current being a measure of the flow rate. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Apparatus and measurement process for detecting flow and determining the velocity of flow
The invention concerns apparatus and a measurement process in a non-rotary system for detecting the flow of a medium and/or determining the velocity of flow.
The flowing medium may be gaseous, or liquid or of any kind that may occur.
The invention may be widely utilised in industry, agriculture, meterology and in the management of water supplies and in scientific research activities relating to any of the foregoing; in fact, wherever it is required to detect the flow of some medium, either to prevent the flow or to assure its maintenance, and furthermore wherever the velocity of the flowing medium requires to be determined or measured.
Numerous solutions are known for determining the rate of flow. In one group of solutions, velocity detectors utilising rotary elements are employed. The rotary elements may be formed either as a paddle mechanism or as a rotary vane mechanism which will rotate under the effect of the flow at a number of revolutions (r.p.m.) which is porportional to the velocity of flow. In another type of solution, the detector is constituted by a pressure plate which can be displaced about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of flow, the plate being displaced by the throttle pressure exerted on its surface facing the flow against some weight or other restoring force.
The displacement or position of the detectors is transmitted by mechanical means to indicate instruments or forms pneumatic or electrical signals which can be evaluated either directly or after appropriate processing.
Hungarian published patent application
No.T/25356 discloses a solution belonging to the pressure plate group wherein the apparatus includes a throttling element which extends into the flowing medium, with its plane perpendicular to the direction of flow and which is secured to one end of a supporting device. At the other end of the supporting device is a strain gauge pressure transducer positioned on the external surface of a resiliently deformable part.
The apparatus disclosed in GB-PS 1,434,165 is based on the same principle and includes a throttling element secured to a resilient supporting element held in a closed lateral branch of the duct conveying the flow.
In the apparatus according to HU-PS 173,784, there is disclosed apparatus subject to the effect of the flowing medium and provided with displaceably mounted vanes which are expediently displaceable about mutually parallel or coaxial axes. An appropriate mechanism hinders, but does not prevent, the displacement of the vanes under the effect of the flowing medium.
It is a characteristic of ali the known apparatus that their construction is more or less intricate and therefore they are prone to faults and breakdowns, especially under difficult operational circumstances and thus they are less suitable for long-term reliable and continuous operational measurements. The known detectors, consisting of a predetermined number of throttling or drag elements, in given cases of only one throttle or drag element, can perform partial measurements only. The sensitivity of measurement, especially at low flow velocities, is not satisfactory.
The aims of the construction according to the invention are the elimination of the disadvantageous properties of conventional constructions and the provision of a flow detector/meter which is of simpler construction, of significantly greater measurement sensitivity, which will operate over a wide range of operational conditions, even in difficult circumstances in a reliable and fault-free manner, and which will detect the flow of a medium and/or measure the rate of flow by combining the principles of rotary element and pressure plate types.
Accordingly, the invention consists in apparatus for detecting the flow of a medium and/or for determining the rate of flow, comprising a stationary throttle system which is displaceable under the effect of the medium, transducer means for detecting forces exerted on the throttling system and for providing an output signal and if necessary, signal-amplifying and/or signal-transmitting and/or indicating and/or processing precording unit for the signals output by the transducers.
The apparatus according to the invention is characterised in that it has a casing, an interior space within the casing which is partly or wholly closed off from the flowing medium, throttling (or drag) element(s) fixed in the throttling system and expediently arranged outside the internal space so as to be balanced relative to an axis which corresponds to the direction of flow, and furthermore, including a resilient mounting for the throttling (or drag) element(s) and/or a compensating unit for wholly or partly compensating the force exerted on the throttling (or drag) element(s).
Advantageously, the throttling (or drag) elements(s) is/are connected to the interior space by way of a seal: in order to regulate the sensitivity of the apparatus, the plane of the throttling (or drag) element(s) may be adjusted relative to the direction of flow.
Expediently, the resilient mounting may be formed by leaf spring(s) extending between the throttling (or drag) element(s) and the throttling system, the balancing axis being disposed in the plane of the leaf spring(s).
In a further preferred embodiment, the compensating unit of the apparatus is a spring mechanism and/or a weight mechanism and/or an electromagnetic device.
The detecting transducer(s) and/or the compensating unit may be advantageously be arranged in the interior space, if necessary in an eiectrically insulated member.
The invention includes a process for detecting the flow of a medium and/or for determing the flow rate with a balanced, non-rotary throttling/drag system, characteristed by measuring the torque exerted by a component of the throttling or drag force of the flowing medium perpendicular to the balancing axis, or by measuring a (possibly resilient) change of shape generated by the torque.
The invention provides a solution based on the discovery that apparatus based on a combination of the rotary element type and the pressure plate type of device and including a balanced stationary throttling system displaceable under the effect of the flowing medium may expediently possess the advantageous properties of both types as well as further advantageous properties. The solution according to the invention increases the measurement sensitivity which is particularly advantageous for very low flow rates. In addition, the measurement range is also increased and may even be 1:100. The throttling or drag system may be formed of any desired number of throttling or drag elements of any desired size.
With the apparatus, the displacement of the throttling or drag system is scarcely detectable, and indeed when using a compensating unit, the displacement is practically fully eliminatable, i.e. in practice the apparatus uses a stationary throttle/drag system and one measures component of the torque at right-angles to the balancing axis caused by the throttling/drag force of the flowing medium, or the (possible resilient) change of shape created by the torque. In addition, the apparatus behaves as a rigid apparatus with regard to components of the throttling force in other directions and thus other deformations which might have influenced the measurement do not in practice arise. It follows from the balanced nature of the throttling/drag system that the accuracy of the measurement does not depend on the position of the apparatus during measurement.Should the balancing axis of the throttling/drag system deviate from the direction of flow, in given cases by as much as 1 5 to 20', the deviation or error in the measurement is only 2-3%, i.e. well within the error range of convetional measuring instruments.
A suitable preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, advantageously usable in underground mining, for detecting air flow, for the continuous measurement of the instantaneous values of the air flow rate and for recording or registering these values at points remote from the place of detection, in given cases above ground, is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, and purely by way of example, wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section of the apparatus, and
Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along the plane indicated by the line ll-ll.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the illustrated apparatus has a throttling system 1 including four throttling (or drag) elements 2 which are connected by a resilient connection 3 provided by leaf springs to the base 5 of the throttling system 1. The flat faces of the leaf springs are provided at the vicinity of their connection with the respective strain gauge transducers which, connected in suitable circuitry, together to form the detecting signal output device 14 of the apparatus. The resilient mounting 3, the leaf springs, the base 5 and the detecting signal output device 14 are all disposed in the interior space 8 of the housing 7, in a sealed manner which cannot be seen in Fig. 1. The base 5 of the throttling system 1 is rigidly connected to the housing 7.The housing 7 is connected via intermediate pieces 10 to the casing 11 of the apparatus by way of which the apparatus may be rigidly suspended at a desired height, e.g. in a mine road, and oriented in accordance with the direction of flow. The apparatus further includes an air baffle 1 2 arranged on the side of the throttling system 1 which includes the throttle (or drag) elements 2 as well a further air baffle element 1 3 on the opposite side, for measurement from that direction.
The balancing (equilibrium) axis 9 of the throttling system 1 coincides in the illustrated embodiment with the axis of symmetry of the throttling system 1 of the whole apparatus.
The output device 1 4 consisting of the strain gauge pressure transducers are connected to a non-illustrated registration/recording unit consisting of an amplifier, signal transmitter, indicating device and possibly a signal process device.
The appartus described above functions as follows:
The flowing medium, e.g. air, collides with the throttling (or drag) elements 2; as a consequence of the collision, the direction of the air flow changes and so does the impulse of the flowing air. The colliding stream of air loads the throttling (or drag) elements 2 with a force corresponding to the direction of flow. One component of this force is parallel to the balancing axis 9 and consequently imparts to the throttling/drag system 1 a torque of given magnitude. The other component(s) of the force do not produce a disturbing change of shape for the resilient mounting 3.
Under the effect of the torque, the leaf springs are resiiently deformed and this change of shape produces an appropriate output signal on the output device 14.
The output signal of the detecting output device 14 is passed to an amplifier of suitable gain which amplifies the signal to the required level. This signal may be made to appear on any desired indicating device, analog or digital, and it may be fed to a registration/recording device. The appropriately amplified signal may also be transmitted to a greater distance for other data or signal processing, thus for instance it may be passed to a remote control system and/or may be processed by a computer. In the illustrated example, the compensating unit is not shown.
A purely exemplary embodiment of the compensating unit, which is not illustrated in the drawing, is described in the following:
In given cases the compensting unit may be a moving coil connected to the throttling/drag system 1. As a consequence of the torque exerted on the throttling/drag system 1, the moving coil also seeks to turn. By means of a suitable detector, e.g. an optical detector provided with light-emitting diodes, phototransistors, photoresistors etc., an output signal may be produced which in the required angular range is expediently a monotonous constant function of the angular displacement. This output signal is then fed on to an electronic amplifier of suitably high gain, the amplifier output being of the current generator type.If this output current is fed in the appropriate phase to the moving coil, then the force on the moving coil urges the latter to move in the direction opposite to that of the torque acting on the throttling/drag system 1. In this way, it may be achieved that the moving coil is angularly displaced only to a very small extent which in practice may be regarded as a stationary position. In this case, it is expedient to utilise as output signal the current, or voltage value which is proprotional to it, and apply it to the moving coil.
The main advantages of the solution according to the invention may be summarised in the following:
1. The measurement sensitivity of the apparatus and its capacity to follow the signals are better than that of conventional apparatuses of similar purposes.
2. Because of the balanced nature of the throttling/drag elements the threshold value of actuation or triggering is lower.
3. In practice, the apparatus contains only stationary elements, its construction is simple and thus its manufacturing, operating and maintenance costs are low.
4. The apparatus may be widely used, even under difficult operational conditions, and may be continuously operated, it requires hardly any maintenance and its operation is reliable.
5. The solution is suitable for following the changes in magnitude of very low flow rates. Thus, for instance, the apparatus is suitable for detecting the required, or any undesired, air flow and for its appropriate regulation at places of work, in lecture theatres and conference halls, in air-conditioned spaces, in cold-stores, in containers, in various spaces for industrial and agricultural purposes.
6. The apparatus and method of measurement according to the invention may be utilised furthermore for measuring the flow conditions and determining the distribution of velocity in rivers and other large water volumes, while at the same time it may also be utilised for extremely low vertical flow rates, e.g. in processes involving self-purification of waters.
Claims (8)
1. Apparatus for detecting the flow of a medium and/or for determining the flow rate, the apparatus consisting of a stationary throttling/drag system which is displaceable under the effect of the flowing medium, signal transducer(s) for detecting forces exerted on the throttling/drag system and optionally, a registration unit for amplifying and/or transmitting and/or indicating and/or processing the signals from the transducer(s), wherein it includes a housing in which is an internal space wholly or partly closed from the flowing medium, throttling/drag element(s) mounted in a balanced manner on an axis corrsponding to the direction of flow, the throttling/drag element(s) being fixed in the throttling/drag system and being expediently arranged outside the internal space, and further comprising a resilient mounting and/or a compensating unit which wholly or partly compensates the force exerted on the throttling/drag element(s).
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Throttle/drag element(s) are sealedly connected to the interior space.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the resilient mounting is provided with leaf spring(s) between the throttle/drag element(s) and the base of the throttling system, while the balancing axis is arranged in the plane of the leaf spring(s).
4. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the compensating unit is a spring mechanism and/or a weight mechanism and/or an electromagnetic device.
5. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the detecting transducer(s) and/or the compensating unit is or are arranged in the interior space, if necessary in an electrically insulated manner.
6. Appartus according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plane of the throttling/drag element(s) is adjustable in relation to the direction of flow.
7. A process for detecting the flow of a medium and/or for determining the flow rate with a balanced, non-rotary system according to the apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the torque of the component of the throttling/drag force of the flowing me dium pependicular to the balancing axis, or the (possible resilient) change of shape produced by said torque, is measured.
8. A flowmeter substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| HU196384A HUT37672A (en) | 1984-05-22 | 1984-05-22 | Apparatus and method for detecting flow and measuring flow velocity |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB8512707D0 GB8512707D0 (en) | 1985-06-26 |
| GB2159283A true GB2159283A (en) | 1985-11-27 |
Family
ID=10957033
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08512707A Withdrawn GB2159283A (en) | 1984-05-22 | 1985-05-20 | Detecting fluid flow and determining the velocity of flow |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| DE (1) | DE3518403A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2564978B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2159283A (en) |
| HU (1) | HUT37672A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10222278B2 (en) | 2016-02-25 | 2019-03-05 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Directional force sensing element and system |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE19731918B4 (en) * | 1997-07-25 | 2005-12-22 | Wobben, Aloys, Dipl.-Ing. | Wind turbine |
| DE19758857B4 (en) * | 1997-07-25 | 2013-08-08 | Aloys Wobben | Wind generator - has instantaneous stress on rotor blade monitored with control system to adjust position of blade to position appropriate for that stress |
Citations (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB911612A (en) * | 1959-09-08 | 1962-11-28 | Gen Electric Co Ltd | Improvements in and relating to measurement and/or indication of fluid flow |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR17985E (en) * | 1911-12-15 | 1914-01-05 | Raoul Edouard Badin | Devices intended to facilitate the operation of airplanes |
| DE536329C (en) * | 1930-03-05 | 1931-10-22 | Messgeraete Boykow G M B H | Device for stabilizing aircraft |
| DE1119527B (en) * | 1957-03-20 | 1961-12-14 | Schachtbau & Tiefbohr Gmbh | Flow rate measuring device, especially for drilling fluids |
| DE1498327A1 (en) * | 1965-12-15 | 1969-01-30 | Eckardt Ag J | Device for measuring the flow rate |
| DE2413245A1 (en) * | 1974-03-20 | 1975-09-25 | Eckardt Ag J | Apparatus to measure flow rates in flow medium pipe - has set of vanes and mounting located centrally in pipe |
| US4186602A (en) * | 1978-08-21 | 1980-02-05 | The Bendix Corporation | High response automotive mass air flow sensor |
| DE3044219A1 (en) * | 1980-11-25 | 1982-06-03 | Horst 3412 Nörten-Hardenberg Jungkeit | Fluid flow vol. measuring appts. - has measured value generator with elastically deformable measuring member with elongation measuring strip(s) |
-
1984
- 1984-05-22 HU HU196384A patent/HUT37672A/en unknown
-
1985
- 1985-05-20 FR FR8507554A patent/FR2564978B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1985-05-20 GB GB08512707A patent/GB2159283A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1985-05-22 DE DE19853518403 patent/DE3518403A1/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB911612A (en) * | 1959-09-08 | 1962-11-28 | Gen Electric Co Ltd | Improvements in and relating to measurement and/or indication of fluid flow |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10222278B2 (en) | 2016-02-25 | 2019-03-05 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Directional force sensing element and system |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| FR2564978B1 (en) | 1990-01-12 |
| GB8512707D0 (en) | 1985-06-26 |
| HUT37672A (en) | 1986-01-23 |
| FR2564978A1 (en) | 1985-11-29 |
| DE3518403A1 (en) | 1985-11-28 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |