KR101513697B1 - Ultrasonic transducing apparatus for measuring pipe thickness and apparatus for measuring flow velocity using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic transducing apparatus which includes: a wedge attached to an external wall of a pipe and having at least two or more surfaces except a surface in contact with the pipe; an ultrasonic transducer attached to a first surface among at least two surfaces of the wedge and transmitting an ultrasonic signal into the pipe through the wedge; and a pipe measurement unit measuring a thickness of the pipe based on a time difference of two or more reflected waves where the ultrasonic signals incident from the ultrasonic transducer respectively are reflected from an inner wall of a second surface among the external wall of the pipe and an interface of the wedge, an inner surface of the pipe and an interface with an inner fluid, and two surfaces of the wedge to be retransmitted to the ultrasonic transducer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasound transducer capable of measuring a thickness of a pipe, and a flow velocity measuring apparatus using the same. [0002]

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic transducer capable of measuring the thickness of a pipe and a flow velocity measuring apparatus using the ultrasonic transducer.

Generally, an ultrasonic flowmeter or an anemometer includes a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer that transmit and receive an ultrasonic signal by using a state change of fluid flowing in the pipe, and the transmission and reception of ultrasonic signals are repeated a predetermined number of times between the transmitting transducer and the receiving transducer The flow rate or the flow rate of the fluid is detected by measuring the propagation time according to the state change of the fluid while the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic signal is repeated.

In this connection, Korean Patent Registration No. 487690 (entitled "Flow Meter") discloses a flowmeter that includes a transceiving means that is provided in a flow path and that transmits and receives using a state change of a fluid, a repetition means that repeats the transmission and reception, A flow rate detecting means for detecting a flow rate based on the measured value of the timing means; and a number changing means for changing a predetermined number of times of repetition, wherein the number of repetition times is changed to a number suitable for the variation And the influence due to the fluctuation of the flow can be suppressed and stable flow measurement can be performed.

On the other hand, in order to accurately measure the flow velocity and flow rate using ultrasonic signals, it is necessary to measure the thickness of the pipe. However, since the thickness of the pipe can be changed according to the elapsed time since the initial installation, it is necessary to measure the pipe thickness in real time Do.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer for measuring the thickness of a pipe using ultrasonic signals and a flow velocity measuring apparatus for measuring the velocity using the ultrasonic wave transducer.

It should be understood, however, that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described technical problems, and other technical problems may exist.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic transducer according to one aspect of the present invention, comprising: a wedge attached to an outer wall of a pipe, the wedge having at least two surfaces other than a contact surface with the pipe; An ultrasonic transducer attached to the first of the at least two sides of the wedge and propagating ultrasonic signals into the pipe through the wedge; And an ultrasonic signal incident from the ultrasonic transducer is reflected at an interface between the outer wall of the pipe and the wedge, the interface between the inner wall of the pipe and the inner fluid, and the inner wall of the second surface of the two surfaces of the wedge, And a pipe measuring section for measuring the thickness of the pipe based on a time difference between two or more reflected waves that are re-transmitted to the ducer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flow rate measuring apparatus for measuring a flow rate of a fluid in a pipe, comprising: a first wedge attached to an outer wall of the pipe and having at least two surfaces other than a contact surface with the pipe; An ultrasonic transmitter including a first ultrasonic transducer for propagating an ultrasonic signal into the pipe through the first ultrasonic transducer; A second wedge attached to the outer wall of the pipe, the second wedge being spaced apart from the first wedge by a predetermined distance and having at least two surfaces other than the contact surface with the pipe; and a second wedge, An ultrasonic receiver including a second ultrasonic transducer for receiving through a wedge; A time difference in which two or more ultrasonic signals reflected through the reflection path of at least one of the inside of the first wedge and the inside of the pipe wall are transferred to the first ultrasonic transducer, A pipe measuring unit for calculating a thickness of the pipe based on a time difference in which two or more ultrasonic signals reflected through at least one reflection path of the interior of the wall are transmitted to the second ultrasonic transducer; And a flow velocity measuring unit that measures a flow velocity of the fluid in the pipe based on a time at which the ultrasonic signal propagated in the first ultrasonic transducer, a time at which the second ultrasonic transducer received the ultrasonic signal, and a thickness of the calculated pipe, And a measurement unit.

According to any one of the above-mentioned objects of the present invention, the propagated ultrasonic signal utilizes a difference in redistribution time of the reflected wave reflected by the two or more reflection paths formed inside the wedge and inside the pipe wall to the ultrasonic transducer By measuring the thickness of the pipe, it is possible to easily measure the pipe thickness in real time.

Further, according to any one of the tasks of the present invention, it is possible to accurately measure the fluid characteristics by measuring the flow rate and the flow rate of the fluid in the pipe by applying the measured pipe thickness in real time.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic flow velocity measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view for explaining a method of installing a transmitting ultrasonic transducer and a receiving ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining a pipe thickness measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining reflection and transmission of an ultrasonic signal at an interface between a wedge and a pipe in an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining the incidence and reflection of an ultrasonic signal at one surface of a wedge and at an interface of air in an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic flow velocity measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a view for explaining a method of installing a transmitting ultrasonic transducer and a receiving ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, the flow velocity measuring apparatus 100 includes an ultrasonic transmitting unit 110, an ultrasonic receiving unit 120, a pipe measuring unit 130, and a flow velocity measuring unit 140.

The ultrasonic transmission unit 110 includes a first wedge that is attached to an outer wall of the pipe and has at least two surfaces other than the contact surface with the pipe, and a first ultrasonic transducer that propagates an ultrasonic signal into the pipe through the first wedge . In this case, the first ultrasonic transducer may be a piezoelectric transducer that converts the voltage signal into an ultrasonic signal and propagates when a predetermined voltage signal is applied.

The ultrasonic receiving unit 120 includes a second wedge that is attached to the outer wall of the pipe and is spaced apart from the first wedge by a predetermined distance, and the second wedge has at least two surfaces other than the contact surface with the pipe. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 120 includes a second ultrasonic transducer which is generated from the first ultrasonic transducer and then receives the ultrasonic signal transmitted through the fluid in the pipe through the second wedge. In this case, the second ultrasonic transducer may be a piezoelectric transducer that converts the received ultrasonic signal into a voltage signal and outputs the converted voltage signal.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wedge and the ultrasonic transducer included in the ultrasonic transmission unit 110 and the ultrasonic reception unit 120 are as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. Specifically, the ultrasonic transmission unit 110 includes a first wedge 112 and a first ultrasonic transducer 111. The ultrasonic receiving unit 120 includes a second wedge 122 and a second ultrasonic transducer 121.

For reference, in an embodiment of the present invention, the pipe measuring unit 130 described below acquires conditions necessary for pipe thickness measurement from the ultrasonic transmitting unit (i.e., the first wedge and the first ultrasonic transducer) 110 Explain it. However, it is also possible for the pipe measuring unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention to acquire the conditions necessary for the pipe thickness measurement from the ultrasonic receiving unit (i.e., the second wedge and the second ultrasonic transducer) 120.

3, the wedge 112 includes a contact surface 113 attached to the pipe 10, a first surface 114 to which the first ultrasonic transducer 111 is attached, But is formed to include a first surface 115 and a second surface 115 having a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the outer wall of the pipe 10. The wedge 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention is also equipped with a member (e.g., a wire or the like) for fixing the pipe 10 between the first surface 114 and the second surface 115 And the third surface 116, which can be formed on the second surface 116, is further formed.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the flow velocity measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a pipe in a different manner.

2 (a) shows that the ultrasonic transmitter 110 and the ultrasonic receiver 120 are spaced apart from each other in the Z-path method. In FIG. 2 (b), the ultrasonic transmitter 110 and the ultrasonic receiver And the receiving units 120 are installed in a 'V-path' manner.

That is, in the 'Z-path' shown in FIG. 2 (a), the first ultrasonic transducer 111 and the second ultrasonic transducer 121 are provided across the pipe 10, The second ultrasonic transducer 121 is positioned at a position advanced in the flow direction (or reverse direction) of the fluid relative to the position of the first ultrasonic transducer 111 and the ultrasonic signal generated from the first ultrasonic transducer 111 is transmitted to the pipe The second ultrasonic transducer 121 immediately after passing through the first ultrasonic transducer 10 and the fluid Fluid.

On the other hand, in the 'V-path' shown in FIG. 2 (b), the first ultrasonic transducer 111 and the first ultrasonic transducer 121 are installed on the same side of the pipe 10, The second ultrasonic transducer 121 is positioned at a position where the fluid moves in the flow direction (or reverse direction) as compared with the position of the transducer 111. At this time, the ultrasonic signal generated from the first ultrasonic transducer 111 passes through the first wall and the fluid of the pipe 10, is reflected by the second wall of the pipe 10, And then transmitted through the wall again to be received by the second ultrasonic transducer 121.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the pipe measuring unit 130 may measure at least two ultrasonic signals reflected through a reflection path formed in at least one of the interior of the first wedge 111 and the interior of the pipe wall 10, 10). ≪ / RTI >

At this time, the pipe measuring unit 130 receives two or more reflected waves generated corresponding to the ultrasonic signal propagated from the ultrasonic transducer through the wedge, and receives reflected waves of predetermined characteristics (for example, longitudinal wave or transverse wave) Can be selected as the effective reflected wave and used as the condition for calculating the thickness of the pipe.

The operation of the pipe measuring unit 130 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

The flow velocity measuring unit 140 measures the time at which the ultrasonic signal propagated in the first ultrasonic transducer 111, the time at which the second ultrasonic transducer 121 receives the ultrasonic signal passed through the pipe 10 and the fluid, The flow rate of the fluid in the pipe 10 is measured based on the thickness of the pipe calculated through the measuring unit 130.

Hereinafter, a pipe thickness measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

The pipe measuring unit 130 reflects ultrasonic signals generated from the ultrasonic transducers at the interface between the outer wall of the pipe and the wedge, the interface between the inner wall of the pipe and the inner fluid, and the inner wall of the second surface of the wedge, The thickness of the pipe is calculated based on the time difference between two or more reflected waves transmitted back to the ducer.

3 is a view for explaining a pipe thickness measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the ultrasonic signal generated from the first ultrasonic transducer 111 is incident on the first surface 114 of the wedge 112 in the form of a longitudinal wave. The incident longitudinal waves are then reflected in a transverse wave form at the interface P31 between the wedge 112 and the outer wall of the pipe 10 to form the inner wall of the second face of the wedge 112 ). Then, the elastic waves reflected in the form of longitudinal waves at the inner surface of the second surface of the wedge 112 are vertically incident on the pipe 10, transmitted through the pipe 10 and transferred to the fluid, (P34) at the interface P31 between the outer wall of the pipe 10 and the outer wall of the pipe 10 and is transmitted in the form of a longitudinal wave at the interface P33 between the inner wall of the pipe 10 and the inner fluid (P35).

The reflected wave P34 reflected from the interface P31 between the wedge 112 and the outer wall of the pipe 10 without passing through the pipe 10 and the reflected wave P34 transmitted through the pipe 10, The reflected wave P35 reflected from the interface P33 between the inner fluid and the inner fluid returns to the original path (i.e., the path reflected from the first surface of the wedge) to the first ultrasonic transducer 111, It is delivered again.

As shown in FIG. 3, the longitudinal waves generated in the first ultrasonic transducer 111 are propagated in the first wedge 112 and reflected and transmitted by the longitudinal wave and the transverse wave at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe. 3, the reflected wave reflected at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe is a transverse wave. However, it is also possible that the reflected wave incident on and reflected from the inner surface of the second surface of the wedge at the interface P31 of the wedge- That is, the pipe measuring unit 130 can measure the time difference between two or more reflected waves by selecting the reflected waves according to the longitudinal wave characteristics as effective wavelengths.

In this way, the pipe measuring unit 130 can calculate the thickness of the pipe 10 based on the time difference of the reflected waves re-transmitted to the first ultrasonic transducer 111. That is, the pipe measuring unit 130 measures the time at which the ultrasonic signal is generated from the ultrasonic transducer, the time at which the first reflected wave reflected through the first reflection path formed in the wedge is received again by the ultrasonic transducer, And the thickness of the pipe 10 based on the time when the second reflected wave reflected through the second reflection path inside the wedge is re-received by the ultrasonic transducer.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 4, the reflection characteristic of the longitudinal wave or the transverse wave at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe can be used.

4 is a view for explaining reflection and transmission of an ultrasonic signal at an interface between a wedge and a pipe in an embodiment of the present invention.

와 같다. 이때, C_L은 웨지의 특정 재질 및 밀도에서의 종파 속도이고, C_T는 동일 웨지에서의 횡파 속도이다.4, the reflection angle? ₁ of the longitudinal wave at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe is the same angle as the incident angle? ₀ (i.e.,? ₁ =? ₀ ') and the reflection angle? ₂ of the transverse wave is smaller than the incident angle As

. Where C _L is the longitudinal velocity at a particular material and density of the wedge and C _T is the transverse velocity at the same wedge.

Further, as shown in Fig. 5, the incident characteristic of the transverse wave or the longitudinal wave to the wedge-air interface P32 can be used.

5 is a view for explaining the incidence and reflection of an ultrasonic signal at one surface of a wedge and at an interface of air in an embodiment of the present invention.

5 (a) shows that the reflected wave reflected from the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe is incident on and reflected by the wedge-air interface P32 in a longitudinal wave form, and FIG. 5 (b) The reflected wave reflected at the interface P31 enters the wedge-air interface P32 in the form of a transverse wave and is reflected.

'이고, '

'의 조건일 때 경사각(β)은 '

'이다.5A, when the reflected wave reflected at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe is incident on and reflected by the wedge-air interface P32 in a longitudinal wave form, the reflection angle? ₁ and the second angle of inclination (β) of the surface are each 'α _1/2'. Also, referring to (b) of Figure 5, wedge - if the reflection incident on the air interface (P32), the reflection angle (θ ₁₎ is "- a reflected wave reflected on the border plane (P31) of the transverse pipe in the form wedge

'ego, '

', The inclination angle β is'

'to be.

On the other hand, in order to measure the accurate thickness of the pipe 10, the reflected wave reflected at the interface P31 of the wedge-pipe must be vertically incident on the pipe 10. Accordingly, the second surface of the wedges 112 and 122 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured to reflect the reflected waves perpendicularly (for example, at a predetermined angle) to reflect the reflected waves vertically according to the characteristics of the incident acoustic waves (i.e., longitudinal waves or transverse waves) Beta 'in Fig. 5). That is, the second surface of the wedges 112 and 122 according to the embodiment of the present invention is set according to the transmittance and reflectance of each type of acoustic wave according to the inclination angle of the first surface of the wedges 112 and 122 and the medium property of the wedge , Which can be set through experiments and the like of a dictionary. At this time, the inclination angle of the first surface of the wedges 112 and 122 is set such that the angle of incidence of the ultrasonic signal generated from the first ultrasonic transducer 111 and incident on the first wedge 112, The incident angle of the first reflected wave that is incident on the second ultrasonic transducer 121 and then is reflected again toward the incident path.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

Furthermore, while the methods and systems of the present invention have been described in terms of specific embodiments, some or all of those elements or operations may be implemented using a computer system having a general purpose hardware architecture.

It is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. .

100: Flow rate measuring device
110: Ultrasonic transmitter
120: Ultrasound receiver
130: pipe measuring section
140:
111: first ultrasonic transducer
112: 1st wedge
121: Second ultrasonic transducer
122: second wedge
10: pipe wall
P31: Interface between wedge and pipe outer wall
P32: Wedge inner wall
P33: Interface between pipe inner wall and fluid

Claims (8)

In the ultrasonic transducer,
A wedge attached to the outer wall of the pipe, the wedge having at least two surfaces other than the contact surface with the pipe;
An ultrasonic transducer attached to the first of the at least two sides of the wedge and propagating ultrasonic signals into the pipe through the wedge; And
The ultrasonic signal incident from the ultrasonic transducer is reflected at the interface between the outer wall of the pipe and the wedge, the interface between the inner wall of the pipe and the inner fluid, and the inner wall of the second surface of the two surfaces of the wedge, And a pipe measuring unit measuring the thickness of the pipe based on a time difference between two or more reflected waves transmitted to the pipe. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pipe measuring unit comprises:
A time at which the ultrasonic signal is generated from the ultrasonic transducer, a time at which the first reflected wave reflected through the first reflection path formed in the wedge is re-received in the ultrasonic transducer, And the thickness of the pipe is calculated on the basis of the time when the second reflected wave reflected through the second reflection path is re-received by the ultrasonic transducer. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first reflective path includes a path in which an ultrasonic signal incident on the first surface of the wedge is reflected at an interface between the wedge and an outer wall of the pipe, a path in which the wedge is vertically reflected from the inner wall of the second surface of the wedge toward the pipe And a path vertically reflected from the interface between the wedge and the outer wall of the pipe toward the second surface,
Wherein the second reflective path includes a path through which an ultrasonic signal incident on the first surface of the wedge is reflected at an interface between the wedge and the outer wall of the pipe, a path through which the wedge is vertically reflected from the inner wall of the second surface of the wedge toward the pipe And a path passing through the inside of the pipe wall, and being perpendicularly reflected from the interface between the inner wall of the pipe and the inner fluid toward the second surface. The method according to claim 1,
The second surface of the wedge is machined to a predetermined inclination angle,
The inclination angle,
And the reflectance is set in accordance with the transmittance and the reflectance depending on the inclination angle of the first surface of the wedge and the medium property of the wedge. The method according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic transducer includes:
When the predetermined voltage signal is applied, the voltage signal is converted into an ultrasonic signal and propagated,
And converts the ultrasonic signal into a voltage signal upon reception of the ultrasonic signal, and outputs the converted voltage signal. A flow velocity measuring apparatus for measuring a flow velocity of a fluid in a pipe,
An ultrasonic transmitter including a first wedge attached to the pipe outer wall and having at least two surfaces other than a contact surface with the pipe, and a first ultrasonic transducer propagating an ultrasonic signal into the pipe through the first wedge;
A second wedge attached to the outer wall of the pipe, the second wedge being spaced apart from the first wedge by a predetermined distance and having at least two surfaces other than the contact surface with the pipe; and a second wedge, An ultrasonic receiver including a second ultrasonic transducer for receiving through a wedge;
A time difference in which two or more ultrasonic signals reflected through the reflection path of at least one of the inside of the first wedge and the inside of the pipe wall are transferred to the first ultrasonic transducer, A pipe measuring unit for calculating a thickness of the pipe based on a time difference in which two or more ultrasonic signals reflected through at least one reflection path of the interior of the wall are transmitted to the second ultrasonic transducer; And
Measuring a flow rate of the fluid in the pipe based on a time at which the ultrasonic signal propagated in the first ultrasonic transducer, a time at which the second ultrasonic transducer received the ultrasonic signal, and a thickness of the calculated pipe, And a flow rate measuring unit. The method according to claim 6,
The first ultrasonic transducer converts the voltage signal into an ultrasonic signal and propagates when a predetermined voltage signal is applied,
And the second ultrasonic transducer converts the received ultrasonic signal into a voltage signal. The method according to claim 6,
Each second side of the first and second wedges,
Wherein the first wedge or the second wedge is machined to an inclination angle set in accordance with the inclination angle of each first surface of the first wedge or the second wedge and the ultrasonic transmittance and reflectance according to each medium property.

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