Measuring and testing – Volume or rate of flow – By measuring vibrations or acoustic energy
Patent
1994-08-15
1996-07-30
Chilcot, Richard
Measuring and testing
Volume or rate of flow
By measuring vibrations or acoustic energy
7386127, 7386129, G01F 166
Patent
active
055401058
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inlet and outlet, preferably a funnel inlet and funnel outlet, at the ends of a measurement pipe provided with ultrasonic transducers, with a measurement channel for gas flow measurement, in which the inlet and outlet effect a deflection of the gas flowing into and out of the measurement channel, respectively.
In addition to the long-established bellows gas meters, ultrasonic gas flowmeters are also used for gas flow measurement. In the case of the use of ultrasonic gas flowmeters as gas meters, a problem arises that the connection to pipe connections pointing parallel upwards must be undertaken in accordance with a so-called U6 arrangement as a standard configuration. Furthermore, the space available for the installation of an ultrasonic gas flowmeter is limited, so that only measurement pipes of limited length can be used for the ultrasonic gas flow measurement. However, this restriction has an influence on the accuracy of measurement and is even further intensified if the length of the measurement pipe is additionally shortened on account of laterally fitted pipe connections for the inlet and outlet of the gas. Moreover, such a solution results in a distorted characteristic.
An inlet and outlet of the above-mentioned type is disclosed in Patent Document No. GB 2 205 645. In this type of inlet and outlet, the rate of flow of a liquid is measured, which liquid is conducted through a measurement pipe designed in a U-shape. The ends of the measurement pipe serve as an inlet and outlet and are angled off by 90.degree. in relation to the region which functions as a measurement path. The cross section of the measurement pipe is equally large at all positions.
European Patent Application Number 0 347 096 reveals a measurement channel with ultrasonic transducers and a funnel-shaped inlet and outlet which are both disposed coaxially in relation to the measurement pipe. However, the two funnels do not effect any deflection of the gas flowing through the funnels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a space-saving inlet and outlet with a flow deflection (for example, 90.degree. flow defection) for ultrasonic gas flowmeters with low pressure loss, high flow linearity and gas-independent calibration. The inlet and outlet are preferably designed in a funnel shape. The funnel inlet and funnel outlet provide a deflection of a gas flowing into and out of a measurement channel of a measurement pipe for an ultrasonic gas flowmeter. An advantageous embodiment according to the present invention is achieved in that the walls forming the width of the measurement channel exhibit a spacing s from one another and are curved in the region of the funnel-shaped inlet and outlet, forming an outer angle and an inner angle, where the outer angle is preferably in a range of 80.degree. to 100.degree.. Further advantageous refinements of the funnel inlet and funnel outlet are described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing illustrates a funnel inlet and funnel outlet according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An illustrative embodiment of a funnel inlet and funnel outlet according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawing. The figure shows a funnel inlet and funnel outlet at the ends of a measurement pipe 3 in the form of horns 1 curved away at right angles. The gas respectively flows through these horns 1 into the measurement channel 2 of the measurement pipe 3 or out of the measurement channel 2. A measurement path is situated within the rectilinear region of the measurement channel 2. Ultrasonic transducers for the measurement (not shown in the drawing) are disposed at the ends of the measurement path. The width 4 of the measurement channel 2 is s. The design of the horns is related hereinbelow to this width dimension s. The measurement channel 2 is bounded in its width by the opposite channel walls 5, 6, which are curved away in the end region to form the horns 1. In this cas
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Chilcot Richard
Dougherty Elizabeth L.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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