THE MEASUREMENT QUALITY EVALUATION OF AN ULTRASONIC FLOW SENSOR WITH A COMPLEX MEASURING PATH TRAJECTORY

ISSN (p) 0321-2211, ISSN (e) 2663-3450 Автоматизація та інтелектуалізація приладобудування DOI: 10.20535/1970.67(1).2024.307245 UDC 681.121 THE MEASUREMENT QUALITY EVALUATION OF AN ULTRASONIC FLOW SENSOR WITH A COMPLEX MEASURING PATH TRAJECTORY O. Drachuk, І. Korobko, A. Pysarets National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute", Kyiv, Ukraine E-mail: , , Over the past ten years, ultrasonic measuring instruments have become most widespread in industrial measurements of the flow and quantity of various energy resources. Such instruments differ in design, method of obtaining the output signal, number and topology of acoustic waves propagation and, accordingly, have different metrological performances. The accuracy of the measured signal formation is determined by the quality of the flow sensor. At the same time, the components of quality are metrological performances, manufacturability of the design, ease of setup, cost and others. The purpose of the work is to compare, analyze and evaluate the quality of flow measurements when using a single-channel ultrasonic sensor with a complex trajectory of the measuring beam and a multi-path (multichord) ultrasonic sensor. As a result of simulation modeling, distributions of flow velocities in longitudinal sections and cross sections were obtained, correction factors for the measured signal were determined, and pressure losses were calculated. A comparative analysis of the measurement quality of the investigated flow sensors made it possible to identify the advantages of using a single-path flow transducer with acoustic wave reflection. We are talking about the possibility of accurately outputting a useful signal, higher metrological sensitivity, higher measurement accuracy, as well as minimal impact on the measured medium due to the creation of smaller geometrically sized local hydrodynamic resistance along the length of the measuring path. The further research prospect is the study of ultrasonic flow measuring sensors with different topologies of acoustic channels when measuring and recording flow and quantity for different flow regimes of the measured medium. Keywords: measurements quality; gas; flow sensor; beam reflection; ultrasonic flow sensor; conversion response; simulation. Introduction Saving natural energy resources has always been relevant and requires the use of modern technologies and achievements for their effective use. An organization of effective measurement and registration in all sectors of the national economy is one of the key aspects of saving and rational use of natural energy resources. To measure the flow and quantity of natural gas, flow meters and meters are used, the functioning of which is based on various physical principles. Such instruments provide different metrological performances. One of the directions for increasing the accuracy of measuring equipment is the readings correction by recalculating the gas volume to standard conditions [1]. For this purpose, measuring systems and complexes are created, the structural elements of which are sensors of pressure, temperature, flow rate and computing units. Also, increased measurement accuracy is ensured by the use of automated data transmission systems based on wired, wireless and combined technologies [2, 3]. However, despite the widespread use of computational algorithms, the quality of 84 measurements is based on the quality of the flow sensor (FS). The accuracy of the measuring signal formation and its further processing directly depend on the physical principle of operation and design features of the flow sensor. A comprehensive effectiveness assessment of using a specific measuring instrument is the quality of measurements. The components of measurement quality are metrological characteristics, manufacturability of design, setup simplicity, cost, and others. At the same time, the requirements for metrological performances are high accuracy, reliability, repeatability of measurement results, minimal influence of the sensor on the measured medium, and others. Over the past decade, acoustic (ultrasonic) measuring instruments have become most widespread in industry in the world for measuring and recording the flow rate and quantity of energy resources with various physical and chemical properties and purposes. Problem statement There are ultrasonic flow meters with different Вісник КПІ. Серія ПРИЛАДОБУДУВАННЯ, Вип. 67(1), 2024 ISSN (p) 0321-2211, ISSN (e) 2663-3450 Автоматизація та інтелектуалізація приладобудування designs and methods of generating the output signal, both in terms of the topology of acoustic wave propagation and the principle of operation. For the effective use of ultrasonic measuring transducers (USFS), it is necessary to investigate several such measuring transducers, based on different topological schemes. Two flow sensors were selected for the study: the operating principle of the first sensor is based on the use of multiple wave reflection, which forms a complex trajectory of the measuring beam when using one pair of transmitters-receivers [4]; the second flow sensor is multi-path. The chords number of such sensor corresponds to the number of direct sections of the acoustic signal from the transmitter to the mirrors and from them to the next signal reflection device, and, finally, to the receiver. There are various configurations with signal reflection, which can propagate in one (diametrically) or several planes [5]. For the study, a configuration with fourfold spatial reflection of the measured signal was chosen. The second configuration is implemented on the principle of multi-path placement of piezoelectric transducers in a multi-channel ultrasonic measuring transducer. The trajectory of the beams in this configuration corresponds to the placement of reflectors in the first one. The purpose of the work is to compare, analyze and evaluate the quality of flow measurements when using a single-channel ultrasonic sensor with a complex trajectory of the measuring beam and a multi-path (multichord) ultrasonic sensor. Investigations of ultrasonic flow sensors with different topological configurations For ultrasonic flow sensors with a multi-path arrangement of measuring channels, the flow rate is determined in accordance with the expression [5] qv = kS  wi vi . (1) Where k is the hydrodynamic factor, the value of which depends on the flow regime and the presence of hydraulic resistance [6 – 11]; S is cross-sectional area of the measuring channel; wi is weight factor on the ith section of the beam; vi is speed on the i-th section of the beam. The main task for obtaining information about flow is to calculate the values of the factors k and wi, which make a correction in accordance with the location geometry of the measuring beams and their total number. To identify the functioning features of the investigated flow sensors and study the hydraulic phenomena that occur, modern computati (...truncated)