Vibronal measuring
system, in particular a Coriolis
mass flow meter or Coriolis
mass flow / density meter, for measuring and / or monitoring at least one
measured quantity, in particular a flow parameter, in particular a
mass flow rate and / or a volume flow rate and / or a flow velocity, and / or a material parameter, in particular a density and / or a
viscosity, of a fluid medium, in particular a gas, a liquid or a dispersion, which, in particular designed as an in-line measuring device and / or a compact measuring device, comprises: - a measuring
transducer (10) -- with a
pipe arrangement for guiding the flowing medium, -- mechanical power useful with an excitation arrangement for converting electrical power into the excitation and maintenance of forced mechanical vibrations of the
pipe arrangement -- and with a sensor arrangement for detecting mechanical vibrations of the
pipe arrangement and for providing
vibration measurement signals representing the vibration movements of the pipe arrangement; - as well as a measuring
system electronics (20) electrically coupled to the measuring
transducer (10), namely both to its excitation arrangement and to its sensor arrangement, in particular by means of electrical connecting lines, in particular formed by means of at least one
microprocessor and / or arranged in electronic protective housing, for controlling the measuring
transducer and for evaluating
vibration measurement signals supplied by the measuring transducer; - wherein the pipe arrangement comprises at least one, in particular at least partially curved and / or at least partially straight and / or first, pipe (111), -- which pipe extends from a first pipe end to a second pipe end with a pipe length, in particular more than 100 mm, and has a lumen enclosed by a pipe wall, in particular metallic, extending from the first pipe end to the second pipe end, -- and which pipe is set up to be flowed through by the measuring medium in at least one flow direction pointing from the first pipe end to the second pipe end and to be vibrated during this process, -- and wherein the tube possesses a plurality of vibration
modes (natural
modes) each having an associated
resonance frequency (f1, f2, ... , fx), in which the tube can or does perform vibrational movements having one or more antinodes and two or more nodes, such that --- that the vibrational movements of the pipe in a fundamental vibration mode, namely a first-order vibration mode (f1-mode), in particular a first-order
bending vibration mode, exhibit exactly one antinode and two nodes --- and that the vibrational movements of the pipe in a higher-order vibration mode, namely a second or higher order vibration mode (f2 mode, ... fx mode), in particular a second or higher order
bending vibration mode, exhibit two or more antinodes and three or more nodes; - wherein the excitation arrangement includes a
vibration exciter (31), in particular an electrodynamic one, -- mechanically connected to the pipe -- and is designed to convert electrical power into mechanical power using a time-varying
electric current, such that a time-varying driving force acts on the pipe at a drive point formed by means of the
vibration exciter on the pipe mechanically connected thereto, in particular such that a
line of action of the driving force runs perpendicular to a normal of a driving cross-sectional area of the pipe, -- wherein the
vibration exciter (31) is positioned and aligned such that a drive offset (ΔE), namely a
minimum distance between a drive cross-sectional area of the tube enclosed by an imaginary circumferential line of the tube passing through the drive point and a predetermined reference cross-sectional area of the at least one tube, determined in particular with an intact or original transducer, is no more than 3 mm, in particular less than 2 mm, and / or less than 0.5% of the
tube length, in particular less than 0.2% of the
tube length, in particular is zero with an intact or original transducer, wherein a vibration antinode formed between two antinodes of vibration movements of the at least one tube in a vibration mode (second or higher order) (deviating from the first order vibration mode), in particular(nominally) located at half a pipe length, vibration nodes of namely vibration movements lie within the reference cross-sectional area, . - and wherein the measuring
system electronics (20) is configured to
supply current to the vibration
exciter (31), namely to supply electrical power to the vibration
exciter (31) by means of an electrical driver
signal (e1) having a time-varying
electrical current, such that the tube performs forced mechanical vibrations, in particular bending vibrations, with one or more vibration frequencies specified by the driver
signal (e1); - wherein the sensor arrangement includes a first
vibration sensor, in particular an electrodynamic or optical one, -- which is positioned on the pipe, in particular at a distance of more than 10 mm and / or more than one fifth of the pipe length in the direction of flow, and in particular is at least partially mechanically connected to the pipe, is -- and which is equipped to detect vibrations of the pipe and to convert them into a first
vibration measurement signal representing vibrations, in particular an electrical or optical signal, in particular such that the first vibration measurement signal contains one or more sinusoidal signal components, each with a frequency corresponding to a vibration frequency of vibrations of the pipe; - wherein the sensor arrangement includes at least one second
vibration sensor, in particular an electrodynamic or optical one, -- which is positioned on the pipe, in particular more than 10 mm and / or more than one fifth of the pipe length away from the vibration
exciter in the direction of flow and / or which is positioned away from the first
vibration sensor in the direction of flow, in particular at least partially mechanically connected to the pipe, is -- and which is equipped to detect vibrations of the pipe and to convert them into a second vibration measurement signal representing the same vibrations, in particular an electrical or optical signal, in particular such that the second vibration measurement signal contains one or more sinusoidal signal components, each with a frequency corresponding to a vibration frequency of vibrations of the pipe; - and wherein the measuring system
electronics are configured to receive and evaluate the first and second vibration measurement signals, in particular to determine and output the measured values representing at least one
measured quantity; - where the measuring system electronics are set up, -- to provide both the driver signal (e1) at least temporarily with a sinusoidal first (useful) current (eN1) having a first (
alternating current) frequency, in such a way, --- that the tube performs at least partially, in particular predominantly, first useful vibrations, namely mechanical vibrations forced by the (energized) vibration exciter with a first useful frequency, namely a (vibration) frequency corresponding to the first (
alternating current) frequency, in particular such that the first useful frequency deviates from a
resonance frequency, f1, of the fundamental vibration mode by less than 1% of the same
resonance frequency, f1, and / or by less than 1 Hz and / or that the first useful frequency deviates from a resonance frequency, f2, of the second-order vibration mode by more than 5% of the same resonance frequency, f2, and / or by more than 10 Hz and / or that the first useful vibrations are suitable to cause Coriolis forces in the flowing medium that depend on the mass flow rate, --- and that each of the first and second oscillation signals (s1; s2) has a first useful signal component (s1N1; s2N1), namely a sinusoidal signal component with a (signal) frequency corresponding to the first useful frequency, -- as well as on the basis of at least the first useful signal components (s1N1; s2N1), in particular on the basis of their (signal) frequency and / or on the basis of an amplitude of at least one of the first useful signal components (s1N1; s2N1) and / or on the basis of a
phase angle of at least one of the first useful signal components (s1N1; s2N1), which represent at least one
measured quantity, in particular mass flow values representing the mass flow of the measured substance and / or density values representing the density of the measured substance; - and where the measuring system electronics are set up, -- to provide both the driver signal (e1) at least temporarily, in particular during a test interval lasting more than 10 ms and / or limited in time and / or restarted repeatedly, with a sinusoidal second (useful) current (eN2) having a second (AC) frequency, in such a way, --- that the second (
alternating current) frequency, in particular for two or more oscillation periods and / or a period of more than 10 ms, deviates from a resonance frequency, f2, of the second order oscillation mode by less than 1%, in particular by less than 0.1%, namely resonance frequency, f2, and / or by less than 1 Hz, in particular by less than 0.1 Hz, --- and that the pipe at least partially – in particular simultaneously with the first useful oscillations and / or stationary, namely for two or more oscillation periods and / or a period of more than 10 ms – performs second useful oscillations, namely mechanical oscillations forced by the (energized) vibration exciter with a second useful frequency, namely one corresponding to the second (alternating current) frequency, whereby each of the first and second oscillation signals has a second useful signal component (s1N2; s2N2), namely a sinusoidal signal component with a (signal) frequency corresponding to the second useful frequency, -- as well as on the basis of at least one of the second useful signal components (s1N2; s2N2), in particular on the basis of their (signal) frequency and / or on the basis of a (signal) amplitude of at least one of the second useful signal components (s1N2) and / or on the basis of a
phase angle of at least one of the second useful signal component (s1N2), to carry out a (self-)diagnosis of the measuring system, in particular to check the functionality of the measuring system and / or to (re-)calibrate the measuring system and / or to determine whether there is a fault in the measuring system.