Ultrasonic Flow Measurement Gas Bubble Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic measuring devices in fluid meters are sensitive to air bubbles, which cause significant distortion in travel time measurements, leading to inaccurate flow rate calculations.
Innovation Solution
A measurement method that emits both a main and a secondary ultrasonic signal, where the secondary signal is analyzed to evaluate the presence of gas bubbles, and if significant, the main signal's measurement is invalidated or corrected using specific parameters like lobe count and delay, ensuring accurate flow rate calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ultrasonic measurement signal is used to measure fluid flow rate, then measurement accuracy is improved compared to mechanical devices, but measurement precision deteriorates when gas bubbles are present in the fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a secondary ultrasonic signal as an intermediary indicator to detect the presence of gas bubbles. By analyzing this secondary signal separately from the main measurement signal, the system can identify bubble interference without directly compromising the primary flow measurement process. The secondary signal acts as a mediator that carries information about bubble presence to the validation stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the analysis results of the secondary ultrasonic signal are fed back to validate or invalidate the main measurement. The validation stage receives information about gas bubble presence from the secondary signal analysis and uses this feedback to determine whether to accept or reject the travel time measurement, thereby maintaining measurement precision despite potential bubble interference.
2Device complexity
If ultrasonic measuring device is used, then device complexity is reduced compared to mechanical devices, but measurement precision deteriorates due to sensitivity to gas bubbles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ultrasonic measurement process into distinct functional stages: a measurement stage for acquiring the main ultrasonic signal, a validation stage for analyzing the secondary signal, and a decision stage for validating or invalidating measurements. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple ultrasonic hardware while adding intelligent processing to compensate for bubble sensitivity, thereby preserving measurement precision without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of the secondary ultrasonic signal to detect gas bubble presence before finalizing the main measurement result. By conducting this validation check in advance, the system can prevent inaccurate measurements from being recorded, thereby maintaining precision while using the same simple ultrasonic device architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method improves measurement accuracy by filtering out distorted measurements due to gas bubbles, providing reliable and precise fluid flow rate data.
Implementation Method 1
the ultrasonic measuring device emits an ultrasonic measurement signal into the pipe to travel along a path of defined length, it measures the travel times taken by the ultrasonic measurement signal
Implementation Method 2
The secondary ultrasonic signal is delayed because of the presence of gas bubbles giving rise to a multi-path phenomenon in the fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A method of measuring the speed of a fluid includes: a measurement stage comprising the steps of emitting a measurement ultrasonic signal, of acquiring a main ultrasonic signal resulting from the measurement ultrasonic signal, and of analyzing the main ultrasonic signal in order to produce a present measurement of the travel time; a validation stage for validating the present measurement, the validation stage comprising the steps of acquiring a secondary ultrasonic signal also resulting from the measurement ultrasonic signal but delayed because of the presence of gas bubbles in the fluid, of evaluating one or more first parameters in the secondary ultrasonic signal that are representative of the quantity of gas bubbles in the fluid, and of validating or invalidating the present measurement as a function of the first parameter(s).