Weld-Free Measuring Tube System for High-Pressure Coriolis Flow Meters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Coriolis flow meters face challenges in withstanding high pressures (>100 bar) due to the limitations of welded joints, which require extensive testing and are critical for safety and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A weld-free measuring tube system comprising n-fold measuring tubes connected to a block system with fluid-tight, leak-free connections, utilizing conical flanges and sealing elements to ensure integrity at high pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If welded joints are used to connect measuring tubes, then the connection is fluid-tight, but the reliability at high pressures deteriorates and extensive testing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the welded joints from the system entirely and replaces them with a clamp connection system. The measuring tubes are connected to the connecting piece via clamps that can be tightened to provide fluid-tight sealing without requiring welding, thereby eliminating the reliability issues and extensive testing requirements associated with welded joints at high pressures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a connecting piece as an intermediary component between the measuring tubes. This connecting piece features channels that receive the measuring tubes and clamp connections that secure them, serving as a mediator that enables fluid-tight connections without welding. The intermediary component distributes and manages the connection forces, providing reliability at high pressures while simplifying the overall connection system
2Strength
If welded joints are used to connect measuring tubes, then the connection is strong, but the ease of manufacture deteriorates due to extensive testing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the welding process from the manufacturing sequence and replaces it with mechanical clamp connections. The measuring tubes are inserted into the connecting piece and secured using clamps that can be tightened to provide strong, fluid-tight connections without the need for welding operations, post-weld heat treatment, or extensive non-destructive testing
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp connections function as replaceable, non-critical components that can be manufactured more simply than welded joints. If a clamp connection becomes damaged or worn, it can be replaced without replacing the entire measuring tube assembly, and without requiring specialized welding equipment or extensive testing procedures
3Stability of the object's composition
If welded joints are used to connect measuring tubes, then the connection is permanent, but the ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the connection system into separate, independently serviceable components: the measuring tubes, the connecting piece with channels, and the clamp connections. This segmentation allows the clamp connections to be loosened and adjusted without damaging the measuring tubes or the connecting piece, enabling easy repair and maintenance while maintaining stable, fluid-tight connections during operation
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp connections provide a dynamic connection system that can be adjusted from a loose state during assembly to a tightly clamped state during operation. The clamps can be tightened to provide stable, fluid-tight connections when needed, but can also be loosened for repair or replacement, offering flexibility that permanent welded joints cannot provide
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
The solution enables reliable operation of Coriolis flow meters at high pressures without the need for welded joints, ensuring safety and reducing the complexity of testing and maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
Typically, Coriolis flow meters have at least one or more vibratable measuring tubes which can be set into vibration by means of a vibration exciter
Implementation Method 2
At another point in the measuring tube, a vibration sensor or, in particular, two vibration sensors arranged at a distance from one another can record at least one deflection of the vibrations in the form of a measurement signal
Implementation Method 3
the first block and the second block are connected in a fluid-tight, but leak-free, manner
Data Source
AI summary
A measuring tube system for a measuring device comprises at least one measuring tube for conducting a flowable medium, wherein the measuring tubes each have two end regions, a first block with at least one first channel passing through the first block, wherein the measuring tubes, in a first end region, are each at least partially conducted through the corresponding first channels and are fixed in the corresponding first channels, a second block with at least one of second channel passing through the second block, wherein the first block and the second block are arranged such that the first channels and the second channels correspondingly adjoin one another and the first block and the second block are connected in a fluid-tight manner. Also disclosed is a measuring device comprising the measuring tube system, and a production method for the measuring tube system.