Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7328624?dq=6272333
Timestamp: 2013-12-12 14:42:46
Document Index: 98649305

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US7328624 - Probe for measuring parameters of a flowing fluid and/or multiphase mixture - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Advanced Patent Search | Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA probe 10,170 is provided that measures the speed of sound and/or vortical disturbances propagating in a single phase fluid flow and/or multiphase mixture to determine parameters, such as mixture quality, particle size, vapor/mass ratio, liquid/vapor ratio, mass flow rate, enthalpy and volumetric flow...http://www.google.com/patents/US7328624?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7328624 - Probe for measuring parameters of a flowing fluid and/or multiphase mixturePublication numberUS7328624 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/412,839Publication dateFeb 12, 2008Filing dateApr 10, 2003Priority dateJan 23, 2002Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS20040069069Publication number10412839, 412839, US 7328624 B2, US 7328624B2, US-B2-7328624, US7328624 B2, US7328624B2InventorsDaniel L. Gysling, Douglas H. Loose, Thomas W. Engel, Paul F. CroteauOriginal AssigneeCidra CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (78), Non-Patent Citations (18), Referenced by (15), Classifications (28), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetProbe for measuring parameters of a flowing fluid and/or multiphase mixtureUS 7328624 B2Abstract A probe 10,170 is provided that measures the speed of sound and/or vortical disturbances propagating in a single phase fluid flow and/or multiphase mixture to determine parameters, such as mixture quality, particle size, vapor/mass ratio, liquid/vapor ratio, mass flow rate, enthalpy and volumetric flow rate of the flow in a pipe or unconfined space, for example, using acoustic and/or dynamic pressures. The probe includes a spatial array of unsteady pressure sensors 15-18 placed at predetermined axial locations x1-xN disposed axially along a tube 14. For measuring at least one parameter of a saturated vapor/liquid mixture 12, such as steam, flowing in the tube 14. The pressure sensors 15-18 provide acoustic pressure signals P1(t)-PN(t) to a signal processing unit 30 which determines the speed of sound amix propagating through of the saturated vapor/liquid mixture 12 in the tube 14 using acoustic spatial array signal processing techniques. Frequency based sound speed is determined utilizing a dispersion model to determine the parameters of interest.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/371,606 filed Apr. 10, 2002, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/427,964 filed Nov. 20, 2002, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/451,375 filed Feb. 28, 2003; and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/376,427 filed Feb. 26, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,432 which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/359,785, filed Feb. 26, 2002; and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/349,716, filed Jan. 23, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/351,232, filed Jan. 23, 2002; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/359,785, filed Feb. 26, 2002; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/375,847, filed Apr. 24, 2002; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/425,436, filed Nov. 12, 2002; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/426,724, filed Nov. 15, 2002, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the parameters of a single phase and/or multiphase flow, and more particularly to a probe for measuring the speed of sound and/or vortical disturbances propagating in a single phase fluid flow and/or multiphase mixture to determine parameters, such as mixture quality, particle size, vapor/mass ratio, liquid/vapor ratio, mass flow rate, enthalpy and volumetric flow rate of the flow in a pipe or unconfined space, for example, using acoustic and/or dynamic pressures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objects of the present invention include providing a probe for measuring the speed of sound and/or vortical disturbances propagating in a single phase fluid flow and/or multiphase mixture to determine parameters of the flow in a confined (e.g. pipe, duct) or unconfined space, for example, using acoustic and/or dynamic pressures. According to the present invention, a probe for measuring at least one parameter of a fluid flow and/or mixture flowing through an axial bore includes a spatial array of at least two pressure sensors, disposed at different axial locations along the axial bore. Each pressure sensor measures an unsteady pressure within the bore at a corresponding axial location. Each of the sensors provides a pressure signal indicative of the unsteady pressure within the bore at said axial location of a corresponding one of said sensors. A signal processor, responsive to said pressure signals, provides a signal indicative of the at least one parameter of the fluid flow and/or mixture flowing through the axial bore.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a probe, generally shown as 10, is provided to sense and determine specific characteristics or parameters of a single phase fluid 12 and/or a multi-phase mixture 12 flowing through a pipe (conduit) or in an unconfined space. The multi-phase mixture may be a two-phase liquid/vapor mixture, a solid/vapor mixture or a solid/liquid mixture, or even a three-phase mixture. One example of a multiphase mixture that can be measured is a saturated vapor/liquid mixture, such as steam. To simplify the description of the present invention, the probe 10 will be described as an apparatus for measuring the parameters of a steam mixture, however, one will appreciate that the probe may be used to measure specific characteristics of any single phase fluid (i.e. vapor or liquid) or any multiphase mixture. As will be described in greater detail, the probe measures the speed of sound propagating through the fluid or multiphase mixture flow to determine any one of a plurality of parameters of the flow, such as the steam quality or �wetness�, vapor/mass ratio, liquid/solid ratio, the volumetric flow rate, the mass flow rate, the size of the suspended particles, and the enthalpy of the flow. Additionally, the probe '0 is capable of measuring the unsteady pressure disturbances (e.g., vortical effects, density changes) of the flow passing through the probe to determine the volumetric flow rate of the flow.
k r ≡ ( ω a mix ) ⁢ 1 1 + M x and k l ≡ ( ω a mix ) ⁢ 1 1 - M x Eq . ⁢ 2 where amix is the speed of sound of the mixture in the tube, ω is frequency (in rad/sec), and Mx is the axial Mach number of the flow of the mixture within the tube, where:
1 ρ mix ⁢ c measured 2 = 1 ρ mix ⁢ c mix 2 + σ where σ ≡ 2 ⁢ R Et Utilizing the relations above, the speed at which sound travels within the representative vapor/liquid mixture is a function of vapor/liquid mass ratio. The effect of increasing liquid fraction, i.e. decreasing vapor/liquid ratio, is to decrease the sound speed. Physically, adding liquid droplets effectively mass loads the mixture, while not appreciably changing the compressibility of the air. Over the parameter range of interest, the relation between mixture sound speed and vapor/liquid ratio is well behaved and monatomic.
a mix ⁡ ( ω ) = a f ⁢ 1 1 + φ p ⁢ ρ p ρ f ⁡ ( 1 + ω 2 ⁢ ρ p 2 ⁢ v p 2 K 2 ) In the above relation, the fluid SOS, density (ρ) and viscosity (�) are those of the pure phase fluid, vp is the volume of individual droplets and φp is the volumetric phase fraction of the droplets in the mixture.
a mix ⁡ ( ω ) = a f ⁢ 1 1 + φ p ⁢ ρ p ρ f ⁡ ( 1 + ω 2 ⁢ ρ p 2 ⁢ v p 2 K 2 ) Referring to FIG. 28 there is shown an optimization procedure in accordance with the present invention in which the free parameters of an analytical model are optimized to minimize an error function. For illustration purposes, the error function utilized is the sum of the differences of the sound speeds between an analytical model and the experimentally determined sound speed as a function of frequency:
err = ∑ f = f low f = f high ⁢ ( a ⁡ ( f ) model - a ⁡ ( f ) measured ) 2 Thus, the sound speed of a two-phase mixture varies with the ratio vapor and liquid phases present in the mixture. Through these relations, and using tabulated values for the sound speed and densities of the liquid and vapor phases of a process mixture, one can construct an explicit relationship between mixture sound speed and mixture quality. It should be noted that the Wood equation is an engineering approximation, the accuracy of which is dependent on the validity of a variety of assumptions. Experimental data may be required to define between quality and sound speed within required, but to be defined, accuracy limits. Various curves are produced in FIG. 29 showing the relationship of sound speed versus steam quality for well-mixed saturated steam mixtures over of range of temperatures and pressures.
1 a mix 2 ⁢ ∂ 2 ⁢ P ∂ t 2 - 2 ⁢ M x a ⁢ ∂ 2 ⁢ P ∂ x ⁢ ∂ t + ( M x 2 - 1 ) ⁢ ∂ 2 ⁢ P ∂ x 2 = 0 The governing equations has propagating wave solutions given as follows:
k r = ω a mix ⁡ ( 1 + M x ) k l = ω a mix ⁡ ( 1 - M x ) ; and Mx is the axial Mach number and amix is the mixture sound speed.
f cut ⁢ - ⁢ on = 1.84 D ⁢ ⁢ π ⁢ a mix For a 1 inch diameter circular tube in a fluid with speed of sound of 1000 ft/sec, the cut-on frequency is �7000 Hz.
p(x=0,t)==>A+B=0 p(x=L,t)==>Ae −ik r L +Be ik l L=0
ⅇ - ⅈ ⁢ ⁢ ω a mix ⁡ ( 1 + M x ) ⁢ L - ⅇ ⅈ ⁢ ⁢ ω a mix ⁡ ( 1 - M x ) ⁢ L = 0 Thus, for a tube 302 of known length, the sound speed of the fluid, the axial mach number of the fluid, and the natural frequency of the system are linked through the solution of the above equation. Provided an accurate method and apparatus are available for determining the natural frequency of the tube suspended in a duct, the natural frequency measurement can be used to determine the speed of sound of the flow 12 in duct. For ducts with vanishingly small axial Mach numbers, Mx<<1, there is a direct relationship between resonant frequency and sound speed.
f = n ⁢ ⁢ a mix 2 ⁢ L For illustration purposes, consider a 1-foot tube (L=1 ft), immersed in a low Mach number flow with a sound speed of 1000 feet per second (amix=1000 f/sec). In this example, the tube would have resonant acoustic frequencies of 500 Hz (n=1), 1000 Hz (n=2), etc. As the frequency increases, the model becomes less appropriate due to many factors including the increasing inaccuracy of the pressure release boundary condition and the plane wave assumption.
H ⁡ ( s ) = Num Den = ∑ n = 1 N zeros ⁢ ⁢ s - a n ∑ n = 1 N poles ⁢ ⁢ s - b n The natural frequency of the acoustic tube 302 will appear as poles of the transfer function. For 2nd order, non-critically damped systems, the poles are related to the damping and natural frequency through the following relations:
a mix ⁡ ( ω ) = a fluid * 1 1 + φ p ⁢ ρ p ρ fluid ⁡ ( 1 + ω 2 ⁢ ρ p 2 ⁢ v p 2 12 ⁢ π ⁢ ⁢ μ ⁢ ⁢ D ) In the above relation, the fluid SOS, density and viscosity are those of the pure phase fluid, vp is the volume of individual particles and □p is the volumetric phase fraction of the particles in the mixture. FIG. 44 shows this relation applied to vapor/liquid mixtures of steam at condition representative of the exit of a Low pressure turbine in power generation applications (T=91 degrees F, P=0.05 Bar)
a mix ( ω ⩵ > 0 ) = a fluid * 1 1 + φ p ⁢ ρ p ρ fluid a mix ( ω ⩵ > ∞ ) = a fluid For steam mixtures, the quality of the steam is given by the squared ratio of the quasi-steady sound speed and the pure phase vapor sound speed.
Quality = m vapor m vapor + m liquid = 1 1 + φ p ⁢ ρ p ρ fluid a mix ( ω ⩵ > 0 ) = a vapor * Quality Quality = ( a mix ( ω ⩵ > 0 ) a vapor ) 2 For dispersive mixtures, the multiple resonances of the acoustic cavity probe 300 provides a means to determine measure the sound speeds at several frequencies with a single device. For steam applications, measuring the sound speed at several frequencies provides a means to determine quality as well as particle size. The dispersion model shows that the frequency ranges over which the dispersive behavior is most pronounced is strongly dependent on particle size. If particle size was an important parameter, the probe could be designed such that the range of resonant frequencies span the frequency range in which the dispersive effects are most pronounced. For example, a 12-inch probe in steam would be well suited to determine particle size for 5 micron particles, but not well suited to determine particle size for 50 microns (probe resonances would only correspond to sound speeds in the high frequency limit) nor 0.3 micron particles (probe resonances would only correspond to sound speeds in the low frequency limit).
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