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AIR FLOW MEASUREMENT

ERIK THOR, Ph.D. BASIC DEVELOPMENT / FLUID MECHANICS

AIR FLOW PHYSICS

Air = Mixture of gas molecules (N2, O2, Ar, CO2, ...)

Ekin [J]

Air velocity v [m/s] = mean travelled distance per time of an air molecule

closed channel air flow

air flow past immersed body

d [m]

Mass flow = transferred mass per time and area [kg/(m 2 s)] = Air Density [kg/m3] Air Velocity [m/s]

density 2 > density 1 density 1

low velocity regular ( laminar ) flow

high velocity irregular ( turbulent flow )

low - high velocity Reynolds number Re= inertial force / viscous force

m kg diameter [m] velocity [ ] density [ 3 ] d v s m Re = = kg vis cos ity [ ] ms

Re < 2000 for laminar flow in a pipe

TYPOLOGY OF (AIR) FLOWMETERS

Flowmeter Type
Coriolis Differential Pressure Magnetic

Liquid
x x x

Gas
x x

Steam

Pipe size
1/6 to 6 in,

Clean Fluid
x x x

Dirty Fluid
Ltd. Ltd. x

in. and up 1/10 to 100 in.

Positive Displacement Thermal (HW, HF, Calorimetric) Turbine Ultrasonic-Transit Time

x Ltd. x x

x x x x Ltd.

2 30 in. Insertion 2 30 in. inch and up

x x x x Ltd.

no problem for HF !

Ultrasonic-Doppler

inch and up

Vortex

inch to12 in.

Flowmeter Type
Coriolis

Advantages
High accuracy; Low maintenance; Insensitive to flow profile

Disadvantages
High initial cost, depending on size and model; Bent tubes subject to fouling; Not available for pipe sizes over six inches Limited rangeability; Permanent pressure drop; Uses square root method to calculate flowrate; Requires periodic maintenance Cannot meter nonconductive fluids (e.g., hydrocarbons); Relatively high initial cost; Electrodes subject to coating Cannot handle dirty fluids; Subject to wear; Pressure drop Limited accuracy; Sensitive to problems of dirty fluids except HF Cannot handle dirty fluids; Bearings subject to wear; Pressure drop

Differential Pressure

Low initial cost; Ease of installation; Well understood; Many industry approvals

Magnetic

Obstructionless; High accuracy; No pressure drop

Positive Displacement

High accuracy; Insensitive to flow profile; High rangeability Relatively low initial cost; Good for low velocity flows High accuracy; Well-known technology; Medium purchase price

Thermal (Calorimetric, Hot Wire, Hot Film) Turbine

Ultrasonic-Transit Time

High accuracy, depending on model; Obstructionless; Clamp-on convenience; No pressure drop

Limited ability to handle dirty fluids; Can be affected by flow profile; Some models have high initial cost

Ultrasonic-Doppler

Can meter dirty flows; No pressure drop; Clamp-on convenience Highly versatile: can measure liquid, gas, and steam; Good accuracy

Low to medium accuracy; Reynolds number limitations Limited ability to handle low flows; Vibration can affect accuracy; Few industry approvals

Vortex

Rate the importance of factors you use when specifying or purchasing flowmeters (scale is 1 to 5)
Criteria Reliability Compatibility Repeatability Application Technical support User friendly/simplicity Accuracy Maintainability/Rep air Price Ranking 4.81 4.80 4.78 4.69 4.67 4.60 4.45 4.30 3.77 Minimum 4 4 4 2 3 4 1 3 1 Maximum 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Jesse Joder, Flowmeter Shootout Part III, http://www.flowresearch.com/articles.htm

HOT FILM TECHNOLOGY

EE65

EE70

Temperature Sensor

Velocity Sensor

Structured Mo metal film ( 1 m) on thin glass substrate (150 m) coated by polyimide protective layer

HOT FILM MEASUREMENT PRINCIPLE

Hot meander film

Air flow Heat loss to air by forced convection

Power supply

 Power supply P=UI

Hot film resistance Rh heater temperature Th

Air flow velocity v, ambient temperature Ta

Power constant P [mW]

Heater cools down Th [C]

v [m/s]

v [m/s]

Heater temperature constant Th [C]

Power function of velocity P [mW]

v [m/s]

v [m/s]

Electronic unit converts P(v) into linearized signal Uout (v), Iout (v) for a defined velocity region

Uout, Iout 10V / 20mA

0V / 4mA 0 20 m/s

CLIMATIC INFLUENCES

Convective heat transmission depends on temperature difference between hot film and ambient air !

dQ [W ] Th Ta dt

Th-Ta kept constant by Microcontroller (EE70) Wheatstone bridge circuit (EE65)

Rh

Rt

R1

R2

 Temperature Measurement

Rt (t ) R (0) (1 + TC t )
Rt [] TCMo=3380 [ppm/C]

R(0) 0

t [C]

P (v ) 1 n = Bv SHC Th Ta
5 4 3 2 1 0 0 5 10 15 20

1/SHC [mW/K]

Flow Velocity v [m/s]

1/SHC-characteristic depends on air fluid properties i.e. air density [kg/m3] !!! thermal conductivity [W/(mK)] viscosity [kg/(ms)] thermal capacity cp [J/(kgK)]

AIR PRESSURE AN UNCOMPENSATED INFLUENCE

Continuity equation

Ideal gas equation

1 dm [kg /( m 2 s )] = v A dt

p T0 [kg / m ] = 0 T p0
3

Measured velocity vm

True velocity v

p vm = v p0

p0 v = vm = vm c ( p ) p

80 60
Measurement Error dv [%]

4 Correction Factor c(p)

40 20 0
0.2 0.6 1 1.4 1.8

-20 -40 -60 -80

Pressure p [bar]

0 0.2 0.6 1 1.4 Pressure p [bar] 1.8

Atmospheric air pressure p depends on height h above sea level

p = p0 e
1 Atmospheric Pressure p [bar]

h 8 km

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Height above Sea Level h [km]

0 0 -10 2 4 6 8 10

3.5

3
Measurement Error dv [%] -20 -30 -40 -50 -60 -70

Correction Factor c(h)

2.5

1.5

1
-80 Height above Sea Level h [km]

10

Height above Sea Level h [km]

CALIBRATION WIND TUNNEL TESTING

CALIBRATION
1. Velocity measurement device under test (VDUT) 2. Certificated velocity reference calibration = measurement of the deviations of the VDUT from the reference under controlled flow conditions

E+E primary velocity reference Laser-Doppler Anemometer (LDA) certificated by PTB

with only 0.2 % uncertainty in velocity measurement

 Wind Tunnel for controlled flow conditions

Open Jet

Closed Jet

v=1 m/s d=0.2 m Air (20C,1bar) =1.188 kg/m3 Air (20C,1bar) =1.824 10-5 kg/(m s) Re=13026 >> 2000 turbulent flow

special tunnel design for laminar, uniform flow in test section

At E+E two closed jets with (a) closed test section (Gttingen type)

v=0-30 m/s Ta=10-40C

(b) open test section (Prandtl type)

v=0-40 m/s Ta=RT=23C

WIND WIND TUNNEL TUNNEL FOR FOR MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT OF OF TRANSMITTER TRANSMITTER CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS
Testing of transmitter performance under different climatic conditions temperature, pressure, humidity geometric conditions twisting angle, probe position in the flow dynamic conditions response time

SUDDEN CHANGE IN...

(a) Velocity at constant temperature (HVAC) EE65 (0.2/2s), EE70 (1.5s)

(b) Velocity and temperature EE70 EE65 optional but slow

Response times for a change from (0m/s,50C) to (0.5m/s,23C)

300

Deviation from mean final value [%]

250

EE65
200

EE70
150

t90
100

50

0 0 -50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Time [min]

Direction Characteristics at 10 m/s

5 4 3 2 1 0 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 0 2 4 6 8 10

EE65

Deviation from 0-value [%]

EE70 Tolerance Limit Tolerance Limit

Twisting Angle []

GUIDELINES FOR GETTING REALISTIC MEASUREMENT RESULTS...

b a

d = a2 + b2

circular duct shape

rectangular duct shape

2 6d or d 3

1 3d or d 3

d/2

Take care to...

Donts and Dos

avoid corners avoid walls keep parallel to the flow avoid flow interrupting elements avoid contractions, diffusers

Thank you for your attention !