IAETSD JOURNAL FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH IN APPLIED SCIENCES, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2, JULY /2017

ISSN (ONLINE): 2394-8442

REVIEW ON VORTEX FLOWMETER ANALYSIS

S PAVITHRAN [1], AVINASH GARANDE [2]
[1.2]
Mechanical Engg. Dept., Vishwakrama Institute of Technology, Pune University, Pune India
vspavitra@gmail.com, garandeavi@gmail.com

ABSTRACT.

Vortex meters are used to measure the flow rate by measuring the vortex shedding frequency behind a
trapezoidal (or triangular) shaped bluff body. In the current work, review on analysis of various parameters
affecting the performance of vortex flow meters is carried out. Here flow measurement techniques are discussed. In
this paper the different signal detection methods are reviewed.

Keywords- Vortex Meter, Vortex shedding, bluff body.

I. INTRODUCTION
Mass flow rate measurement is essential in many industrial processes such as recipe formulations, material balance determinations and custody
transfer operations. There are mainly two kinds of methods in measurement of mass flow rate, direct methods and indirect ones, as outlined in
[1]

According to Zhang [1], using the vortex shedding principle, mass flow rate can be directly obtained from the differential pressure signal. In this
method, gas and liquid can be measured with the same meter coefficient.

Zhang [2] concluded that the natural frequency is a function of pressure sampling tube diameter, length and pressure chambers volume. It may
be increased by shortening the length of the pressure-sampling tube, appropriately choosing the pressure-sampling tubes diameter, and adopting
the differential pressure sensor with small chambers.

M. Reik in[4] his conclusion said that the results show that it is possible to predict the overall vortex shedding behaviour in its complexity using
a simple RANS representation of turbulence without the need of the additional numerical overhead that comes with the higher order turbulence
modelling like e.g.Large Eddy Simulation(LES) or Detached Eddy Simulation (DES).

V. Hans [5] concluded that flow measurement using ultrasound to detect the vortices behind a bluff body is an interesting alternative to other
methods. It was demonstrated that handling the measurement process is easy if combined with advanced signal processing methods.

Venugopal [6] piezoelectric sensors are the cheapest available sensors for vortex flow meter applications. The location of the sensor behind the
bluff body is crucial in obtaining good linearity and turndown ratio. However, the optimal sensor location is not available in the open literature.

II. REVIEW ON FLOW MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE

Hongjian Zhang [1] in his paper presented a new method of measuring mass flow directly based on the vortex shedding principle. As a
vortex flowmeter, von K`arm`an vortex shedding is generated by a bluff body (vortex shedder), leading to a pressure drop and pressure
fluctuation. A single differential pressure sensor is employed to detect the pressure difference between upstream and downstream sides of the
vortex shedder. Both vortex shedding frequency and pressure drop are contained from the output signal of the differential pressure sensor, so that
the mass flow rate can be obtained from the pressure signal.

To Cite This Article: S PAVITHRAN AND AVINASH GARANDE,. REVIEW ON VORTEX FLOWMETER
ANALYSIS. Journal for Advanced Research in Applied Sciences ;Pages: 92-94
93. S PAVITHRAN AND AVINASH GARANDE,. REVIEW ON VORTEX FLOWMETER ANALYSIS. Journal for
Advanced Research in Applied Sciences; Pages: 92-94

Fig. 1 Differential pressure measurement [1]

The fluid volume is a function of ambient temperature and pressure, while the mass is unaffected by the changes of temperature or
pressure. Therefore, mass flow measurement is more important in much accurate work. There are mainly two kinds of methods in measurement
of mass flow rate, direct methods and indirect ones. In the past indirect methods were used to measure mass flow rate which were not accurate
enough. The strong demand for more accurate flow measurement has resulted in the development of direct measurement of mass flow rate.
Several designs are available now. The most commonly used to directly detect mass flow rate are the Carioles meter and thermal mass flow
meter.
At the present time, the vortex flow meter has been widely used in industrial liquid, gas and steam flow measurement because of its
low price, simple installation, high reliability (no moving parts) and high Accuracy. It is usually employed to measure the volumetric flow rate in
pipe flow.

III. REVIEW ON FREQUENCY DETECTION TECHNIQUE

Zhejiang Sun [2] in his paper said that the flow rate of vortex flow meter is deduced from the frequency of vortex shedding in the wake
flow behind the bluff body. Consequently, researches on the sensors and sensing methods for detecting the vortex shedding frequency play a
crucial role in the development of vortex flow meters. The detection of vortices depends on the fluid variations caused by vortex shedding in the
wake flow, so any sensor which is sensitive to velocity, pressure or density can be employed.

In this paper the study is dedicated to optimize the measurement system of DDPM (duct-wall differential pressure method), and
attempted to find the impact of sensors configurations on the meters performance. Experiments were conducted to study the effects of different
pressure-sampling positions, pressure sampling tubes, duct diameters and bluff body shapes on the performance of DDPM-based vortex flow
meter.

Fig. 2 Cross sectional view of DDPM [2]

A. Venugopal[6] in his study mentioned that piezoelectric sensors are one of the most widely used sensors for vortex flow meter
application because of their relatively low cost and ease in fabrication. The sensor uses piezoelectric elements to detect strain in some
mechanical arrangement having sufficient area exposed to the differential pressure of the vortices. These sensors detect time-varying forces (lift)
to measure the vortex shedding frequency. He mentioned that signal processing of the complex raw signal is one of the most important and
difficult tasks in designing vortex flow meters with piezoelectric sensor.

V. Hans[5] investigated vortex shedding flow meters coupled with a detection of the vortex frequency by an ultrasound barrier behind
the bluff body. Comparisons between numerical simulations and experiments were performed in order to analyse the relationship between the
shape of the vortex body and the vortices developing behind it. Advantage of using ultrasound is the high sensitivity of the system to fluid
pressure fluctuations.
94. S PAVITHRAN AND AVINASH GARANDE,. REVIEW ON VORTEX FLOWMETER ANALYSIS. Journal for
Advanced Research in Applied Sciences; Pages: 92-94

Fig.3 Principle of vortex shedding flow meter with ultrasound detection [5]

IV. CONCLUSIONS
The review on flow measurement techniques and frequency detection techniques of vortex flow meter has been carried out. It is observed that
new method of mass flow measurement based on differential pressure measurement between upstream and downstream of bluff body is
preferable over conventional methods. The detection of frequency of oscillation of vortex shedding is carried out by various methods such as
ultrasound detection and DDPM. The piezoelectric pressure sensors are widely used in frequency detection systems.

REFERENCES
[1] Hongjian Zhang a, Yongmei Huang, Zhiqiang Sun, A study of mass flow rate measurement based on the vortex shedding principle, Flow
Measurement and Instrumentation v17 (2006) 2938

[2] Zhiqiang Sun, Hongjian Zhang, Jiemin Zhou, Investigation of the pressure probe properties as the sensor in the vortex flowmeter , Sensors
and Actuators A:Physical v136 (2007) 646655

[3] A. Venugopal, Amit Agrawal, S.V. Prabhu Review on vortex flowmeter, Sensors and Actuators A:Physical v170(2011) 8-23

[4] M. Reik R. Hcker C. Bruzzese M. Hollmach O. Koudal T. Schenkel H. Oertel, Flow rate measurement in a pipe flow by vortex
Shedding, Forsch Ingenieurwes v74 (2010) 77-86

[5] V. Hans , G. Poppen, E. von Lavante, S. Perpeet, Vortex shedding flowmeters and ultrasound detection: signal processing and influence
of bluff body geometry, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation v9 (1998) 7982

[6] A. Venugopal, Amit Agrawal, S.V. Prabhu, Frequency detection in vortex flowmeter for lor Reynolds number using piezoelectric sensor
and installation effects, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical v184 (2012) 78 85