A prototype device for measuring the volumetric flow-rate by counting vortices has been designed and realized. It consists of a square-section pipe in which a two-dimensional bluff body and a strain gauge force sensor are placed. These two elements are separated from each other, unlike the majority of vortex apparatus currently available. The principle is based on the generation of a separated wake behind the bluff body. The volumetric flow-rate measurement is done by counting vortices using a flat plate placed in the wake and attached to the beam sensor. By optimizing the geometrical arrangement, the search for a significant signal has shown that it was possible to get a quasi-periodic signal, within a good range of flow rates so that its performances are well deduced. The repeatability of the value of the volume of fluid passed for every vortex shed is tested for a given flow and then the accuracy of the measuring device is determined. This quantity is the constant of the device and is called the digital volume (V p ). It has the dimension of a volume and varies with the confinement of the flow and with the Reynolds number. Therefore, a dimensionless quantity is introduced, the reduced digital volume (V r ) that takes into account the average speed in the contracted section downstream of the bluff body. The reduced digital volume is found to be independent of the confinement in a significant range of Reynolds numbers, which gives the device a good accuracy.
Abstract. You The trapezoidal bluff body is a typical configuration of vortex shedding bodies. The aim of this work is to study flow behaviour over a trapezoidal cylinder at low Reynolds number. The geometry was constructed from a prototype device for measuring the volumetric flow-rate by counting vortices. Simulations were run for this geometry under steady and unsteady flow conditions using finite volume discretization. Laminar flow was investigated in this model with rigid walls and homogeneous incompressible Newtonian fluid. Calculations were performed for Reynolds number range 5 Re 200 and several flow parameters were documented. The present computations are in good agreement with the experimental observations and the numerical calculations by several investigators.
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