Research on Internal Flow and Performance of Swirlmeter with Different Swirler Cone Angle

Abstract

The performance of a swirlmeter (or vortex precession flowmeter) was numerically and experimentally evaluated. With methods from computational fluid dynamics, the flow fields of the swirlmeter were analyzed, revealing their flow characteristics. To obtain detailed flow information with the Re-Normalization Group k – ε turbulence model and SIMPLE arithmetic, which couples pressure and velocity, the three-dimensional unsteady incompressible flow of a swirlmeter was numerically simulated. By varying the cone angle of the swirler, the performance of the swirlmeter was analyzed. The results show that the pressure fluctuation frequency inside has a linear response to flow rate, and the swirlmeter achieves high accuracy over a large measurement range. The pressure fluctuation near the region between throat and diffusor was stronger than other regions offering then an ideal location to mount the piezoelectric sensors. Different swirler cone angles were shown to influence both pressure drop and fluctuation; smaller cone angles produced higher frequency fluctuations but larger pressure loss.

Study on Thermal Effect of Nozzle Flowmeter Based on Fluid‐Solid Coupling Method

“…e results show that the pressure pulsation at the throat is stronger than that in the convergent region, the swirling flow through the swirler is affected by different outlet velocities with various values of aft-cone angle, and the aft-cone angle directly affects both the pressure loss and vortex precession frequency of the swirlmeter. Chen et al also found that the pressure fluctuation frequency inside has a linear response to flow rate, and the swirlmeter achieves high accuracy over a large measurement range [10]. e pressure fluctuation near the region between throat and diffusor was stronger than other regions offering then an ideal location to mount the piezoelectric sensors.…”

“…e experimental results show that it is efficient to utilize this dual-cone method for high GVF and low pressure gasliquid two-phase flow measurement [8]. Recent years, the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method is widely used to predict the internal flow characteristics [9][10][11][12]. Chen et al studied the effects of the aft-cone angle of the swirler on the vortex precession characteristics and pressure loss inside a swirlmeter by means of a numerical simulation and experiment [9].…”

Numerical investigation and characteristic analysis of the swirl meter with different swirlers

“…13,14 In our previous research, we analyzed the flow fields and studied the influence of measuring tube structure and found throat diameter played an important role in determining the precession frequency. [15][16][17][18] Moreover, a detailed flow analysis of swirl meter performance was performed by processing physical quantities into timeaveraged ones, the focus was about the basic characteristics of pressure and velocity at different regions. 19 On the foundation of former investigation, in present study, the internal flow fields were also processed into time-averaged results that provided a new perspective to understand the distribution characteristics and help grasp the mechanism behind the swirl meter's capacity to maintain stability over a large flow range.…”

Experimental and numerical study on swirlmeter with different helix angles of swirler

“…Many scholars have carried out a lot of research and obtained plentiful achievements. Chen et al (2016b) researched the effect of different cone angles of swirler on swirlmeter performance through numerical calculations. The results show that the fluctuation frequency of internal pressure has a linear response to flow rate; the smaller the cone angle of the swirlers are, the larger the pressure loss is.…”