This dissertation describes the development of an intelligent non-invasive thermal energy flow rate sensor for laminar and turbulent pipe flows. Energy flow rate is the thermal energy that is carried by a fluid, for example, in a pipe to heat or cool a space in a building. It can be measured by an energy flow rate sensor which consists of a volume flow rate meter and supply and return fluid temperature sensors to bill the users for their energy usage. A non-invasive, low-cost, and easy to install thermal energy flow rate sensor based on thermal interrogation transient heat flux and temperature measurements has been developed to measure fluid velocity and fluid temperature in pipes. This sensor can be used for different pipe diameters, different pipe materials, and different viscous fluids. The transient measurements are made on the outer surface of a pipe by using a heat flux sensor and a thin-film thermocouple which are covered by a thin-film heater. A one-dimensional transient thermal model is applied before and during activation of the external heater along with a parameter estimation code to provide estimates of the fluid heat transfer coefficient and apparent thermal resistance between the thermocouple and the pipe surface. This dissertation contributes to the sensor's development in three ways. First, a new design is developed by using a single layer of Kapton tape with an adhesive (dielectric material) between the thermocouple foils and the pipe wall to isolate the thermocouple electrically from the pipe surface. This new design gives accurate and reliable estimates of the internal mean fluid temperature without environmental interference. Second, this new sensor design is tested for turbulent pipe flows with two different pipe diameters ( = 25.4 mm and = 12.7 mm) and two different viscous fluids (diesel oil and water). Experiments are completed over a large range of fluid velocity from 0.2 m/s to 5.5 m/s and a range of fluid temperature from 20 ℃ to 50 ℃. The estimated parameters, heat transfer coefficient and apparent thermal resistance, are correlated with the fluid velocity and fluid temperature. This sensor gives a good correlation, repeatability, and sensitivity between the estimated parameters and the fluid velocities with an accurate estimation of the fluid temperatures without environmental interference. Third, this sensor is tested for laminar flow in pipes over a range of fluid velocity from 0.049 m/s to 0.45 m/s and a range of fluid temperature from 20 ℃ to 50 ℃. A new empirical correlation between the estimated parameters and the laminar fluid velocity has been developed. The results show that this sensor gives lower sensitivity and accuracy between the estimated parameters and the fluid velocity and fluid temperature for the laminar flow. / Doctor of Philosophy / Heating or cooling is responsible for approximately 50% of the total energy consumption in a building. Budlings' energy consumption can be measured by energy flow rate sensors (measuring both fluid velocity and fluid temperature). Current energy flow rate sensors are invasive (requiring installation inside the system and disturbing the flow) which create unacceptable risks, such as fluid leaks and damage the equipment. Other energy flow rate sensors based on ultrasonic and electromagnetic technologies are non-invasive which can be installed on the outside of the pipe without disturbing the flow, however, they are expensive to buy, difficult to install, and hard to calibrate. Therefore, developing new sensor techniques is necessary, preferably non-invasive, low-cost, and easy to install. In this dissertation, a new non-invasive, low-cost, and easy to install thermal energy flow rate sensor has been designed, developed, and tested. This thermal sensor is based on transient heat flux and temperature measurements which are made on the outside of a copper pipe surface by using a heat flux sensor and a thermocouple. This sensor is used to estimate the energy consumption by measuring a fluid velocity and a fluid temperature in heating and cooling pipe applications for different pipe diameters, different fluids, and different pipe materials. A parameter estimation code is developed to match the analytical and experimental sensor temperature values and to estimate the unknown system parameters. These parameters are correlated with the fluid velocity and fluid temperature. Experiments are completed over a large range of fluid velocity from 0.049 m/s to 5.5 m/s and a range of fluid temperature from 20℃ to 50℃. The encouraging measurement results show that this sensor gives a good correlation, repeatability, accuracy, and sensitivity between the estimated parameters and the fluid velocities with an accurate estimation of the fluid temperatures to allow calculation of the thermal energy consumption.

Current methods for measuring energy flow rate in a pipe use a variety of invasive sensors, including temperature sensors, turbine flow meters, and vortex shedding devices. These systems are costly to buy and install. A new approach that uses non-invasive sensors that are easy to install and less expensive has been developed. A thermal interrogation method using heat flux and temperature measurements is used. A transient thermal model, lumped capacitance method LCM, before and during activation of an external heater provides estimates of the fluid heat transfer coefficient ℎ and fluid temperature. The major components of the system are a thin-foil thermocouple, a heat flux sensor (PHFS), and a heater. To minimize the thermal contact resistance 𝑅" between the thermocouple thickness and the pipe surface, two thermocouples, welded and parallel, were tested together in the same set-up. Values of heat transfer coefficient ℎ, thermal contact resistance 𝑅", time constant 𝜏, and the water temperature °C, were determined by using a parameter estimation code which depends on the minimum root mean square 𝑅𝑀𝑆 error between the analytical and experimental sensor temperature values. The time for processing data to get the parameter estimation values is from three to four minutes. The experiments were done over a range of flow rates (1.5 gallon/minute to 14.5 gallon/minute). A correlation between the heat transfer coefficient ℎ and the flow rate 𝑄 was done for both the parallel and the welded thermocouples. Overall, the parallel thermocouple is better than the welded thermocouple. The parallel thermocouple gives small average thermal contact resistance 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅"=0.00001 (𝑚2.°C/𝑊), and consistence values of water temperature and heat transfer coefficient ℎ, with good repeatability and sensitivity. Consequently, a non-invasive energy flow rate meter or (BTU) meter can be used to estimate the flow rate and the fluid temperature in real life. / MS / Today, the measuring energy flow rate, measuring flow rate and the fluid temperature, in a pipe is crucial in many engineering fields. In addition, there has been increased use of energy flow rate meters in the renewable energy system and other applications such as solar thermal and geothermal to estimate the useful thermal energy. Some of the commercial energy flow rate meters are using an invasive sensor, has to be inside the pipe, including turbine flow meter and vortex shedding device. These systems are expensive and difficult to install. A new approach that uses non-invasive sensors, attached on the outside of the pipe, that are easy to install and less expensive has been developed by using the heat flux and temperature measurements. A parameter estimation routine was used to analyze the data which depends on the minimum root mean square 𝑅𝑀𝑆 error between the calculated and experimental temperature values. A correlation between the unknown parameter, heat transfer coefficient (ℎ), and the measured flow rate 𝑄 was done to estimate the flow rate. The results show that the new non-invasive system has good repeatability, 15.45%, high sensitivity, and it is easy to install. Consequently, a non-invasive energy flow rate meter or (BTU) meter can be used to estimate the flow rate and the fluid temperature in real life.