The relationship between the Reynolds number (Re) and discharge coefficients (C) was investigated through differential pressure flow meters. The focus of the study was directed toward very small Reynolds numbers commonly associated with pipeline transportation of viscous fluids. There is currently a relatively small amount of research that has been performed in this area for the Venturi, standard orifice plate, V-cone, and wedge flow meters. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program FLUENT© was used to perform the research, while GAMBIT© was used as the preprocessing tool for the flow meter models created. Heavy oil and water were used separately as the two flowing fluids to obtain a wide range of Reynolds numbers with high precision. Multiple models were used with varying characteristics, such as pipe size and meter geometry, to obtain a better understanding of the C vs. Re relationship. All of the simulated numerical models were compared to physical data to determine the accuracy of the models. The study indicates that the various discharge coefficients decrease rapidly as the Reynolds number approaches 1 for each of the flow meters; however, the Reynolds number range in which the discharge coefficients were constant varied with meter design. The standard orifice plate does not follow the general trend in the discharge coefficient curve that the other flow meters do; instead as the Re decreases, the C value increases to a maximum before sharply dropping off. Several graphs demonstrating the varying relationships and outcomes are presented. The primary focus of this research was to obtain further understanding of discharge coefficient performance versus Reynolds number for differential producing flow meters at very small Reynolds numbers.

The search for quieter internal combustion engines drives the quest for a better understanding of the acoustic properties of engine duct components. Simulations are an important tool for enhanced understanding; they give insight into the flow-acoustic interaction in components where it is difficult to perform measurements. In this work the acoustics is obtained directly from a compressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES). With this method complex flow phenomena can be captured, as well as sound generation and acoustic scattering. The aim of the research is enhanced understanding of the acoustics of engine gas exchange components, such as the turbocharger compressor.In order to investigate methods appropriate for such studies, a simple constriction, in the form of an orifice plate, is considered. The flow through this geometry is expected to have several of the important characteristics that generate and scatter sound in more complex components, such as an unsteady shear layer, vortex generation, strong recirculation zones, pressure fluctuations at the plate, and at higher flow speeds shock waves. The sensitivity of the scattering to numerical parameters, and flow noise suppression methods, is investigated. The most efficient method for reducing noise in the result is averaging, both in time and space. Additionally, non-linear effects were found to appear when the amplitude of the acoustic velocity fluctuations became larger than around 1~\% of the mean velocity, in the orifice. The main goal of the thesis has been to enhance the understanding of the flow and acoustics of a thick orifice plate, with a jet Mach number of 0.4 to 1.2. Additionally, we evaluate different methods for analysis of the data, whereby better insight into the problem is gained. The scattering of incoming waves is compared to measurements with in general good agreement. Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) is used in order to find significant frequencies in the flow and their corresponding flow structures, showing strong axisymmetric flow structures at frequencies where a tonal sound is generated and incoming waves are amplified.The main mechanisms for generating plane wave sound are identified as a fluctuating mass flow at the orifice openings and a fluctuating force at the plate sides, for subsonic jets. This study is to the author's knowledge the first numerical investigation concerning both sound generation and scattering, as well as coupling sound to a detailed study of the flow.With decomposition techniques a deeper insight into the flow is reached. It is shown that a feedback mechanism inside the orifice leads to the generation of strong coherent axisymmetric fluctuations, which in turn generate a tonal sound. / <p>QC 20121113</p>

This master’s thesis deals with the simulation of flow through the normalized orifice plate. There is described flow measurement with flowmeters, which reduces the cross-section of the pipe and causes the pressure difference before and after the flowmeter. Following is a description methods of modeling of turbulent flow and a description of software for the simulation of flow from the company Ansys. The theoretical part is followed a practical part, which is focused on determining the permanent pressure loss caused by the orifice plate and the verification of straight pipeline lengths between orifice and obstacle.

The thesis deals with analysis of measurement uncertainty. The theoretical knowledge presented in opening chapters is applied on indirect steam flow measurement by orifice plate. Calculation of steam flow is based on knowledge of pressure difference value, static pressure value and temperature. The data are acquired by experimental measurement in laboratory. The mass flow rate uncertainty is determined by normalized procedure (according to standard ČSN EN ISO 5167) and by detailed error analysis (according to standard ČSN ISO 5168) for comparison. Whole numerical computation employs python programming language in Spyder environment. Other computation result is steam consumption of washing cycle.

The work deals with the design of a system of orifices for high pressure difference. The task of this work is to design a device for controlled discharge of steam-gas mixture from a volume compensator with an overpressure of 12,27 MPa to a tank with an overpressure of 0,02 MPa at a constant mass flow of 40 kg/h. The first part of the thesis contains the theory and also the basic principles of calculations. In the next part of the work, the theoretical properties of flow, such as the speed of sound in wet steam, are determined. This knowledge then serves the main goal of the work, namely to design a system of orifices to release steam-gas mixture from the volume compensator.

<p>U mnogim granama tehnike javljaju se problemi<br />merenja protoka fluida. Merne blende, zbog svojih<br />mnogih prednosti predstavljaju najzastupljeniji<br />instrument za merenje protoka fluida kroz cevovode. Sa<br />druge strane njihova upotreba povećava tro&scaron;kove rada<br />industrijskih postrojenja. Jedan od ciljeva ove<br />doktorske disertacije bio je ispitivanje novih oblika<br />mernih blendi u cilju u&scaron;tede energije pri njihovom radu.<br />U ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji predložen je algoritam<br />ispitivanja novih oblika mernih blendi. Takođe je<br />konstruisana i izrađena laboratorijska aparatura za<br />njihovo ispitivanje kao i diferncijalni &quot;U&quot; manometar<br />za merenje malih razlika pritisaka. U okviru ove<br />doktorske disertacije dizajnirana su i ispitana tri nova<br />oblika mernih blendi. U&scaron;teda energije je postignuta<br />dizajnom koji smanjuje otpor merne blende kao<br />elementa cevovoda. Novi oblici mernih blendi, kao i<br />jedna standardnog oblika koja je poslužila kao<br />referentna, ispitani su prema predloženom algoritmu. U<br />prvom koraku merne blende su dizajnirane u<br />programskom paketu Solid Works. Zatim su, prema<br />predloženom algoritmu, ispitane pomoću računarske simulacije u programskom paketu COMSOL Multiphysics. Po dobijanju zadovoljavajućih rezultata računarske simulacije, merne blende su izrađene na 3D &scaron;tampaču, FDM postupkom i ispitane na laboratorijskoj aparaturi. Rezultati laboratorijskih ispitivanja su upoređeni sa rezultatima računarske simulacije. Upoređeni rezultati računarske simulacije i laboratorijskih ispitivanja su pokazali da je računarska simulacija dobro opisivala situaciju. Rezultati laboratorijskog ispitivanja su pokazali znatan efekat u&scaron;tede energije. Takođe je utvrđeno da se pomoću računarske simulacije mogu dobiti podaci na osnovu kojih se može doneti odluka da li novi oblik merne blende treba korigovati ili ima smisla pristupiti laboratorijskom ispitivanju. Algoritam ispitivanja koji je predložen u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji se pokazao efikasnim.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> / <p>In many domains of technology, there are problems<br />with the measurement of fluid flow. Orifice plates,<br />because of their many advantages, represent the most<br />common instrument for measuring fluid flow through<br />pipelines. On the other hand, their use increases the<br />operating cost of industrial plants. One of the goals of<br />this doctoral dissertation was to test new forms of<br />orifice plates for a reason to save energy during their<br />work. An algorithm for testing new forms of orifice<br />plates is proposed. Also, the laboratory equipment for<br />testing them was designed and made, as well as a<br />differential &quot;U&quot; manometer for measuring small<br />pressure differences. As part of this doctoral<br />dissertation are designed and tested three new forms of<br />orifice plates. Energy-saving was achieved by a design<br />that reduces the resistance of the orifice plate as an<br />element of the pipeline. New forms of orifice plates, as well as a standard shape, which served as a reference, were tested according to the present algorithm. In the first step, orifice plates are designed in the Solid Works software package. Then, according to the proposed algorithm, they were tested using computer simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics software package. After achieving satisfactory results of computer simulation, orifice plates are made on a 3D printer, using the FDM process and tested in the laboratory apparatus. The results of laboratory tests were compared with the results of computer simulations. Compared results of computer simulation and laboratory testing showed that computer simulation described the situation well. The results of the laboratory test showed a significant energy-saving effect. It was also found that computer simulation can obtain data that can decide whether a new form of orifice plate must be corrected or it makes sense to access laboratory testing. The algorithm proposed in this doctoral dissertation has proven effective.</p>

Esta dissertação propõe o desenvolvimento de uma rede neural artificial (RNA) direcionada a ambientes foundation fieldbus para realização do cálculo de vazão em dutos fechados. Para tanto, a metodologia proposta utiliza-se de medidas de pressão, temperatura e pressão diferencial, as quais normalmente estão disponíveis em plantas industriais. A principal motivação do emprego das redes neurais reside no seu baixo custo e simplicidade de implementação, o que possibilita o emprego de apenas blocos fieldbus padrões tornando a metodologia independente do fabricante. Foi utilizada uma rede perceptron multicamadas com algoritmo de treinamento backpropagation de Levenberg-Marquardt. O treinamento foi realizado numa programação elaborada para o software Matlab TM. A arquitetura da rede neural foi determinada por métodos empíricos variando-se o número de neurônios e de camadas neurais até se atingir um erro aceitável na prática. Após esses treinamentos foi desenvolvida uma programação para realizar os cálculos de vazão em um ambiente foundation fieldbus utilizando-se para tanto o software DeltaV TM do fabricante Emerson Process Management. Foram obtidos resultados com erro relativo médio de valor de vazão em torno de 1.43% para um primeiro cenário utilizando uma placa de orifício e ar como fluido, e de 0,073% para um segundo cenário utilizando uma placa de orifício e gás natural como fluido, com relação aos valores obtidos através do instrumento multivariável 3095MV TM do fabricante Rosemount. Os valores de erro encontrados validam o método desenvolvido nessa dissertação. / This dissertation proposes the development of an artificial neural network (ANN) directed to foundation fieldbus environment for calculation of flow in closed ducts. The proposed methodology uses measurements of pressure, temperature and differential pressure, which are usually available in industrial plants. The main motivation of the use of neural networks lies in their low cost and simplicity of implementation, which allows the use of standard fieldbus blocks by just making the method independent of the manufacturer. It was used a multilayer perceptron network with backpropagation training and algorithm from Levenberg-Marquardt. The training was programmed in the software Matlab TM. The architecture of the ANN was determined by empirical methods by varying the number of neurons and neural layers until it reaches an acceptable error. After such trainings, it was developed a program to perform the flow calculations in an foundation fieldbus environment using Emerson Process Management\'s DeltaV TM software. The results were obtained with an average relative error of flow rate of 1.43% for the first scenario using an orifice plate and air as a process fluid, and 0.073% for a second scenario using an orifice plate and natural gas as the fluid related to the values obtained from Rosemount 3095MV TM multivariable instrument. The values of error found validate the method developed in this dissertation.

A medição de vazão de escoamentos multifásicos é uma necessidade constante em diversas atividades industriais como exploração de óleo e gás, controle de linhas de transporte de vapor e monitoramento de sistemas de resfriamento de usinas nucleares. Dentre os meios disponíveis para a realização da medição de vazão mássica, os dispositivos de medição de pressão diferencial constituem um dos métodos mais simples, sendo sua construção, aplicação e operação em escoamentos monofásicos bem conhecidas e definidas por normas técnicas. No entanto, sua aplicação tem sido estendida a escoamentos multifásicos, geralmente estando aliada a uma técnica adicional de medição de fração de vazio ou fração volumétrica das fases. Este trabalho descreve o estudo numérico de escoamentos multifásicos através de medidores de vazão baseados em pressão diferencial como placas de orifício e bocais de vazão de raio longo. Para tal, primeiramente foram conduzidas simulações de escoamentos monofásicos através de placas de orifício e bocais de vazão de raio longo na faixa de número de Reynolds 15.000 500.000. Os resultados de coeficiente de descarga obtidos foram quantitativamente comparados com os valores preditos por norma ISO, apresentando desvio máximo de aproximadamente 4, 9% para as placas e de 1,0% para os bocais. Em uma segunda etapa, escoamentos do tipo gás úmido (wet gas) através de placas de orifício foram simulados através de três abordagens diferentes. Os resultados de vazão mássica total obtidos foram comparados com dados experimentais fornecidos pela PETROBRAS. As abordagens que consideram o escorregamento entre as fases apresentaram previsões mais próximas dos experimentos, com desvio relativo médio de 3,9%, enquanto a modelagem homogênea apresentou um desvio médio de 6, 6%. Nestes estudos, foram também avaliadas as estruturas desenvolvidas no escoamento através de visualizações da distribuição de fases. São também apresentadas duas sugestões para complementação da caracterização de um escoamento multifásico: (1) a introdução da informação de fração de vazio na formulação apresentada por Paz (2011) e (2) a análise estatística do sinal de pressão diferencial em placas de orifício. Com relação ao primeiro item, comparações quantitativas com dados experimentais sugeriram que a alternativa apresentada é viável para operações de monitoramento da produção. Já o último estudo mostrou qualitativamente a influência da quantidade de líquido na flutuação da pressão diferencial / The flowrate measurement of multiphase flows is a constant need at many industrial activities such as oil and gas exploration, steam transport lines control and monitoring of nuclear plants cooling systems. Within the available means for performing flowrate measurement, the differential pressure devices constitute one of the simplest methods, with their construction, application and operation in single phase flows being well known and defined by technical standards. However, their application has been extended to multiphase flows, usually being allied to a void fraction or phase volume fraction measurement technique. This work describes a numerical study of multiphase flows through differential pressure-based flowrate meters such as orifice plates and long radius nozzles. Firstly simulations of single phase flows through orifice plates and long radius nozzles were conducted in the Reynolds number range 15.000500.000. The obtained results of discharge coefficients were quantitatively compared to ISO Standard predicted values, showing a maximum deviation of approximately 4,9% for the orifice plates and of 1,0% for the nozzles. In a second stage, wet gas flows through orifice plates were simulated by means of three approaches. The calculated results of total mass flowrate were compared to experimental data provided by PETROBRAS. The approaches that considered the slip between phases provided the closest results to the experiments, with a mean relative error of 3, 9%, while the homogeneous modeling presented an error of 6, 6%. In these studies, the structures developed within the domain were also evaluated through the visualization of the phases distribution. Two suggestions for complementing the characterization of a multiphase flow are presented: (1) the introduction of void fraction information into the formulation presented by Paz (2011) and (2) the statistical analysis of the orifice plate pressure drop signal. Regarding the first item, quantitative comparison with experimental data suggested that the presented alternative is viable for production monitoring operations. The last study qualitatively revealed the influence of the liquid loading in the pressure drop fluctuation.

A medição de vazão de escoamentos multifásicos é uma necessidade constante em diversas atividades industriais como exploração de óleo e gás, controle de linhas de transporte de vapor e monitoramento de sistemas de resfriamento de usinas nucleares. Dentre os meios disponíveis para a realização da medição de vazão mássica, os dispositivos de medição de pressão diferencial constituem um dos métodos mais simples, sendo sua construção, aplicação e operação em escoamentos monofásicos bem conhecidas e definidas por normas técnicas. No entanto, sua aplicação tem sido estendida a escoamentos multifásicos, geralmente estando aliada a uma técnica adicional de medição de fração de vazio ou fração volumétrica das fases. Este trabalho descreve o estudo numérico de escoamentos multifásicos através de medidores de vazão baseados em pressão diferencial como placas de orifício e bocais de vazão de raio longo. Para tal, primeiramente foram conduzidas simulações de escoamentos monofásicos através de placas de orifício e bocais de vazão de raio longo na faixa de número de Reynolds 15.000 500.000. Os resultados de coeficiente de descarga obtidos foram quantitativamente comparados com os valores preditos por norma ISO, apresentando desvio máximo de aproximadamente 4, 9% para as placas e de 1,0% para os bocais. Em uma segunda etapa, escoamentos do tipo gás úmido (wet gas) através de placas de orifício foram simulados através de três abordagens diferentes. Os resultados de vazão mássica total obtidos foram comparados com dados experimentais fornecidos pela PETROBRAS. As abordagens que consideram o escorregamento entre as fases apresentaram previsões mais próximas dos experimentos, com desvio relativo médio de 3,9%, enquanto a modelagem homogênea apresentou um desvio médio de 6, 6%. Nestes estudos, foram também avaliadas as estruturas desenvolvidas no escoamento através de visualizações da distribuição de fases. São também apresentadas duas sugestões para complementação da caracterização de um escoamento multifásico: (1) a introdução da informação de fração de vazio na formulação apresentada por Paz (2011) e (2) a análise estatística do sinal de pressão diferencial em placas de orifício. Com relação ao primeiro item, comparações quantitativas com dados experimentais sugeriram que a alternativa apresentada é viável para operações de monitoramento da produção. Já o último estudo mostrou qualitativamente a influência da quantidade de líquido na flutuação da pressão diferencial / The flowrate measurement of multiphase flows is a constant need at many industrial activities such as oil and gas exploration, steam transport lines control and monitoring of nuclear plants cooling systems. Within the available means for performing flowrate measurement, the differential pressure devices constitute one of the simplest methods, with their construction, application and operation in single phase flows being well known and defined by technical standards. However, their application has been extended to multiphase flows, usually being allied to a void fraction or phase volume fraction measurement technique. This work describes a numerical study of multiphase flows through differential pressure-based flowrate meters such as orifice plates and long radius nozzles. Firstly simulations of single phase flows through orifice plates and long radius nozzles were conducted in the Reynolds number range 15.000500.000. The obtained results of discharge coefficients were quantitatively compared to ISO Standard predicted values, showing a maximum deviation of approximately 4,9% for the orifice plates and of 1,0% for the nozzles. In a second stage, wet gas flows through orifice plates were simulated by means of three approaches. The calculated results of total mass flowrate were compared to experimental data provided by PETROBRAS. The approaches that considered the slip between phases provided the closest results to the experiments, with a mean relative error of 3, 9%, while the homogeneous modeling presented an error of 6, 6%. In these studies, the structures developed within the domain were also evaluated through the visualization of the phases distribution. Two suggestions for complementing the characterization of a multiphase flow are presented: (1) the introduction of void fraction information into the formulation presented by Paz (2011) and (2) the statistical analysis of the orifice plate pressure drop signal. Regarding the first item, quantitative comparison with experimental data suggested that the presented alternative is viable for production monitoring operations. The last study qualitatively revealed the influence of the liquid loading in the pressure drop fluctuation.

Esta dissertação propõe o desenvolvimento de uma rede neural artificial (RNA) direcionada a ambientes foundation fieldbus para realização do cálculo de vazão em dutos fechados. Para tanto, a metodologia proposta utiliza-se de medidas de pressão, temperatura e pressão diferencial, as quais normalmente estão disponíveis em plantas industriais. A principal motivação do emprego das redes neurais reside no seu baixo custo e simplicidade de implementação, o que possibilita o emprego de apenas blocos fieldbus padrões tornando a metodologia independente do fabricante. Foi utilizada uma rede perceptron multicamadas com algoritmo de treinamento backpropagation de Levenberg-Marquardt. O treinamento foi realizado numa programação elaborada para o software Matlab TM. A arquitetura da rede neural foi determinada por métodos empíricos variando-se o número de neurônios e de camadas neurais até se atingir um erro aceitável na prática. Após esses treinamentos foi desenvolvida uma programação para realizar os cálculos de vazão em um ambiente foundation fieldbus utilizando-se para tanto o software DeltaV TM do fabricante Emerson Process Management. Foram obtidos resultados com erro relativo médio de valor de vazão em torno de 1.43% para um primeiro cenário utilizando uma placa de orifício e ar como fluido, e de 0,073% para um segundo cenário utilizando uma placa de orifício e gás natural como fluido, com relação aos valores obtidos através do instrumento multivariável 3095MV TM do fabricante Rosemount. Os valores de erro encontrados validam o método desenvolvido nessa dissertação. / This dissertation proposes the development of an artificial neural network (ANN) directed to foundation fieldbus environment for calculation of flow in closed ducts. The proposed methodology uses measurements of pressure, temperature and differential pressure, which are usually available in industrial plants. The main motivation of the use of neural networks lies in their low cost and simplicity of implementation, which allows the use of standard fieldbus blocks by just making the method independent of the manufacturer. It was used a multilayer perceptron network with backpropagation training and algorithm from Levenberg-Marquardt. The training was programmed in the software Matlab TM. The architecture of the ANN was determined by empirical methods by varying the number of neurons and neural layers until it reaches an acceptable error. After such trainings, it was developed a program to perform the flow calculations in an foundation fieldbus environment using Emerson Process Management\'s DeltaV TM software. The results were obtained with an average relative error of flow rate of 1.43% for the first scenario using an orifice plate and air as a process fluid, and 0.073% for a second scenario using an orifice plate and natural gas as the fluid related to the values obtained from Rosemount 3095MV TM multivariable instrument. The values of error found validate the method developed in this dissertation.