Reducing static pressure measurement errors to increase accuracy of air mass flow measurement

Abstract Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for air/water-vapor and water-liquid two-phase flow mixing with condensation in a vertical inverted U-tube is presented in this paper. This study is to investigate the flow behaviors and underlying some physical mechanisms encountered in air/water-vapor and water-liquid mixing flow when condensation is considered. Water-liquid flows upward-downward through the inverted U-tube while the air/water-vapor mixture is extracted from a side-tube just after the flow oriented downward. The CFD simulation is carried out for a side air/water-vapor mixture volume fraction (αm) of 0.2–0.7, water-vapor mass fraction (Xv) of 0.1–0.5 in the side air/water-vapor mixture and water-liquid mass flowrate (mw) of 2,4,6, and 8 kg/s. The present results reveal that, at lower air mass flow rate, no significant effect of Xv on the generated static pressure at the inverted U-tube higher part. However, by increasing the air mass flow rates, ma ≥ 0.001 at mw = 2 kg/s, and ma ≥ 0.00125 at mw = 4 kg/s, we can infer that the lowest static pressure can be attained at Xv = 0.1. This may be attributed to the increased vapor and air mass flow rates from the side tube which results in shifting the condensation from the tube highest part due to air accumulation. This leads to increasing the flow pressure and decelerating the water-liquid flow. Raising mw from 2 to 4 kg/s at the same vapor mass ratio results in a lower static pressure due to more condensation of water vapor. The turbulent intensity and kinetic energy starts to drop approximately at ma = 0.002 kg/s, and αm = 0.55–0.76 at mw = 2 kg/s for all Xv values but no noticeable change at mw = 4 kg/s occurs. These findings estimate the operational values of air and water mass flow rates for stable air entrainment from the side-tube. Increasing the air and vapor mass ratio over these values may block the evacuation process and fails the system continuance. Likewise more air entrainment from the side-tube will decelerate the water flow through the inverted U-tube and hence the flow velocity will decrease thereafter. Moreover, this study reveals that the inverted U-tube is able to generate a vacuum pressure down to 55.104 kPa for the present model when vapor condensation is considered. This generated low-pressure helps to vent an engineering system from the non-condensable gases and water vapor that fail its function if these are accumulated with time. Moreover, the water-liquid mass flow rate in the inverted U-tube can be used to sustain the required operating pressure for this system and extract the non-condensable gases with a less energy consuming system. The present CFD model provides a good physical understanding of the flow behavior for air/water-vapor and water-liquid flow for possible future application in the steam power plant.

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Note on Matching a Supersonic Intake to an Aircraft Gas Turbine

Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society ◽

10.1017/s0368393100068395 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 62 (567) ◽

pp. 219-220

Author(s):

J. M. Stephenson

Keyword(s):

Gas Turbine ◽

Mass Flow ◽

Static Pressure ◽

Stagnation Pressure ◽

Local Flow ◽

Air Mass ◽

Supersonic Flight ◽

Turbine Engine ◽

Air Intake ◽

Mach Numbers

The Function of the air intake of a gas turbine engine is to deliver whatever air mass flow is required, with the best recovery of ram stagnation pressure, over the desired range of flight speeds and altitudes.Although it is generally shown in other forms, the performance of an air intake for supersonic flight can be represented on charts very similar to those of a rotating compressor. In Fig. 1 the ratio between ambient (static) pressure and stagnation pressure at the diffuser of a typical intake is shown as a function of corrected inlet and outlet air mass flow (which are themselves functions of the local flow Mach numbers), for a series of flight Mach numbers.

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Seed Cotton Mass Flow Measurement in the Gin

Applied Engineering in Agriculture ◽

10.13031/aea.12647 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 535-541

Author(s):

Robert G. Hardin IV

Keyword(s):

Mass Flow Rate ◽

Mass Flow ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Flow Measurement ◽

Static Pressure ◽

Seed Cotton ◽

Rotary Valve ◽

Air Velocity ◽

Second Stage ◽

Air Density

Abstract. Seed cotton mass flow measurement is necessary for the development of improved gin process control systems that can increase gin efficiency and improve fiber quality. Previous studies led to the development of a seed cotton mass flow rate sensor based on the static pressure drop across the blowbox, which primarily results from acceleration of the seed cotton. The initial sensor did not perform satisfactorily in a gin, and modifications were made to account for air leakage through the rotary valve at the blowbox and the temperature drop occurring due to heat exchange between the seed cotton and air. Mass flow rate was predicted based on the static pressure differences across the blowbox and rotary valve, the air velocity and density at the blowbox inlet, the air density in the blowbox, and the ambient air density. The first- and second-stage seed cotton cleaning and drying systems of the commercial-scale gin at the Cotton Ginning Research Unit were instrumented to test the improved model. Air velocity, cultivar, dryer temperature, and seed cotton feed rate were varied to determine their effects on model accuracy. Mean absolute percentage errors in predicting mass flow rate were 3.89% and 2.85% for the first- and second-stage systems, respectively; however, dryer temperature had a significant effect on the regression coefficients. An additional regression parameter was added to the model to better estimate the average blowbox density, reducing the mean absolute percentage error to 2.5% for both systems and eliminating the effect of dryer temperature on the regression coefficients. Keywords: Cotton, Ginning, Mass flow, Pneumatic conveying, Pressure.

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Accurate Field Compressor Inlet Flow Measurement System

Volume 6: Ceramics; Controls, Diagnostics, and Instrumentation; Education; Manufacturing Materials and Metallurgy ◽

10.1115/gt2019-91955 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua McConkey ◽

Richard H. Bunce ◽

Heiko Claussen

Keyword(s):

Pressure Drop ◽

Gas Turbine ◽

Mass Flow ◽

Measurement System ◽

Flow Measurement ◽

Engine Performance ◽

Flow Meters ◽

Air Mass ◽

Safety Margins ◽

Compressor Inlet

Abstract Understanding the amount of air that enters a gas turbine is important for calculating their performance and efficiency. Flow meters are almost never used to measure that flow in production engines. Typical flow meters are impractical because the air flow into the compressor is very large, up to 1400 lbs/s (635 kg/s) or 1,000,000 ft3/min (28,300 m3/min), and typically an intentional pressure drop is involved in the measurement. This pressure drop negatively impacts the performance of the engine. If inlet air mass flow were known accurately without negatively impacting the engine performance, then engines could be run more efficiently. Currently, inlet mass flow is typically inferred, rather than measured. This leads to increased safety margins which require engines to be run more conservatively, i.e., at lower power. This paper describes a novel, inexpensive, and accurate air mass flow measurement system with negligible impact on engine performance.

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