Flow measurement is a crucial task in industrial production and daily life. Accurately grasping the flow information of fluids from the transportation of various media in factories to the operation of urban water and gas supply systems plays a key role in ensuring production efficiency, optimizing resource utilization, and ensuring the safe and stable operation of the system. As an advanced flow measurement instrument, vortex flowmeter has been widely used in many fields due to its unique working principle and many advantages.
1, Working principle
The vortex flowmeter operates based on the famous Karman vortex principle. When a fluid flows through a triangular cylinder or other specific shaped vortex generator set in a pipeline, regular vortices are alternately generated on both sides of the vortex generator, which are called Karman vortices. The vortices are arranged in an asymmetric manner downstream of the vortex generator.
The release frequency of vortices is closely related to the average velocity of the fluid flowing through the vortex generator and the characteristic width of the vortex generator. The relationship can be expressed using a formula
f=St× (d/v)
Where f is the release frequency of the vortex (in Hz), v is the average velocity of the fluid flowing through the vortex generator (in m/s), d is the characteristic width of the vortex generator (in m), and St is the Strouhal number, which is a dimensionless value typically ranging from 0.14 to 0.27. And St is a function of Reynolds number.
2, Significant features
Simple and sturdy structure: The vortex flowmeter has no movable mechanical parts inside, which makes its structure relatively simple and durable. Without the risk of wear and failure caused by movable components, the reliability of the instrument is greatly improved, and it can maintain a stable working state during long-term operation.
High measurement accuracy: When measuring the volumetric flow rate under working conditions, the vortex flowmeter is almost unaffected by parameters such as fluid density, pressure, temperature, viscosity, etc. The output is a pulse signal proportional to the flow rate, and there is basically no zero drift problem. Therefore, high-precision flow measurement can be achieved. Generally, the accuracy of measuring liquids with full tube can reach 1%, and the accuracy of measuring steam and gas is 1.5%; The accuracy of liquid insertion measurement is 2%, and the accuracy of steam and gas measurement is 2.5%.
Wide range: Its range ratio can reach 1:10 or even wider, which can adapt to the measurement needs of different flow rates. Whether it is low flow or high flow fluid media, vortex flowmeters can accurately measure and provide great flexibility for flow monitoring in the production process.
Small pressure loss: When the fluid passes through the vortex flowmeter, due to its unique structural design, the pressure loss caused to the fluid is relatively small. This not only helps to reduce the operating energy consumption of the system, but also reduces the pressure impact on the entire fluid conveying system, improving the operating efficiency of the system, especially in long-distance conveying or situations with high pressure requirements. This advantage is particularly evident.
Wide application range: Vortex flowmeter can be used to measure the flow rate of various media such as gas, liquid, steam, etc., covering almost all common fluids in industrial production and daily life. Whether in the industrial fields such as chemical, petroleum, and electricity, or in the livelihood fields such as urban heating, water supply, and gas supply, the presence of vortex flowmeters can be seen.
Low maintenance: Due to the absence of movable parts and the detection sensor not directly contacting the measured medium, the performance of the vortex flowmeter is relatively stable, with a long service life and a small daily maintenance workload. By regularly checking and calibrating the instruments, it is possible to ensure their long-term accurate and reliable operation, greatly reducing maintenance costs and downtime.
Easy system integration: The vortex flowmeter has multiple signal output methods, including analog standard signals and digital pulse signals, which can be easily used in conjunction with digital systems such as computers. This enables it to easily integrate into modern automation control systems, achieving real-time collection, transmission, and processing of flow data, providing strong support for the automation control and optimization of production processes.
3, Technical indicators
Measurement medium: It can measure various media such as gas, liquid, steam, etc., meeting the needs of different industries and application scenarios.
Connection methods: There are mainly flange card type, flange type, plug-in type and other connection methods, and users can choose according to the actual pipeline situation and installation requirements. For example, common choices for flange mount calibers include 25, 32, 50, 80, and 100; The selection of flange connection caliber generally includes 100, 150, 200, etc. The plug-in vortex flow sensor is suitable for pipelines with larger inner diameters, with an application range of 350-1200mm.
For gases, the flow rate range is generally between 5-50m/s; For liquids, the flow rate range is 0.5-7m/s. The specific measurement ranges for liquid and gas flow rates, as well as steam flow rates, may vary depending on the product model and specifications.
Measurement accuracy: Generally divided into 1.0 level and 1.5 level, some high-precision products can achieve higher measurement accuracy to meet the demanding requirements of flow measurement accuracy in applications.
Temperature of the tested medium: It can adapt to different working temperature environments, commonly including normal temperature (-25 ºC -100 ºC), high temperature (-25 ºC -150 ºC, -25 ºC -250 ºC), etc. Some special models can even withstand higher temperatures, such as only tubular ones that can adapt to high temperature environments of+100-350 ºC.
Output signals: including pulse voltage output signals (high level 8-10V, low level 0.7-1.3V, pulse duty cycle of about 50%, transmission distance of 100m), pulse current remote transmission signals (4-20 mA, transmission distance of 1000m), etc., convenient for connecting with various control systems and data acquisition devices.
Instrument usage environment: It has a certain adaptability range to environmental temperature and humidity. The temperature is generally required to be between -25 ºC and+55 ºC, and the humidity should be between 5-90% RH (50 ºC).
Material: It is usually made of stainless steel, aluminum alloy and other materials to ensure that the flowmeter has good corrosion resistance and mechanical strength in different media and working environments.
Power supply: It can be powered by DC24V, and some products are equipped with lithium batteries (3.6V) for convenient use in situations where external power cannot be provided or mobile measurement is required.
Explosion proof level: For some workplaces with flammable and explosive hazards, vortex flowmeters have corresponding explosion-proof levels, such as intrinsic safety type iaIIbT3-T6, etc. At the same time, the protection level reaches IP65, ensuring safe and reliable operation in hazardous environment.