Vortex flowmeter with enhanced accuracy and reliability by means of sensor fusion and self-validation

摘要

Due to the complementary qualities of the principles of vortex frequency estimation and vortex time of flight estimation they are ideally suited for an effective senior fusion within flow measurement. A flow meter which combines the results of the two individual systems in an intelligent manner was built and beside theoretical considerations the performance of the fused system is demonstrated by a variety of measurements. In Comparison with conventional vortex meters which only use the vortex frequency to estimate the flow rate, the measuring range can be extended by a factor of 8-10 and the accuracy of the system as well as the robustness to disturbances like a second fluid phase or depositions on the bluff body are strongly increased. #1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.