A Dynamic Evaluation Technique for Liquid Flow Meters Based on Hydraulic Line Dynamics

Abstract

A new concept for the evaluation of flowmeter dynamic response is presented. A technique based on hydraulic line dynamics is applied to achieve accurate measurements of the reference flowrate. The major components in the equipment used in experimental verification of the theory were a test pipe, a pulsating flow generator, three pressure transducers, an A/D converter, and a microcomputer system. This equipment allowed the dynamic characteristics of a flowmeter to be investigated in both the time and frequency domains. Comparisons of flowrates measured using the line dynamic technique and the same flowrates recorded by the flowmeter are presented. The results confirm the feasibility and practicability of the dynamic line technique for measuring rapidly varying flows.