چكيده به لاتين
Accurate measurement of fluid flow in industries is essential, and selecting the appropriate flow meter is considered one of the main challenges. Types of flow meters such as turbine, diaphragm, and ultrasonic are common. Due to the high costs of construction and operation, researchers recommend using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to analyze the performance and the impact of various factors such as geometry, installation of converters, and peripheral equipment. The aim of this research is to simulate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the performance and optimize ultrasonic converters, ultrasonic flow meters, and determine the appropriate location for installing flow meters in different flows. In this study, the effect of flow diverter factors on velocity profile was examined. Simulation results showed that these factors could cause turbulence and non-uniformity in the velocity profile. However, installing a flow straightener after these factors effectively restores the velocity profile to a uniform state and provides the necessary conditions for proper flow meter operation. Based on the simulations conducted, the optimal location for installing ultrasonic flow meters was determined at a distance equivalent to 48 times the pipe diameter (48D) after a flow straightener. For three inlet velocities of 3.85 m/s, 23.15 m/s, and 46.15 m/s, the calculated velocities using CFD simulation were determined to be 4.1764 m/s, 23.5072 m/s, and 43.528 m/s, respectively, which were in good agreement with the average inlet velocities. The maximum error between the two simulation methods and the experimental results is 8%. Furthermore, the flow calibration coefficient was calculated through simulation. The analyses showed that as the average flow velocity increases, this coefficient approaches the value of one. The results of this research provide useful information for designing, calibrating, and optimizing ultrasonic flow meters and can be used to improve the performance of high-precision flow measurement systems.
