Patent US4336719A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4336719A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ultrasonic flowmeters using waveguide antennas
Assignee: Panametrics LLC
•
Filing: 1980-07-11
•
Granted: 1982-06-29
•
Expires: 2000-07-11
Abstract
Abstract Waveguide antennas for ultrasonic flowmeters are described in which at least one pair of antennas is used to interrogate a flowing fluid. The waveguides are parallel, each pair defining a plane of interrogation which is parallel or nearly parallel to the flow. Some preferred embodiments use elongated waveguides which effectively interrogate the flow simultaneously along a sufficiently large number of parallel paths so that non-axial components of flow tend to be cancelled. Non-axial components are thereby suppressed or eliminated as significant error sources. The large number of effective paths, over a distributed planar area, also contributes to reliable operation even when the fluid is not single phase, especially if interrogating wavelengths are used which are large compared to scatterer dimensions. Several configurations are disclosed wherein the waveguides or their shields may be maintained clean and free of deposits without interrupting their use in the measurement of flow. In some cases a pair of waveguides may be used to measure not only flow velocity but also other fluid parameters of interest such as liquid level, density, impedance or temperature.
Inventors
- 👤 Lawrence C. Lynnworth
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 07:44
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01F; G01F1/00; G01F1/66; G01F1/667; G01F1/002
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 45
Claim 1
Independent Claim
122 words
Apparatus for measuring the flow velocity of a fluid comprising: at least one pair of spaced apart, elongated waveguide antennas for propagating ultrasonic waves, each antenna containing at least one segment immersed in said fluid, and wherein at least one immersed segment in each of said antennas lies in a plane which is substantially parallel to the flow velocity vector of said fluid; first transducer means for launching an ultrasonic wave at a first time along one of said waveguide antennas for transmission through said fluid; second transducer means for detecting at a second time said ultrasonic wave received in another of said waveguide antennas; and processing means operating on said received ultrasonic wave for computing the flow velocity of said fluid.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
122 words
Apparatus for measuring the flow velocity of a fluid comprising: at least one pair of spaced apart, elongated waveguide antennas for propagating ultrasonic waves, each antenna containing at least one segment immersed in said fluid, and wherein at least one immersed segment in each of said antennas lies in a plane which is substantially parallel to the flow velocity vector of said fluid; first transducer means for launching an ultrasonic wave at a first time along one of said waveguide antennas for transmission through said fluid; second transducer means for detecting at a second time said ultrasonic wave received in another of said waveguide antennas; and processing means operating on said received ultrasonic wave for computing the flow velocity of said fluid.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and said second transducers are adapted both for launching and detecting said ultrasonic wave.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said fluid is interrogated both in an upstream and a downstream direction by transposing the functions of said first and second transducer means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said waveguide antennas are of substantially identical length.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said waveguide antennas are of different effective lengths so that upstream and downstream interrogations of said fluid can be performed without transposing the functions of said first and second transducer means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first transducer means and said second transducer means are located at the same ends of said waveguide antennas.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
67 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein one of said antennas is displaced axially from another of said antennas by a distance L approximately equal to D tan θ 2 wherein D is the distance between said waveguide antennas and ##EQU3## where c 2 is the velocity of said ultrasonic wave in said fluid and c 1 is the velocity of said ultrasonic wave in said waveguide antennas.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said waveguide antennas are supported by compression fittings mounted in the wall of the conduit in which said fluid flows.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the length of each waveguide antenna is at least equal to the diameter of the conduit in which said fluid flows.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said waveguide antennas are mounted in recesses in the conduit in which said fluid flows.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said antennas are shielded from said fluid.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plane defined by said immersed segments in said antennas is chosen such that the average flow velocity of said fluid in said plane is substantially equal to the area averaged flow velocity of said fluid.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
10 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said transducers are magnetostrictive.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
10 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said transducers are piezoelectric.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said antennas are shielded by shields which surround at least a portion of said antennas.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said shields are preferentially transmissive in the path between said antennas.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said shields are stiffened by structural members.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
12 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said shield includes a bluff surface.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said antennas are installed in a vertical plane in a conduit in which said fluid only partly fills said conduit.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said antennas are adapted for supporting at least one of the following ultrasonic waves: longitudinal, shear, Rayleigh (surface), Lamb, extensional, torsional, flexural.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said shields are heated to a temperature sufficient to remove deposits from the surface of said shields.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said shields are heated by electrical resistance means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 15 further including cleaning means disposed in contact with said shields, said shields mounted for rotation about their axes thereby to clean said shields.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said shields are supported in closely fitting bearings, said shields adapted for axial motion through said bearings, said motion cooperating with said bearings to clean said shields.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the surfaces of said antennas are threaded.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one portion of said antenna is masked to provide two spaced apart measurement regions.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
63 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further including a bluff body obstacle immersed in said fluid and adapted for shedding a sheet of vortices generally parallel to said plane defined by said antennas and at a frequency proportional to flow velocity, said vortex sheet having a width at least ten times greater than the thickness of said obstacle, said vortices modulating said ultrasonic wave.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
10 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said antennas are monolithic.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of claim 1 including at least two pairs of said antennas disposed within said fluid so that the velocities measured by each said pair of antennas can be weighted by conventional quadrature techniques to produce a weighted average substantially equal to the area average flow velocity of said fluid.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
49 words
The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the combination of wave type, antenna structure and interrogating spectrum are chosen so that at least 90% of the energy in the interrogating wave propagates in each antenna at a velocity within 5% of the velocity at the center frequency of said spectrum.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said fluid is confined to a rigid duct and wherein access for the installation of said antennas is limited to one of the following: manhole, side branch, flange.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
12 words
Apparatus as in claim 31 wherein said duct is a masonry pipe.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
12 words
Apparatus as in claim 31 wherein said duct is a subterranean tunnel.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
14 words
Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said spaced apart antennas are linked by waveguide.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
16 words
Apparatus as in claim 34 wherein said first and second transducers comprise a single transduction means.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the flow is determined from the time for inhomogeneities which interrupt transmission to pass from one of said spaced apart measurement regions to another.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each antenna contains at least two orthogonal segments.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 37 wherein each antenna can be rotated until at least one of its segments lies in a plane which is parallel to the flow velocity vector.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 1 additionally including reflecting means so that the main lobe of the reflected beam, defined by its 3 dB points, lies within five degrees of the plane containing the corresponding antenna segments.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
39 words
Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein at least one segment in each antenna has a length of at least 100 wavelengths, said wavelengths being measured in the fluid at the center frequency of the spectrum of the interrogating wave.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus as in claim 37 wherein two orthogonal segments in each antenna each have a length of at least 100 wavelengths, said wavelengths being measured in the fluid at the center frequency of the interrogating spectrum.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transit time in a predetermined portion of one of said antennas provides a measure of the temperature of said fluid adjacent said antenna.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus of claim 42 wherein said temperature is determined from the transit time of extensional guided waves, and where the transit time of torsional waves in said predetermined portion provides a measure of the level of the liquid adjacent said antenna.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the average transit time of longitudinal waves transmitted between said antennas in said fluid provides a measure of the composition of said fluid.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US1471547A
Cited
US2746291A
Cited
US2667780A
Cited
US2651012A
Cited
US2787160A
Cited
US3477278A
Cited
US3564912A
Cited
US3680375A
Cited
US3817098A
Cited
US4103551A
Cited
US4193291A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1985-06-28 | 1985-12-28 | 1986-06-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1989-06-28 | 1989-12-28 | 1990-06-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1993-06-28 | 1993-12-28 | 1994-06-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |