Introduction of A Newly Developed Arbitrary Pressure Pulsation Generating Device for Evaluating The Characteristics of Gas Flow Meters and Sensors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel and compact pneumatic pressure pulsation generator that can generate arbitrary pressure pulsations in a pipe system in order to evaluate the characteristics of flow meters and flow sensors. Gas flow meters and sensors (used in industrial processes and in homes) are exposed to unsteady pressure pulsations generated by the operation of other equipment and piping. In this paper, in order to establish a compact (laboratory-size) testing device to characterize gas flow meters and sensors (particularly around their zero point) at various pressure pulsations, a compact arbitrary pressure pulsation generator is developed and tested. First, using ordinary 15 m length piping and a T-tube, pressure pulsations are generated and supplied to two flow meters (a laminar flow sensor and an ultrasonic flow meter). Then, the pulsations are duplicated using the newly developed compact pressure pulsation generator and supplied to the flow meters. The experimental results indicate that the developed pulsation generator can accurately duplicate the pulsations generated by the ordinary piping. These results indicate that our system can potentially be used to reduce the cost of flow meter evaluation.