1978 Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 178-183
This paper describes an ultra-sonic flow meter (U.S. FM) designed to measure coolant flow rate of the fast breeder reactor power plant. The coolant is high temperature liquid sodium, the U.S. FM was improved to be useful in the high temperature environment. First, to eliminate the high temperature influence of the pipe to transducers, the guide rods were used. Second, the electronic circuits were improved to measure the flow rate by the difference in the transmission time of signals. Third, the electronic circuits were endowed with a capability of automatic temperature compensation and protected against bubble disturbance. With the improved U.S. FM, a study of acoustic transmission in liquid sodium was carried out. It was found that the sonic property of liquid sodium is similar to that of water. The U.S. FM was tested in a water flow to exhibit its operational characteristics including the linearity, the time constant and the bubble influence. The results showed up as expected and confirmed the promising aspects of the present measuring method.
