Vortex flowmeter with flow instability detection
AssigneeMicro Motion, Inc.
InventorJeffry Duane Foster
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vortex flowmeter for measuring a flow rate of a process fluid, including a vortex generator arranged to generate vortices in a flow of the process fluid, a vortex sensor arranged to sense the vortices in the flow of the process fluid and responsively provide a sensor output related to the flow rate of the process fluid, measurement circuitry configured to receive the sensor output and provide a digital output, a memory configured to store measurements based upon the digital output; and diagnostic circuitry coupled to the memory arranged to detect instability in the flow of the process fluid based upon the measurements stored in the memory.
Claims20
A vortex flowmeter for measuring a flow rate of a process fluid, comprising:
- a vortex generator arranged to generate vortices in a flow of the process fluid;
- a vortex sensor arranged to sense the vortices in the flow of the process fluid and responsively provide a sensor output related to the flow rate of the process fluid;
- measurement circuitry configured to receive the sensor output and provide a digital output indicative of flow of process fluid including errors in flow measurement due to instability in the flow of process fluid;
- a memory configured to store measurements based upon the digital output;
- and
- diagnostic circuitry coupled to the memory arranged to detect the instability in the flow of the process fluid during steady state operation based upon the measurements stored in the memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.