Fluid flow device with discrete point calibration flow rate-based remote calibration system and method

A calibration method for calibrating a product fluid flow device-to-be-calibrated (PFFD) to a calibration fluid flow device (CFFD) remote with respect to the product fluid flow device-to-be-calibrated (PFFD), wherein the product fluid flow device-to-be-calibrated (PFFD) is characterized by product operational parameters, and adapted for disposition within a product site conduit characterized by a product inward-facing geometry and defining a product fluid flow path extending from an upstream portion of the product site conduit to a downstream portion of the product site conduit, and

• wherein the product fluid flow device (PFFD) includes:
• a. a product aperture assembly including one or more adjustable product apertures traversing the fluid flow path and characterized by an adjustable aggregate aperture area Ao, and
• b. a product actuator adapted to adjust the adjustable aggregate aperture area Ao in response to an applied actuator signal,
• wherein the product fluid flow device (PFFD) is adapted to pass a flowable fluid along the product flow path and through the adjustable aggregate aperture area Ao in response to a product pressure differential ΔPP applied across the adjustable aggregate aperture area Ao, wherein ΔPP and Ao are within respective pressure and area ranges of interest ΔP and A,
• comprising the steps of:
• A. providing a product fluid flow device-to-be-calibrated (PFFD),
• B. with a calibration fluid flow device (CFFD) at a calibration site remote with respect to the product fluid flow device (PFFD), and characterized by:
• i. calibration operational parameters,
• ii. the same geometry ±20% as the product fluid flow device (PFFD), including a calibration fluid flow path corresponding to the product fluid flow path of the product fluid flow device (PFFD),
• iii. being disposed within a calibration site conduit at the calibration site and characterized by the same inward-facing geometry ±20% as the product site conduit,
• effecting a flow of a flowable fluid along a calibration fluid flow path of the calibration fluid flow device (CFFD),
• by applying:
• iv. a succession of one or more pressure differentials ΔPc across the adjustable aggregate aperture Ao of the calibration fluid flow device (CFFD) and
• v. a succession of actuator signals to a calibration actuator to adjust the aggregate aperture Ao,
• thereby generating a set of discrete point calibration flow rate (dpCFR) values in a locus of a Calibration Flow Rate (CFR) Function representative of the flow rate of the flowable fluid for a range of sparse discrete AO,ΔPc points in an associated Ao,ΔP space, where sparse points are fewer than all points in the range of Ao,ΔPc points in Ao,ΔP space,
• C. responsive to the discrete point calibration flow rate (dpCFR) values:
• by a calibration processor at a calibration site:
• i. generating tile data representative of a mathematical surface segment including a nested array of one or more tiles having three or more vertices wherein at least three of the three or more vertices of the one or more tiles are disposed in the locus of the CFR Function in Ao,ΔP space, and
• ii. transferring the tile data to a product site remote with respect to the calibration site, and
• D. receiving the transferred tile data at the product site and generating actuator signals and pressure differentials ΔPc for application to the product fluid flow device (PFFD) thereby effecting control of the product operational parameters of the product fluid flow device (PFFD) to conform to the calibration operational parameters of the calibration fluid flow device (CFFD), thereby calibrating the product fluid flow device (PFFD) to the calibration fluid flow device (CFFD).