Calibration of flowmeters using a dissolved argon tracer technique
AssigneeRadiological & Chemical Technology, Inc.
InventorRoger H. Asay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are set forth for calibration of a flowmeter in a system having a condensible fluid flowing in it. A known volume of a liquid test solution is inserted into the system flowpath upstream of the flowmeter with the solution having dissolved in it a known concentration of an inert gas. The indicated flowrate is observed on the flowmeter. The concentration of the inert gas present in the condensed fluid downstream of the flowmeter is measured. This allows a determination of the true flowrate which corresponds to the flowrate indicated by the flowmeter. The method and apparatus of the invention are particularly useful wherein the system is a heat transfer system of a power plant.
Claims43
A method of calibrating a flowmeter in a system having a condensible fluid flowing in a flowpath therein, comprising:
- injecting a known volume of a liquid test solution into said flowpath upstream of said flowmeter, said solution having dissolved therein a known concentration of an inert gas not otherwise present in said fluid;
- observing the indicated flowrate indicated by said flowmeter;
- measuring the concentration of said inert gas present in a condensed form of said fluid at a position in said flowpath downstream of said flowmeter;
- and
- determining the true flowrate corresponding to the indicated flowrate.
An apparatus for calibrating a flowmeter in a sealed system having a condensible fluid flowing in a flow path therein, comprising:
- insertion means for inserting a known volume of a test solution having a known concentration of an inert gas dissolved therein into said system upstream of said flowmeter;
- measuring means for measuring the concentration of said inert gas in a condensed form of said fluid at a position in said system downstream of said flowmeter;
- and
- comparison means for comparing the true flowrate as calculated from the concentration of said inert gas measured by said measuring means with the indicated flowrate as indicated by said flowmeter.
A method of calibrating a flowmeter in a system having a condensible fluid flowing in a flowpath therein, comprising:
- injecting a known volume of a liquid test solution into said flowpath upstream of said flowmeter, said solution having dissolved therein a known concentration of an inert gas not otherwise present in said fluid;
- observing the flowrate indicated by said flowmeter;
- measuring the concentration of said inert gas present in a condensed form of said fluid at a position in said flowpath downstream of said flowmeter;
- and
- determining the true flowrate corresponding to the indicated flowrate;
- wherein said measuring further comprises sparging said sample with a carrier gas to provide a gaseous mixture comprising the carrier gas, the inert gas, water vapor, nitrogen and oxygen, passing said gaseous mixture through an adsorbent column at a temperature at which only the carrier gas passes through the column, raising the temperature of the column to one at which the adsorbed components are sequentially released while flowing the carrier gas through the column and measuring the amount of the argon gas released from the column.
An apparatus for calibrating a flowmeter in a sealed system having a condensible fluid flowing in a flow path therein, comprising:
- insertion means for inserting a known volume of a test solution having a known concentration of an inert gas dissolved therein into said system upstream of said flowmeter;
- measuring means for measuring the concentration of said inert gas in a condensed form of said fluid at a position in said system downstream of said flowmeter;
- and
- comparison means for comparing the true flowrate as calculated from the concentration of said inert gas measured by said measuring means with the indicated flowrate as indicated by said flowmeter;
- wherein said measuring means comprises means for removing a sample of said condensed form of said fluid and means for analyzing the sample;
- and,
- wherein said measuring means further comprises means for sparging said sample with a carrier gas to provide a gaseous mixture comprising the carrier gas, the inert gas, water vapor, nitrogen and oxygen, means for passing said gaseous mixture through an adsorbent column at a temperature at which only the carrier gas passes through the column, means for flowing the carrier gas through the column while the temperature of the column is one at which the adsorbed components are sequentially released and means for measuring the amount of inert gas released from the column.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.