The Features of Measuring the Gas Flow Velocity in Pipes by an Ultrasonic Correlation Method

A method for measuring a gas flow rate is proposed based on ultrasonic sounding of the turbulent flow in a pipe with subsequent cross-correlation processing of signals passed through the flow in two pipe sections. It has been shown that information on the velocity of vortices is obtained from the pipe center due to focusing of ultrasound by a pipe wall. The velocities of vortices were measured using an ultrasonic flow meter and simultaneously by two mutually spaced heat–loss anemometers. Based on the correlation measurements of the time delay it has been shown that the velocity of vortices is less than the maximum flow velocity in the center measured using the Pitot–Prandtl tube. The possibility of measuring the volumetric gas flow rate using the data on the speed of vortices has been demonstrated.