Metrological performance investigation of swirl flowmeter affected by vortex inflow

In fluid transportation industries, long straight transition pipelines upstream of flowmeters are required to eliminate the influence of disturbed inflow on flow metering accuracy. To ensure an accurate flow measurement, the straight transition pipeline, which is often lengthy, can be shortened, particularly when the installation space is limited. However, the characteristics of disturbed flow (mainly characterized by vortex inflow) evolving along the straight transition pipeline to affect the metrological performance must be investigated for optimizing the pipeline length. The objective of this study was to investigate the metrological performance of a swirl flowmeter affected by the vortex inflow caused by flow regulation with a sleeve valve. The effect of a straight transition pipeline length upstream of a swirl flowmeter on the evolving characteristics of the vortex inflow was investigated experimentally and by conducting a numerical simulation under flow regulation parameters, including valve openings and flow velocities. The flow coefficients for different straight transition pipeline lengths were investigated to verify the flow simulation. The periodic pressure variation in the swirl flowmeter was monitored and its corresponding characteristic frequency was analyzed. It was found that the metrological characteristics of the swirl flowmeter were extremely affected by a smaller valve opening, which can be improved by lengthening the straight transition pipeline. By analyzing the velocity vector and vorticity in the internal flow field, the vortex inflow was found to be vulnerable to dissipation within a longer straight transition pipeline. The average vorticity at the cross-section of the entrance to the swirl flowmeter was adopted to evaluate the inflow vortex intensity. Additionally, a power curve model was established to assess the critical characteristic frequency determined by the maximum unaffected inflow vorticity for different straight transition pipeline lengths. This study can provide helpful insights to the metrological performance and pipeline arrangement in the field of fluid transportation engineering.