Pub Date : 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103138
Fangting Liu , Long Dou , Jinyu Li , Junhui Li
The liquid level in flotation processes significantly impacts the recovery rate and grade of minerals. The flotation environment presents particularly challenging conditions for measurement, characterized by the presence of abundant bubbles, suspended mineral particles, and frequently acidic pulp. Under these conditions, conventional liquid level sensors are prone to measurement inaccuracies, and their probes are highly susceptible to corrosion. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an extended differential pressure method for liquid level detection. The proposed approach employs four hydraulic detection points and accounts for the gas content in the slurry. Compared with the traditional two-point differential pressure method, this technique demonstrates enhanced accuracy in liquid level calculation. Based on the extended differential pressure method, a level sensor with four isolated probes for the flotation environment was developed. It uses air pressure to measure the hydraulic pressure, thereby avoiding direct contact between the probes and the slurry. An experimental platform was constructed to simulate the flotation environment. On this platform, the level sensor was tested and calibrated. The liquid level calculation algorithm was optimized through interpolation of existing experimental data. The optimized detection error was maintained within ±1 cm.
{"title":"Innovative design of differential pressure level sensor in flotation environment","authors":"Fangting Liu , Long Dou , Jinyu Li , Junhui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The liquid level in flotation processes significantly impacts the recovery rate and grade of minerals. The flotation environment presents particularly challenging conditions for measurement, characterized by the presence of abundant bubbles, suspended mineral particles, and frequently acidic pulp. Under these conditions, conventional liquid level sensors are prone to measurement inaccuracies, and their probes are highly susceptible to corrosion. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an extended differential pressure method for liquid level detection. The proposed approach employs four hydraulic detection points and accounts for the gas content in the slurry. Compared with the traditional two-point differential pressure method, this technique demonstrates enhanced accuracy in liquid level calculation. Based on the extended differential pressure method, a level sensor with four isolated probes for the flotation environment was developed. It uses air pressure to measure the hydraulic pressure, thereby avoiding direct contact between the probes and the slurry. An experimental platform was constructed to simulate the flotation environment. On this platform, the level sensor was tested and calibrated. The liquid level calculation algorithm was optimized through interpolation of existing experimental data. The optimized detection error was maintained within ±1 cm.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145618346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103146
Seyedahmad Hosseini , Gabriele Chinello , Gordon Lindsay , Erfan Loweimi , Muhammad Ayub Ansari , Don McGlinchey
In the energy and industrial process sectors, it is very important to be able to accurately and in real time estimate multiphase flowrates for safe and efficient operations. However, the advancement of data-driven soft sensors is hindered by the limited availability and significant expense of labelled field data. This study investigates transfer learning (TL) as a viable approach to address data constraints and assesses its efficacy within two deep learning architectures: Deep Neural Network (DNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network. The source domain for both architectures was a large, high-quality dataset collected from the TÜV-SÜD NEL wet gas flow facility. Two representative field datasets with very few samples were selected as target domains to create realistic deployment scenarios. Conditional Tabular GANs (CTGANs) are used to ensure data augmentation while preserving physical plausibility. A structured TL framework was established to examine the effects of different layer-freezing strategies on the system. The results show that TL, especially when combined with full fine-tuning, performed better than non-TL methods. TL models not only provided more precise predictions of gas and liquid flow rates but also exhibited improved generalizability to unobserved field conditions and greater conformity with the physical behaviour. In both datasets and model architectures, TL consistently lowered prediction errors (in most cases) compared to non-TL methods. It also made convergence more stable and improved robustness when there was not much data available. In contrast, using pre-trained models without any changes led to a substantial drop in performance, whereas models built from scratch were more affected by a lack of data and often had trouble converging effectively. This framework has great potential for use in fields beyond oil and gas. This also supports the digital transformation of flow diagnostics in changing multiphase conditions.
{"title":"Transfer learning for data-driven wet gas flow metering: Enhancing generalisation in digital measurement systems","authors":"Seyedahmad Hosseini , Gabriele Chinello , Gordon Lindsay , Erfan Loweimi , Muhammad Ayub Ansari , Don McGlinchey","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103146","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103146","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the energy and industrial process sectors, it is very important to be able to accurately and in real time estimate multiphase flowrates for safe and efficient operations. However, the advancement of data-driven soft sensors is hindered by the limited availability and significant expense of labelled field data. This study investigates transfer learning (TL) as a viable approach to address data constraints and assesses its efficacy within two deep learning architectures: Deep Neural Network (DNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network. The source domain for both architectures was a large, high-quality dataset collected from the TÜV-SÜD NEL wet gas flow facility. Two representative field datasets with very few samples were selected as target domains to create realistic deployment scenarios. Conditional Tabular GANs (CTGANs) are used to ensure data augmentation while preserving physical plausibility. A structured TL framework was established to examine the effects of different layer-freezing strategies on the system. The results show that TL, especially when combined with full fine-tuning, performed better than non-TL methods. TL models not only provided more precise predictions of gas and liquid flow rates but also exhibited improved generalizability to unobserved field conditions and greater conformity with the physical behaviour. In both datasets and model architectures, TL consistently lowered prediction errors (in most cases) compared to non-TL methods. It also made convergence more stable and improved robustness when there was not much data available. In contrast, using pre-trained models without any changes led to a substantial drop in performance, whereas models built from scratch were more affected by a lack of data and often had trouble converging effectively. This framework has great potential for use in fields beyond oil and gas. This also supports the digital transformation of flow diagnostics in changing multiphase conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103146"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103136
Haoyang Gao , Jianying Li , Wanting Chen , Yongyuan Zha , Zhao Wang
To improve the flow performance and pressure regulation accuracy of the spool-type pressure-regulating valve, this study establishes a fully parameterized three-dimensional model incorporating the spool cone angle, clearance fit, and orifice diameter. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are utilized to analyze the impact of various structural parameters on the internal flow field. Based on the simulation samples, a Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network is constructed, and the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is introduced to establish a multi-objective optimization framework, achieving comprehensive optimization of pressure drop, pressure fluctuation, and flow rate. The results show that compared to the baseline model, the optimized design reduces the average pressure difference by 12 %, increases the flow rate at orifice B by 81 %, and improves the overall flow coefficient by approximately 24 %. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the spool cone angle and clearance are the dominant factors affecting the stability of the flow field. The proposed CFD-RBF-WOA integrated process provides an engineering basis for the design and performance enhancement of hydraulic components.
{"title":"Structural parameter optimization of slide valve pressure regulating valve based on Whale Optimization Algorithm","authors":"Haoyang Gao , Jianying Li , Wanting Chen , Yongyuan Zha , Zhao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To improve the flow performance and pressure regulation accuracy of the spool-type pressure-regulating valve, this study establishes a fully parameterized three-dimensional model incorporating the spool cone angle, clearance fit, and orifice diameter. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are utilized to analyze the impact of various structural parameters on the internal flow field. Based on the simulation samples, a Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network is constructed, and the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is introduced to establish a multi-objective optimization framework, achieving comprehensive optimization of pressure drop, pressure fluctuation, and flow rate. The results show that compared to the baseline model, the optimized design reduces the average pressure difference by 12 %, increases the flow rate at orifice B by 81 %, and improves the overall flow coefficient by approximately 24 %. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the spool cone angle and clearance are the dominant factors affecting the stability of the flow field. The proposed CFD-RBF-WOA integrated process provides an engineering basis for the design and performance enhancement of hydraulic components.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103136"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145618345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103134
Haechan Kim , Cheolung Cheong , Seo-Yoon Ryu , Su Il Park
This paper aims to improve the flow measurement performance of a turbine flow meter used in a refrigerator ice maker, especially under low-pressure conditions, where nonlinear characteristics lead to diminished measurement accuracy. Accordingly, we associate defects in spherical-ice quality with metering errors caused by the low-pressure K-factor nonlinearity of the tangential-type turbine flow meter. To this end, an experimental calibration system for the flow meter was designed and constructed, and the reliability of its experimental data was verified using the flow calibration apparatus provided by the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). Based on this experimental system, a response surface for finding the optimal impeller design of the turbine flow meter was developed using the Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology. To minimize the nonlinear region of the K-factor under low-pressure conditions and the standard deviation of the K-factor under high-pressure conditions, the transition location between the nonlinear and linear regions of the K-factor and its standard error in the linear region were set as the objective functions for the optimal design process. The improvement in performance of the optimized impeller design was experimentally verified by evaluating water supply prediction errors and these objective functions. For quantitative and qualitative analyses of the improvement factors, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) numerical simulations were conducted by employing 6-degree of freedom (6-DOF) and dynamic mesh deformation techniques. The numerical model was validated through quantitative comparison with measured data, while flow visualization was used to assess qualitative similarity of flow features. The detailed analysis based on the numerical results revealed the physical mechanism causing the observed improvements in terms of torque variation and fluid flow energy driving the rotation of the turbine impeller. The proposed experimental framework, complemented by numerical analysis, is applicable to other turbine meter designs.
本文旨在改进用于冰箱制冰机的涡轮流量计的流量测量性能,特别是在低压条件下,非线性特性导致测量精度降低。据此,我们将球冰质量缺陷与切向式涡轮流量计低压k因子非线性引起的计量误差联系起来。为此,设计并搭建了流量计实验标定系统,并利用韩国标准科学研究院(KRISS)提供的流量标定仪验证了其实验数据的可靠性。在此实验系统的基础上,利用实验设计(design of Experiments, DOE)方法建立了涡轮流量计叶轮优化设计响应曲面。为使低压条件下k因子的非线性区域和高压条件下k因子的标准差最小,以k因子非线性与线性区域的过渡位置及其在线性区域的标准误差为优化设计过程的目标函数。通过对供水预测误差和目标函数的评价,验证了优化后叶轮设计性能的提高。为了定量和定性分析改进因素,采用六自由度(6-DOF)和动网格变形技术进行了流固耦合(FSI)数值模拟。通过与实测数据的定量对比验证了数值模型的正确性,而流动可视化则用于评估流动特征的定性相似性。基于数值结果的详细分析揭示了引起所观察到的转矩变化和驱动涡轮叶轮旋转的流体流动能量改善的物理机制。本文提出的实验框架与数值分析相结合,适用于其他涡轮仪表的设计。
{"title":"Design optimization of turbine flow meter in ice maker water supply to improve flow measurement performance","authors":"Haechan Kim , Cheolung Cheong , Seo-Yoon Ryu , Su Il Park","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103134","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103134","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to improve the flow measurement performance of a turbine flow meter used in a refrigerator ice maker, especially under low-pressure conditions, where nonlinear characteristics lead to diminished measurement accuracy. Accordingly, we associate defects in spherical-ice quality with metering errors caused by the low-pressure K-factor nonlinearity of the tangential-type turbine flow meter. To this end, an experimental calibration system for the flow meter was designed and constructed, and the reliability of its experimental data was verified using the flow calibration apparatus provided by the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). Based on this experimental system, a response surface for finding the optimal impeller design of the turbine flow meter was developed using the Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology. To minimize the nonlinear region of the K-factor under low-pressure conditions and the standard deviation of the K-factor under high-pressure conditions, the transition location between the nonlinear and linear regions of the K-factor and its standard error in the linear region were set as the objective functions for the optimal design process. The improvement in performance of the optimized impeller design was experimentally verified by evaluating water supply prediction errors and these objective functions. For quantitative and qualitative analyses of the improvement factors, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) numerical simulations were conducted by employing 6-degree of freedom (6-DOF) and dynamic mesh deformation techniques. The numerical model was validated through quantitative comparison with measured data, while flow visualization was used to assess qualitative similarity of flow features. The detailed analysis based on the numerical results revealed the physical mechanism causing the observed improvements in terms of torque variation and fluid flow energy driving the rotation of the turbine impeller. The proposed experimental framework, complemented by numerical analysis, is applicable to other turbine meter designs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103134"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103137
Shuai Huang , Hua Zhou
Flow inferential measurement is a key technology for achieving flow control with proportional control valves (PCVs). Although flow-inference models are typically deployed on industry computers, achieving both high-precision inference and real-time performance on edge controllers remains challenging due to their constrained storage and computational resources. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel hybrid architecture that integrates an attention-equipped deep neural network (DNN) with a gated recurrent unit (GRU), an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF), and a constrained tree-structured Parzen estimator (CTPE). The DNN-GRU captures complex spatiotemporal sequence correlations by using parallel DNN subnetworks for adaptive time-step weighting and feature extraction whose outputs are fused with a GRU to model longer-range dynamics. An AKF is applied to suppress measurement noise while preserving the signal's dynamic characteristics. A CTPE optimizer searches for hyperparameter combinations under storage and real-time constraints to produce resource-feasible configurations for edge controllers. The results show that the proposed model outperforms four baseline methods on a test set covering four normal operating conditions, achieving a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.757 (a reduction of 22.0 %–91.1 % versus the four baseline methods) and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.622 (a reduction of 15.7 %–75.8 % versus the four baseline methods). After deployment, the model occupies 318.39 KB of flash memory and has an inference time of 16.01 ms on the STM32H743. The MAE computed between the edge controller and industry computer inference outputs is 0.5 ‰, indicating negligible practical degradation after deployment.
{"title":"A hybrid flow inference model for proportional control valves on edge controllers","authors":"Shuai Huang , Hua Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flow inferential measurement is a key technology for achieving flow control with proportional control valves (PCVs). Although flow-inference models are typically deployed on industry computers, achieving both high-precision inference and real-time performance on edge controllers remains challenging due to their constrained storage and computational resources. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel hybrid architecture that integrates an attention-equipped deep neural network (DNN) with a gated recurrent unit (GRU), an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF), and a constrained tree-structured Parzen estimator (CTPE). The DNN-GRU captures complex spatiotemporal sequence correlations by using parallel DNN subnetworks for adaptive time-step weighting and feature extraction whose outputs are fused with a GRU to model longer-range dynamics. An AKF is applied to suppress measurement noise while preserving the signal's dynamic characteristics. A CTPE optimizer searches for hyperparameter combinations under storage and real-time constraints to produce resource-feasible configurations for edge controllers. The results show that the proposed model outperforms four baseline methods on a test set covering four normal operating conditions, achieving a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.757 (a reduction of 22.0 %–91.1 % versus the four baseline methods) and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.622 (a reduction of 15.7 %–75.8 % versus the four baseline methods). After deployment, the model occupies 318.39 KB of flash memory and has an inference time of 16.01 ms on the STM32H743. The MAE computed between the edge controller and industry computer inference outputs is 0.5 ‰, indicating negligible practical degradation after deployment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145584175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103133
Jiayi Chen , Yuezhong Li
Accurately measuring the minimum flow rate in small-diameter ultrasonic gas meters poses a significant challenge, as it requires extremely high time-of-flight (ToF) measurement resolution to keep the metrological error below 0.5%. Conventional solutions based on dedicated application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), such as the TDC-GP22 or TDC1000, struggle to meet this stringent requirement simultaneously for resolution, linearity, and environmental stability. To address this limitation, this paper proposes applying a high-precision digital converter (TDC) implemented on an FPGA to time-of-flight measurements in ultrasonic flow meters. A dual-channel, high-precision TDC based on an Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA was designed using the time-of-flight method. The proposed architecture leverages a segmented measurement approach that combines coarse counting with fine-grained carry-chain interpolation, explicitly designed for parallel upstream and downstream ToF capture in ultrasonic flow meters. The key innovation lies in a parallel dual-channel measurement scheme coupled with a dynamic calibration mechanism based on realtime histogram statistics and lookup table (LUT) compensation, effectively mitigating nonlinearities induced by process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations. Experimental results demonstrate a resolution of 11.086 ps and excellent linearity, with differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) within [−0.92, 2.56] LSB and [−4.26, 4.28] LSB, respectively. This performance not only satisfies but exceeds the 0.5% error requirement at the minimum flow point, representing a resolution improvement of 79.88% and 49.69% over the TDC1000 and TDC-GP22, respectively. The study provides a flexible, high-performance, and cost-effective alternative to commercial ASIC-TDCs for high-accuracy ultrasonic gas flow metering.
{"title":"A dual-channel FPGA-based time measurement circuit with measurement for high-accuracy ultrasonic gas flow metering","authors":"Jiayi Chen , Yuezhong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103133","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103133","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurately measuring the minimum flow rate in small-diameter ultrasonic gas meters poses a significant challenge, as it requires extremely high time-of-flight (ToF) measurement resolution to keep the metrological error below 0.5%. Conventional solutions based on dedicated application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), such as the TDC-GP22 or TDC1000, struggle to meet this stringent requirement simultaneously for resolution, linearity, and environmental stability. To address this limitation, this paper proposes applying a high-precision digital converter (TDC) implemented on an FPGA to time-of-flight measurements in ultrasonic flow meters. A dual-channel, high-precision TDC based on an Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA was designed using the time-of-flight method. The proposed architecture leverages a segmented measurement approach that combines coarse counting with fine-grained carry-chain interpolation, explicitly designed for parallel upstream and downstream ToF capture in ultrasonic flow meters. The key innovation lies in a parallel dual-channel measurement scheme coupled with a dynamic calibration mechanism based on realtime histogram statistics and lookup table (LUT) compensation, effectively mitigating nonlinearities induced by process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations. Experimental results demonstrate a resolution of 11.086 ps and excellent linearity, with differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) within [−0.92, 2.56] LSB and [−4.26, 4.28] LSB, respectively. This performance not only satisfies but exceeds the 0.5% error requirement at the minimum flow point, representing a resolution improvement of 79.88% and 49.69% over the TDC1000 and TDC-GP22, respectively. The study provides a flexible, high-performance, and cost-effective alternative to commercial ASIC-TDCs for high-accuracy ultrasonic gas flow metering.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 103133"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145584176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103135
Tianyi Cao , Chen Li , Chenyun Zhang , Kehong Yan , Yi Chen
This study investigates cavitation morphology evolution and its quantitative impact on pressure fluctuations in a ten-fold scaled transparent diesel nozzle under controlled needle valve lift (1.0–1.5 mm), temperature (20–60 °C), and ventilation conditions (0.5–3 % bubble volume fraction). Synchronous high-speed imaging (20,000 fps) and pressure measurements reveal a three-phase response mechanism: Phase I: Geometric-induced cavitation dominates with mild pressure fluctuations (0.02–0.05 MPa); Phase II: Multiple cavitation forms coexist, intensifying broadband oscillations (peak: 0.12–0.15 MPa; frequency: 4100–10000 Hz); Phase III: Cavitation simplifies, restoring stability with low-frequency dominance (<2100 Hz). Spectral analysis demonstrates a 40 % suppression of shear layer instability under low needle valve lift (1.0 mm), concentrating fluctuation energy at 950 Hz. Temperature elevation from 20 °C to 60 °C reduces fuel viscosity by 58 %, promoting string cavitation stability and increasing pressure variance by 245 %. Ventilation experiments reveal threshold effects where minimal bubbles (0.5–1.0 % volume fraction) enhance pressure peaks by 25–35 %, while excessive bubbles (>3 %) disrupt string cavitation structures, triggering topological transitions. These findings provide quantitative guidelines for suppressing pressure pulsation by 40–60 % through optimized parameter control.
{"title":"Research on the evolution of cavitation structure and dynamic regulation of pressure fluctuations in diesel nozzles","authors":"Tianyi Cao , Chen Li , Chenyun Zhang , Kehong Yan , Yi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103135","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103135","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates cavitation morphology evolution and its quantitative impact on pressure fluctuations in a ten-fold scaled transparent diesel nozzle under controlled needle valve lift (1.0–1.5 mm), temperature (20–60 °C), and ventilation conditions (0.5–3 % bubble volume fraction). Synchronous high-speed imaging (20,000 fps) and pressure measurements reveal a three-phase response mechanism: Phase I: Geometric-induced cavitation dominates with mild pressure fluctuations (0.02–0.05 MPa); Phase II: Multiple cavitation forms coexist, intensifying broadband oscillations (peak: 0.12–0.15 MPa; frequency: 4100–10000 Hz); Phase III: Cavitation simplifies, restoring stability with low-frequency dominance (<2100 Hz). Spectral analysis demonstrates a 40 % suppression of shear layer instability under low needle valve lift (1.0 mm), concentrating fluctuation energy at 950 Hz. Temperature elevation from 20 °C to 60 °C reduces fuel viscosity by 58 %, promoting string cavitation stability and increasing pressure variance by 245 %. Ventilation experiments reveal threshold effects where minimal bubbles (0.5–1.0 % volume fraction) enhance pressure peaks by 25–35 %, while excessive bubbles (>3 %) disrupt string cavitation structures, triggering topological transitions. These findings provide quantitative guidelines for suppressing pressure pulsation by 40–60 % through optimized parameter control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 103135"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
As the core component of modern diesel engine fuel injection systems, the performance of high pressure common rail (HPCR) injector nozzle directly affects the emission characteristics and power output of the engine. This paper first established the model of the injector nozzle for experimental verification, and studied the flow field characteristics of the HPCR original injector nozzle based on CFD numerical simulation. Then, on the basis of keeping the cross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet unchanged, taking the average flow coefficient of the nozzle hole as the optimization objective, this paper designed and compared two types of HPCR diesel injector nozzle: the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle and the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle. Research had shown that the flow coefficients of the two types of three cross injector nozzles with improved structures are much higher than those of the original injector nozzle. Under the condition of 250 MPa ultra-high pressure, the average flow coefficient of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle is 0.9394, and the average flow velocity at the outlet is 715.61 m/s, both significantly higher than the original nozzle's 0.6295 and 575.37 m/s. The average flow coefficient and average flow velocity of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle are increased by about 49.27 % and 24.37 % respectively compared to the original nozzle, which is better than the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle (the average flow coefficient is increased by about 46.64 % and the average flow velocity is increased by about 18.58 %). Under the same pressure, the average flow coefficient at the outlet of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle is higher than that of the original injector nozzle and the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle, and select the upper tapered three cross fuel injector nozzle is the optimal structure for injector nozzles. In addition, when the inlet pressure of the upper tapered three cross injector nozzle is 200 MPa, the angle between spray holes increases from 15° to 23°, the average flow coefficient at the outlet decreases from 0.9461 to 0.9360, and the diesel volume flow rate decreases from 49.323 ml/s to 48.941 ml/s. A smaller spray hole angle is more conducive to improving the flowing characteristics of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle. Through the research in this paper, it can provide some reference for the design of HPCR diesel injector nozzle.
{"title":"Research on flow characteristics and structural improvement of high pressure common rail injector nozzle based on CFD numerical simulation","authors":"Wentao Yuan , Xinkai Ding , Miaomiao Qiu , Hongzhen Wei , Lanzheng Chen , Qingguang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103132","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103132","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As the core component of modern diesel engine fuel injection systems, the performance of high pressure common rail (HPCR) injector nozzle directly affects the emission characteristics and power output of the engine. This paper first established the model of the injector nozzle for experimental verification, and studied the flow field characteristics of the HPCR original injector nozzle based on CFD numerical simulation. Then, on the basis of keeping the cross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet unchanged, taking the average flow coefficient of the nozzle hole as the optimization objective, this paper designed and compared two types of HPCR diesel injector nozzle: the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle and the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle. Research had shown that the flow coefficients of the two types of three cross injector nozzles with improved structures are much higher than those of the original injector nozzle. Under the condition of 250 MPa ultra-high pressure, the average flow coefficient of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle is 0.9394, and the average flow velocity at the outlet is 715.61 m/s, both significantly higher than the original nozzle's 0.6295 and 575.37 m/s. The average flow coefficient and average flow velocity of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle are increased by about 49.27 % and 24.37 % respectively compared to the original nozzle, which is better than the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle (the average flow coefficient is increased by about 46.64 % and the average flow velocity is increased by about 18.58 %). Under the same pressure, the average flow coefficient at the outlet of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle is higher than that of the original injector nozzle and the triple cross umbrella shaped injector nozzle, and select the upper tapered three cross fuel injector nozzle is the optimal structure for injector nozzles. In addition, when the inlet pressure of the upper tapered three cross injector nozzle is 200 MPa, the angle between spray holes increases from 15° to 23°, the average flow coefficient at the outlet decreases from 0.9461 to 0.9360, and the diesel volume flow rate decreases from 49.323 ml/s to 48.941 ml/s. A smaller spray hole angle is more conducive to improving the flowing characteristics of the upper tapered triple cross injector nozzle. Through the research in this paper, it can provide some reference for the design of HPCR diesel injector nozzle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 103132"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103129
Mallikarjun S. Bhandiwad , B M. Dodamani
The vertical porous baffles, characterized by low porosity levels in partially filled tanks, have numerous engineering applications, particularly in situations where the fundamental resonant sloshing mode is most prominent. The presence of baffles with porosity introduces damping due to flow resistance. Accordingly, this study evaluates the hydrodynamic damping behavior of porous baffles in sloshing containment systems, focusing on their associated loss/drag coefficient characteristics. Within the computational framework, the performance of porous baffles is assessed considering both Reynolds number dependency and porosity effects (Model 1). Another work that considers baffle performance based solely on porosity (Model 2). The model's performance was compared with experimental shake table tests. During these experiments, the tank was subjected to sway motion across a range of excitation frequencies encompassing the first four resonant sloshing modes. In the test series, Model 1 consistently exhibits superior damping performance in wave attenuation compared to Model 2, with improvements ranging from 0.71 % to 0.97 %. The performance gap slightly widens as the fill depth increases, indicating that both Models maintain stable and robust attenuation across varying tank fill levels. Consequently, Model 1 exhibits higher damping and is more effective and reliable for applications where high attenuation is essential.
{"title":"Performance of porous baffles under drag characteristics in a sway-excited sloshing tank with varying fill levels","authors":"Mallikarjun S. Bhandiwad , B M. Dodamani","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103129","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103129","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The vertical porous baffles, characterized by low porosity levels in partially filled tanks, have numerous engineering applications, particularly in situations where the fundamental resonant sloshing mode is most prominent. The presence of baffles with porosity introduces damping due to flow resistance. Accordingly, this study evaluates the hydrodynamic damping behavior of porous baffles in sloshing containment systems, focusing on their associated loss/drag coefficient characteristics. Within the computational framework, the performance of porous baffles is assessed considering both Reynolds number dependency and porosity effects (Model 1). Another work that considers baffle performance based solely on porosity (Model 2). The model's performance was compared with experimental shake table tests. During these experiments, the tank was subjected to sway motion across a range of excitation frequencies encompassing the first four resonant sloshing modes. In the test series, Model 1 consistently exhibits superior damping performance in wave attenuation compared to Model 2, with improvements ranging from 0.71 % to 0.97 %. The performance gap slightly widens as the fill depth increases, indicating that both Models maintain stable and robust attenuation across varying tank fill levels. Consequently, Model 1 exhibits higher damping and is more effective and reliable for applications where high attenuation is essential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 103129"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103131
Guang Zhang , Jin Tao Wang , Jun Yu Tao , Jing Chen , Jun Huan , Zhe Lin
The regulating valve serves as the core control component within the hydrogen fuel engine's fuel delivery system. During the valve regulation process, with the transient changes of the valve opening and the inlet pressure, there are a large number of complex and dynamically changing vortex and shock wave structures inside the valve, which seriously affects the regulating characteristics of the valve and reduces the working performance of the hydrogen fuel engine. In this paper, the flow characteristics of V-regulating ball valves for hydrogen fuel engines are analyzed based on experimental studies and numerical simulations under different inlet pressures (0.3, 0.475 and 1 MPa) and valve openings (0–100 %). Numerical results have good agreement with experimental results under three different inlet pressures with the average errors of 3.87 %, 5.14 % and 2.79 % respectively, which is verified the accuracy of numerical method. The results show that oblique shock wave and shock wave reflection phenomena occur in the flow field, and are mainly concentrated in the downstream flow field of the ball valve. The flow coefficient gradually increases with the increase of the valve opening, while the flow resistance coefficient gradually decreases. The analysis of the flow field Mach number shows that, with the increase of the valve opening, the maximum Mach number shows the trend of increasing and then decreasing. As the inlet pressure gradually increases, the maximum Mach number within the valve flow field progressively rises. At different inlet pressures, the maximum Mach numbers within the flow field are 2.6, 3.2, and 4.3 at valve openings of 80 %, 100 %, and 60 % respectively. Meanwhile, the analysis of downstream flow field distributions identifies the stabilization location at different valve openings and inlet pressure, which provides theoretical support for the design of the V-type regulating ball valve for high-performance hydrogen fuel engines.
{"title":"Study on the internal flow characteristics of V-regulating ball valve for hydrogen fuel engine","authors":"Guang Zhang , Jin Tao Wang , Jun Yu Tao , Jing Chen , Jun Huan , Zhe Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2025.103131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The regulating valve serves as the core control component within the hydrogen fuel engine's fuel delivery system. During the valve regulation process, with the transient changes of the valve opening and the inlet pressure, there are a large number of complex and dynamically changing vortex and shock wave structures inside the valve, which seriously affects the regulating characteristics of the valve and reduces the working performance of the hydrogen fuel engine. In this paper, the flow characteristics of V-regulating ball valves for hydrogen fuel engines are analyzed based on experimental studies and numerical simulations under different inlet pressures (0.3, 0.475 and 1 MPa) and valve openings (0–100 %). Numerical results have good agreement with experimental results under three different inlet pressures with the average errors of 3.87 %, 5.14 % and 2.79 % respectively, which is verified the accuracy of numerical method. The results show that oblique shock wave and shock wave reflection phenomena occur in the flow field, and are mainly concentrated in the downstream flow field of the ball valve. The flow coefficient gradually increases with the increase of the valve opening, while the flow resistance coefficient gradually decreases. The analysis of the flow field Mach number shows that, with the increase of the valve opening, the maximum Mach number shows the trend of increasing and then decreasing. As the inlet pressure gradually increases, the maximum Mach number within the valve flow field progressively rises. At different inlet pressures, the maximum Mach numbers within the flow field are 2.6, 3.2, and 4.3 at valve openings of 80 %, 100 %, and 60 % respectively. Meanwhile, the analysis of downstream flow field distributions identifies the stabilization location at different valve openings and inlet pressure, which provides theoretical support for the design of the V-type regulating ball valve for high-performance hydrogen fuel engines.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50440,"journal":{"name":"Flow Measurement and Instrumentation","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 103131"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}