Formation of a uniform velocity profile in the section of a profiled channel of a reference installation

The velocity profiles in gravity and pressure channels of flow diverters in reference installations in the field of liquid flow and quantity measurements are studied. The design shortcomings of reference installations that do not allow obtaining a flow velocity profile close to uniform in the sections of pressure nozzles over a long period of reference installation operation are described. It is shown that the placement of various straightening devices in the profiled channels and pressure nozzles of flow diverters of reference installations does not lead to obtaining a flow velocity profile close to uniform. An approach to profiling the gravity channel of the flow diverter is proposed, which allows obtaining a velocity profile close to uniform. An experimental justification of the hydraulic efficiency of the geometry of the flow part of the profiled channel of the flow diverter of the EU-3 reference installation from the State Primary Special Standard of Units of Mass and Volume of Liquid in a Flow, Mass and Volume Flow Rates of Liquid GET 63-2019 is presented. The influence of the flow velocity profile shape in the section of the profiled channel of the flow switch and the stability of the main hydro- and thermodynamic parameters of the water flow (flow rate, absolute pressure and temperature) in the pressure pipeline on the metrological characteristics of the reference installation is substantiated. Experimental studies of the velocity profile of the free-flow water flow in the section of the profiled channel are performed using high-speed total pressure meters and Pitot tubes. Close to uniform water flow velocity profiles in the section of a profiled channel were obtained for free flow in the range of investigated Reynolds numbers Re=(35...300)·103. The results of maintaining the stability of the specified value of the mass flow rate of water over a long period of time are presented. The equations for calculating the mass of water during transient processes are written down, taking into account the change in the thickness of the water flow and flow rate from zero to specified values. The presented approach and the obtained results are useful for manufacturers of reference installations and are relevant in the design, creation and modernization of profiled channels of flow switches of reference installations.