About the algorithms of self-diagnosis of the ultrasonic flow meter

In modern industry, especially in gas supply, the accuracy of gas flow metering transported through gas pipelines is more important than anywhere else. A small, at first glance, error in gas flow measurement can ultimately cause large financial losses in gas supplies and sales. Ultrasonic flow meters are currently becoming increasingly popular for gas flow metering. Having no mechanically movable or gas-dynamically loaded structural elements in the flow, such flow meters are reliable, durable, easy to maintain and allow calculating volume and mass flow rates in commercial gas metering with an accuracy acceptable for industry. During operation at gas distribution stations, ultrasonic flow meters, which are part of the pipeline system, also gradually become contaminated. Deposits of impurities and rust appear on the walls of the UZPR housing. Such contamination can cause deterioration in the performance of the measuring device and cause additional inaccuracy in measuring gas flow. In addition, it is necessary to ensure the correct operation of the flow meter if one or more ultrasonic sensors fail. The paper describes the main methods of ultrasonic flow meter diagnostics. The parameters and expressions for their calculation required for monitoring the flow meter operation in real time are given. The article describes some general principles of various UZPR diagnostic algorithms, and also proposes a variant of calculating the necessary parameters in the beam failure compensation algorithm in case of ultrasonic transducer failure based on the application of computational gas dynamics methods. The authors provide the values of flow parameters that can be used in beam failure compensation algorithms. The authors construct functional dependencies of these parameters on the Reynolds number and provide the coefficients of polynomials approximating these dependencies. The proposed method for calculating velocity ratios using computer modeling allows to reduce the development time of flow meters and provides a more flexible approach to their design.