Prediction of Curvature Effects on the Electromagnetic Flowmeter Characteristics with Numerical Simulation (Laminar flow)

곡관의 곡률에 따른 전자기유량계 설치효과의 수치모사에 의한 특성 예측(충류)

An electromagnetic flowmeter, based on a magnetic induction principle; provides an obstructionless flowmeter that essentially averages the velocity distribution over the pipe cross-sectional area. To predict the installation effects, the flowmeter installed near $90^{\circ}$ elbow is simulated by using a commercial code FLUENT(ver. 4.48) for the laminar flow field and a code developed through this study for magnetic field. The installation effects of the flowmeter are estimated by varying a number of the dependent parameters such as the radius of the elbow(Rc=1D, 1.5D, 2D, 3D), the location, Reynolds number and the direction of electrodes plane(${\varphi}$). It was found that all these factors affect the performance of the electromagnetic flowmeter significantly. The longer installation distance from the elbow is not always optimal to minimize the error, and also there exists an optimal location to install the EMF for a minimum error. Especially the flow signal with the electrodes plane direction of ${\varphi}=45^{\circ}$ is shown to yield smallest measurement error regardless of the Reynolds number and the curvature of elbow.