Gap Discharge Transducers in a Transit Time Flow Measurement System Designed for Harsh Environments
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ISSN: 1402-1544 ISBN 978-91-7583-XXX-X Se i listan och fyll i siffror där kryssen är DOCTORAL T H E SIS Kristoffer Karlsson Gap Discharge Transducers in a Transit Time Flow Measurement System Designed for Harsh Measurement Environments Time Flow Transit in a Transducers Kristoffer Karlsson Gap Discharge Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering EISLAB ISSN 1402-1544 Gap Discharge Transducers in a ISBN 978-91-7583-031-5 (print) ISBN 978-91-7583-032-2 (pdf) Transit Time Flow Measurement Luleå University of Technology 2014 System Designed for Harsh Environments Kristoffer Karlsson Gap Discharge Transducers in a Transit Time Flow Measurement System Designed for Harsh Environments Kristoffer Karlsson Dept. of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering EISLAB Lule˚a University of Technology Lule˚a, Sweden Supervisors: Jerker Delsing and Torbj¨orn L¨ofqvist Printed by Luleå University of Technology, Graphic Production 2014 ISSN 1402-1544 ISBN 978-91-7583-031-5 (print) ISBN 978-91-7583-032-2 (pdf) Luleå 2014 www.ltu.se In memory of Bert-Linus! iii iv Abstract In this thesis the potential of the gap discharge transducer is investigated as sound emitter and receiver in a time-of-flight gas flow meter designed for harsh environments and large pipe diameters. In this thesis the gap discharge transducer is operated in two different modes, spark discharge and glow discharge where the spark discharge generates a spark over a gap while the glow discharge generates a continuous glow discharge. Earlier studies show that the spark discharge transducer is very durable and a potent sound pulse emitter. This thesis continues these studies by incorporating the spark discharge transducer into a flow measurement system as a sound pulse emitter. Further more, the gap discharge transducer is investigated as a sound pulse receiver. As an emitter in a flow measurement system the spark discharge transducer was placed in a pipe with a variable flow in a laboratory environment. The transducer was set to generate sparks to create the sound pulse and standard piezoelectric receivers were used to capture the signal. As a receiver, the gap discharge transducer was tested in two experiments. In the first experiment the spark discharge transducer was placed in a vacuum chamber to test the dependence between breakdown voltage and pressure. The pressure change from an incident sound pulse could cause breakdown in the gap of the transducer if an initial voltage between the electrodes is set close to breakdown. The breakdown leads to a spark, where the increase in current can be used to determine the sound pulse arrival. In the second experiment the transducer was set to generate a glow discharge. The glow discharge was then subjected to sound pulses and continuous sound waves. The voltage and current of the glow discharge depends on the conditions in the gap. Pressure changes from a sound pulse will affect the air in the gap which in turn changes the voltage and current characteristics of the discharge. The change in voltage and/or current can then be used to determine the arrival time of the sound pulse. The investigation shows that the spark discharge transducer is a potential sound pulse emitter in a flow measurement system and could be capable of determining a flow accurately. As a receiver, the spark discharge transducer show limited potential. To cause breakdown an initial voltage has to be placed over the electrodes but due to instabilities spontaneous breakdown occurred too frequently. The glow discharge transducer, however, show promising potential as a sound pulse receiver. The transducer was able to receive sound generated by a loudspeaker as well as sound pulses created by the spark discharge transducer. Thus, by using the spark discharge transducer as a sound pulse emitter and glow v discharge transducers as sound pulse receivers a flow measurement system based on the time-of-flight method can be constructed. A qualitative analysis of the possibilities for arrival time detection indicates that the accuracy requirements for industrial applications for such a transit time gas flow meter can be reached. vi Contents Part I 1 Chapter 1–Thesis Introduction 3 1.1 Thesis objective and motivation ....................... 4 1.2 Thesis outline ................................. 5 Chapter 2–Background 7 2.1Hightemperaturetransducers........................ 7 2.2Choiceoftransducertechnology....................... 9 2.3 Ultrasound techniques in flow measurement ................ 10 Chapter 3–Properties of the Spark Discharge Transducer 13 3.1Sparkgeneration............................... 13 3.2Spatialfluctuationsinthesparkpath.................... 16 3.3Soundproperties............................... 17 3.4 Environmental studies ............................ 21 3.5 High temperature studies ........................... 22 Chapter 4–The Spark Discharge transducer in Flow Measurements 23 4.1Flowmeasurementarchitecture....................... 24 4.2 Determining the flow profile ......................... 25 Chapter 5–Properties of the Glow Discharge Transducer 27 5.1Theglowdischarge.............................. 27 5.2Generatingaglowdischarge......................... 30 5.3 Applications .................................. 32 5.4Theglowdischargeindifferentenvironments................ 32 5.5Thedischargeasasoundtransducer.................... 33 Chapter 6–Conclusions and Future Work 37 6.1Conclusions.................................. 37 6.2Futurework.................................. 38 Chapter 7–Summary of Papers 39 7.1 Papers included in this thesis ........................ 39 References 43 vii Part II 49 Paper A 51 1 Introduction.................................. 53 2 Experimentalsetup.............................. 54 3 Experiments.................................. 56 4 Resultsanddiscussion............................ 57 5 Conclusion................................... 59 Paper B 61 1 Introduction.................................. 63 2 Theory..................................... 64 3 Experimentandsetup............................ 65 4 Results..................................... 66 5 Conclusionsanddiscussion.......................... 72 6 Futurework.................................. 72 Paper C 75 1 Introduction.................................. 77 2 Experimentalsetup.............................. 80 3 Results..................................... 82 4 Discussion................................... 82 5 Conclusionsandfuturework......................... 86 Paper D 89 1 Introduction.................................. 91 2 Sound pulse reception ............................ 92 3 Environmental conditions .......................... 93 4 Currentexperimentalsetup......................... 96 5 Discussion................................... 97 6 Conclusions.................................. 98 7 Futurework.................................. 99 Paper E 103 1 Introduction.................................. 105 2 Experimentaldesignandsetup....................... 106 3 Results..................................... 109 4 Errorconsiderations............................. 112 5 Discussion................................... 115 6 Conclusions.................................. 118 7 Futurework.................................. 118 viii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisors at EISLAB professor Jerker Delsing and associate professor Torbj¨orn L¨ofqvist for their support, opinions, and constructive and imaginative ideas making the project even more interesting and fun than it already was. I would also like to thank both Dr. Johan Borg and Mikael Larsmark for their help with questions on electronics and other general questions I might have had. None of this work would have been possible if not for P¨ar-Erik Martinsson at Pro- cessIT which has been funding and planning the project. Also, I would like to thank J¨orgen Marklund, Carl Carlander, and Mats Lindgren at D-Flow for their help and sup- port with everything from the transducer hardware to the computer software used in the environmental and flow measurement experiments. Thanks also to Jan Bj¨orkman and Eva-Lena Johansson at LKAB in Kiruna for providing a possible environmental test site and assistance during the visits I have made there. Also, thanks to Monica Almqvist at the University of Lund for all the help during the experiments with the sound pressure from the transducer that I performed at their department at two occasions, thanks to Lars Frisk at Lule˚a University for all the help when using the vacuum chamber and letting me borrow a vacuum pump, and thanks to Fredrik Ljungren for providing me with a microphone for the glow discharge tests. /Kristoffer Karlsson ix x Part I 1 2 Chapter 1 Thesis Introduction Reliable flow measurements are of great importance in the industrialized world since a measurement of the flow in many instances are a way to measure the quantity or quality of a product. For an industry, the flow measurement can be used to determine the amount of gases or liquids that are produced in the process, transported between sites and/or released from their exhausts. Flows can in some cases be difficult to measure, either due to their content or due to extreme conditions. It is in these scenarios that the measurement system should not only be accurate, but also very durable. Such a scenario can for example consist of corrosive elements that destroy sensitive materials, dust and dirt particles that obstructs moving parts or high temperatures that can burn or melt a sensor. A particular situation classed as a harsh