Fluid Flow Instrumentation - Missouri ST（流体设备密苏里州科技）.pdf

Fluid Flow Instrumentation In the physical world, mechanical engineers are frequently required to monitor or control the flow of various fluids through pipes, ducts and assorted vessels. This fluid can range from thick oils to light gasses. While some techniques work better with some groups of fluids, and less well with others, some are not at all suitable for some applications. In this primer on fluid flow instrumentation we will look at a wide variety of flow transducers and their application in the physical world. 1.0 Fluid flow measurement Fluid flow measurement can encompass a wide variety of fluids and applications. To meet this wide variety of applications the instrumentation industry has, over many years, developed a wide variety of instruments. The earliest known uses for flow come as early as the first recorded history. The ancient Sumerian cities of UR and Kish, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (around 5000 B.C.) used water flow measurement to manage the flow of water through the aqueducts feeding their cities. In this age the a simple obstruction was placed in the water flow, and by measuring the height of the water flowing over the top of the obstruction, these early engineers could determine how much water was flowing. In 1450 the Italian art architect Battista Alberti invented the first mechanical anemometer. It consisted of a disk placed perpendicular to the wind, and the force of the wind caused it to rotate. The angle of inclination of the disk would then indicate the wind velocity. This was the first recorded instrument to measure wind speed. An English inventor, Robert Hooke reinvented this device in 1709, along with the Mayan Indians around that same period of time. Today we would look down our noses at these crude methods of flow measurement, but as you will see, these crude methods are still in use today. 1.1 Types of flow measurement devices Fluid flow devices fall into a