Vibrational Signal Processing for Characterization of Fluid Flows in Pipes

The main idea of this paper is to assess a simpler and faster procedure leading to the evaluation of the fluid flow rate through a pipe. Currently, several methods are available and they involve ad-hoc instruments. All these methods are characterized by high accuracies and dynamic responses, but they are intended to be inserted within the pipe under investigation, bringing to well-known insertion effects, compromising the reliability of the measurements performed. The authors illustrate a newer methodology for the measurement of flow rates by means of the processing of the vibration signals of pipe walls, inferred by the flow turbulence. Previous studies of the same authors showed a linear dependence between the amplitude of the most prominent peak of the vibration spectra and the flow rate. In this work, the authors relate the power content of the processed signals (by introducing the signal Root Mean Square value) to the flow rate.