DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A MULTIPURPOSE FLOW METER FOR INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID

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Abstract

This project is bothered on the design and fabrication of a multipurpose flow meter for incompressible fluid. A rig system made up of PVC pipes is used. Sensors will be attached to the rig system to extract flow information. The sensor pulses are then sent to the ARDUINO to calculate and store data. The system features a couple of sensors which it uses to detect leak along a conduit or an orifice, and LCD display screen for reading out values for flow characteristics, and feedback which includes the pressure difference, flow rate or velocity, leak and the distance of occurrence, all assembled in a circuit mounted on a hydraulic bench. The flow meter is designed in two ways. The flow meter exhibits a satisfactory degree of accuracy over a broad fluid range of magnitude. It was revealed that for the temperature measurement, when using the pumping system to increase the pressure of the fluid, there is also a corresponding increase in temperature of the fluid as read by the LCD screen, compared to the gravity system which has its value to be 32.0 0c. It was also found that the flow discharged, when using the pumping system, there is greater flow discharged of about 149.92 m3/sec compared to the gravity system. We recommended that meter accuracies should be improved with the state of the art in electronics and microcontroller-based signal conditioning required the meter performance to be characterized as exactly as possible.

Table of Content

Cover Page 1

Title Page    2

Declaration 3

Certification         4

Dedication  5

Acknowledgement         6

Abstract      7

CHAPTER ONE  10

INTRODUCTION         10

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY  10

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS        11

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT     12

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT    12

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY  12

CHAPTER TWO 13

LITERATURE REVIEW        13

CHAPTER THREE       22

METHODOLOGY        22

Design consideration     22

MATERIAL SELECTION      23

SENSORS  25

DESIGN ANALYSIS    26

FABRICATION TECHNIQUES      32

ENGINEERING BILL OF MATERIALS   35

CHAPTER FOUR         37

EXPERIMENTATION/TESTING AND DISCUSSION OF RESULT       37

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION       37

TEST AND RESULT    38

DISCUSSION      40

SAFETY PRECAUTION        40

MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE     40

CHAPTER FIVE 42

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION  42

SUMMARY         42

CONCLUSION    42

RECOMMENDATION 43

References  44

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The flow rate through a throttling valve is not only affected by the flow characteristic of the valve, but also by the pressure drop across the valve. A valve’s flow characteristic acting within a system that allows a varying pressure drop can be much different or can vary significantly from the same flow characteristic in an application with a constant pressure drop. Hydrodynamic cavitation appears in hydraulic armatures during their current operation. This phenomenon is discovered for example in the narrowest gap between the  regulating cone and the valve body. At this location the liquid is accelerated and the pressure is decreased. Vapour bubbles are formed in the liquid from cavitation nuclei (undissolved air and impurities).

There are several flow measuring devices used in various industries and laboratories to determine flow characteristics. Most at times each device is limited to a particular function. Example flow meter for pressure difference can only measure the velocity of flow along the conduit or orifice. But this multi-purpose flow meter has been designed to compensate for all the intricacies and shortcomings of other mono-purpose flow meters. It is most agreeable that in a conduit, if leakage occurs, most time, they are neglected not advantently but ignorantly because there are no equipment or devices which can help indicate leakage along the conduit as well as show the distance which the fluid leak occur. This device would help reduce the losses encountered along conductors due to bad (faulty) valves, punctures, ageing, corrosion, etc.

Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk fluid movement. Flow can be measured in a variety of ways. Flow measurement methods other than positive-displacement flowmeters rely on forces produced by the flowing stream as it overcomes a known constriction, to indirectly calculate flow. Flow may be measured by measuring the velocity of fluid over a known area. The different types of flow characteristics and measuring devices include pressure drop, velocity change and discharge.

For very large flows, tracer methods may be used to deduce the flow rate from the change in concentration of a dye or radioisotope.

Both gas and liquid flow can be measured in volumetric or mass flow rates, such as liters per second or kilograms per second, respectively. These measurements are related by the material’s density. The density of a liquid is almost independent of conditions. This is not the case for gases, the densities of which depend greatly upon pressure, temperature and to a lesser extent, composition. Gases are compressible and change volume when placed under pressure, are heated or are cooled. For liquids, various units are used depending upon the application and industry, but might include gallons per minute, liters per second, bushels per minute or, when describing river flows, cumecs (cubic meters per second) or acre-feet per day. Reasons why flow is measured are to know the major flow characteristics, to control flow processes (i.e. control the system as it is flowing),  to know the history (i.e. keep records of the system), to know the charges in a flow region (i.e. knowing the charges in fluid flow properties), to detect the defectiveness equipment and to know where to put an equipment while designing. However, the study is determined to examine flow characteristics measuring devices.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

It reduces the use of multiple measuring devices on a single flow line and operators movement from one point to another in other to take readings. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main objectives of this project is

•        To determine the various flow characteristics.

•        To identify loss of products (hydraulic fluids) along a conduit.

•        To reduce cost and promote simplicity.

•        To improve efficiency and safety of the system.

•        To reduce number of devices on a flow line.

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

This project covers the design and fabrication of a multi-purpose flow measuring device which could be mounted on conduits. The size of this device and the number of sensors employed are limited to the distances of the conductor, size and availability of material. The device can detect leakages within limited range of sensing distance.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This flow measuring device would serve the advancement of different industries with its ever increasing range of application. Its benefit to school is that it would be used for experimenting flow characteristics of hydraulic fluids for the students.

They can be used by various industries, such as fuel and oil, petrochemical, paints, grease and casting etc. it can also be used outside the industry, for housing projects, to track the amount of water utilized.

Complete Material Cost #3,000

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