CFD Model of a Mechanical Oscillator Flowmeter

Abstract

Most of the studies on mechanical oscillator flowmeters were conducted in the ‘80s and ‘90s when computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was not a viable scientific tool in flow metrology. Still, many topics related to the application of mechanical oscillator flowmeters require further investigation. In the article, a numerical model of a mechanical oscillator flowmeter is developed with the commercial software ANSYS Fluent. The model is validated against experimental data obtained at a water calibration stand. The influence of the selected turbulence model, dynamic mesh method, as well as grid and time step size is studied. The model’s qualitative behavior is correct, allowing investigation into the flowmeter operation in detail. It can provide a base for the improvement of the flowmeter’s performance. Relative differences in the frequency of oscillations did not exceed 4% for a DN50 flowmeter in the flow rate range (2–40) m3/h.