A COMPREHENSIVE FLOWMETER FOR ALL MATERIALS

IT HAS LONG BEEN ESTABLISHED THEORETICALLY AND EXPERIMENTALLY THAT PERFORMANCE OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC (EM) FLOWMETER DOES NOT, IN PRINCIPLE, DEPEND ON ANY CONSTITUTIVE PROPERTY OF THE METERED MATERIAL. IT THEREFORE HOLDS PROMISE OF METERING ANY MATERIAL THAT CAN BE BLOWN, PUMPED, OR EXTRUDED THROUGH A PIPE. TO DATE, THE PRINCIPAL PRACTICAL PROBLEM WITH THE EM FLOWMETER INVOLVES THE TRADEOFF THAT MUST BE MADE TO EXTRACT THE FLOW SIGNAL WHILE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST TRIBOELECTRIC NOISE (WHEN THE MEASURAND IS AN INSULATOR) AND/OR ZERO-POINT DRIFT (A SPURIOUS SIGNAL) WHEN THE MAGNET FREQUENCY IS ABOVE THE TRIBOELECTRIC NOISE SPECTRUM. THE EM FLOWMETER OPERATES UNEQUIVOCALLY AS A VOLUMETRIC FLOWMETER; BY UTILIZING THE CLAUSIUS-MOSSOTTI RELATIONSHIP FOR INSULATING MATERIALS, IT OPERATES OPTIONALLY AS A MASS FLOWMETER FOR MEASURANDS IN THE SOLID, LIQUID, OR VAPOR PHASES, OR ANY COMBINATION THEREOF. IN LIGHT OF TODAY'S CAPABILITY IN DIGITAL SIGNAL CONDITIONING, IT APPEARS FEASIBLE, USING A SQUARE WAVE MAGNETIC INDUCTION, TO ASCERTAIN AT ALL TIMES (1) THE TRUE FLOW SIGNAL AND (2) THE SPURIOUS, DRIFT SIGNAL. PHASE I WILL DEMONSTRATE THIS BY OBTAINING EM FLOWMETER FLOW SIGNAL DATA, DIGITIZING AND STORING IT, AND CARRYING OUT THE DISCRIMINATING DIGITAL PROCESS WITH A 486-CLASS MICROCOMPUTER. THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PHASE I EFFORT SHOULD RESULT IN THE DESIGN OF A DEDICATED DIGITAL SIGNAL CONDITIONER, OPERATING IN REAL TIME, TO ENABLE EM FLOWMETERING OF ANY MATERIAL.