Flow measurement | EPFL Graph Search

Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk fluid movement. Flow can be measured using devices called flowmeters in various ways. The common types of flowmeters with industrial applications are listed below:

Obstruction type (differential pressure or variable area)
Inferential (turbine type)
Electromagnetic
Positive-displacement flowmeters, which accumulate a fixed volume of fluid and then count the number of times the volume is filled to measure flow.
Fluid dynamic (vortex shedding)
Anemometer
Ultrasonic flow meter
Mass flow meter (Coriolis force).

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

Accurate Profile Measurement of the low Intensity Secondary Beams in the CERN Experimental Areas

Inaki Ortega Ruiz

The CERN accelerators deliver a wide spectrum of secondary beams to the Experimental Areas. These beams are composed of hadrons, leptons, and heavy ions that can vary greatly in momentum (1 GeV/c to 400 GeV/c) and intensity (10^2 to 10^8 particles per second). The profile, position, and intensity of these beams are measured utilising particle detectors. However, the current systems show several problems that limit the quality of this kind of monitoring. The aim of this doctoral thesis is to investigate the best detector technology that could replace the existing monitors and build a first prototype of it. A review of the existing detection techniques has led to the choice of Scintillating Fibres (SciFi) read-out with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). This detection technology has the potential to perform better in terms of material budget, range of intensities measured, and active area size. In addition, it has particle counting capabilities, which could extend its application to momentum spectrometry or Time-of-Flight (ToF) measurements. Its resistance to radiation damage offers good potential for longevity of use. A first prototype of a SciFi-SiPM monitor has been successfully tested with different particle beams at CERN, giving accurate profile measurements over a wide range of energies and intensities. It has only shown problems during use with lead ion beams, whose origin is believed to be crosstalk between the fibres. A Geant4 simulation of a single scintillating fibre has been performed to estimate its signal generation. This simulation is verified by real measurements of the light yield of scintillating fibres. Similarly, another Geant4 simulation of a full SciFi monitor has been developed to characterise the perturbation of the beam by the monitor. The future beam instrumentation for the Neutrino Platform at CERN is also described here, which is being developed as a continuation of the work conducted during this thesis.

EPFL2018

Density tagging velocimetry

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Andreas Schröder

Density tagging velocimetry, a novel optical technique for point-wise measurement of flow velocity is proposed here. This new method is based on the detection and subsequent tracking of a local density variation deliberately inserted in the flow. The experimental implementation comprising tagging, detection, and velocity evaluation reverts to and combines principles of well-known optical measurement techniques. Density tagging velocimetry has the potential for in-flight application and is particularly suited for measuring flow velocities in regions where the use of tracer particles is difficult or undesired. The applicability of this new technique is illustrated by a jet flow measurement. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

2011

Ageing of porous carbon electrodes

Manxi Zhu

Ultracapacitors, also called electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC) or supercapacitors, may improve the performance of conventional electrolytic capacitors in terms of specific energy, or improve the performance of rechargeable batteries in terms of specific power when combined with respective device. However, the application of ultracapacitors faces the problem of ageing – the deterioration of capacity and increase of equivalent series resistance of the system. This thesis intends to elucidate ageing mechanisms of ultracapacitors based on activated carbon electrodes with tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile as electrolyte. Multi-method experimental investigations are presented which allow to obtain a comprehensive picture of ageing. Ultracapacitors were electrochemically aged under various conditions by applying voltages and temperatures close to the actual operation conditions. The influences of ageing on the electrodes were investigated by structural and chemical characterization. Gas volumetric measurement (porosimetry) and Raman spectroscopy were applied to follow the structural changes; elemental analysis, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA, XPS) and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) were applied for chemical composition analysis. It was found that the changes of both structure and chemical composition, which occur on aged anodes and cathodes, are asymmetric. Aged anodes showed more significant changes such as stronger decrease of pore volume and specific area, and more complex chemical species. Chemically bound nitrogen species were found only on aged anodes, but not on fresh electrodes and aged cathodes. Based on the experimental results, several mechanisms for ageing are suggested. The functionalities in activated carbons play an important role for ageing. Various oxygen-containing functional groups can take part in the reactions. A higher amount of functionalities means that more electroactive sites can be found on the graphene sheets in activated carbons to promote electrochemical reactions. Thus one can assume that less functional groups in activate carbons would be preferable for the stability of ultracapacitors. Ageing tests were carried out on individual components of the electrodes, mainly on activated carbon powders and conductive carbon additives. Observations are consistent with those on assembled electrodes. It turned out that the activated carbons from synthetic resin precursors, which have fewer oxygen functional groups, suffer less from ageing than those from natural precursors with more oxygen functional groups. A similar phenomenon was also observed on the conductive agents.

EPFL2006