Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 13 (2002) 1–11
www.elsevier.com/locate/flowmeasinst
Flow conditioners efficiency a comparison based on numerical approach
Andrea Frattolillo, Nicola Massarotti ∗
Dipartimento di Meccanica, Strutture, Ambiente e Territorio, Universita` degli Studi di Cassino, via G. Di Biasio 43, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Received 4 February 2002; received in revised form 7 March 2002; accepted 28 March 2002
Abstract
Generally, flow conditioner efficiency is experimentally evaluated on the basis of the effects that these devices produce on a particular type of flowmeter. This approach, beside being very expensive, has certainly obstructed the development of a general theory and consequently the optimal design of flow conditioners. The present paper presents a comparison of the performance of different flow conditioners, independently from their effects on particular flowmeters. Therefore, the authors propose the use of several efficiency parameters to evaluate and compare flatness, uni-directionality and axi-symmetry of the velocity profiles produced downstream from the conditioners. In order to compare the main conditioners, a brief description of their characteristics is reported. Then, the numerical analysis is carried out using...
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