Article Details

Title · Authors · Abstract · Keywords · DOI · References

Study on the Impact of Flow Conditioner Structure on the Accuracy of Ultrasonic Flow Meters

HU Xuebin

(Guangdong Jiangmen Supervision Testing Institute of Quality and Metrology, Jiangmen 529030, China)

Section：Electronic Engineering · Vol. 2026, Issue 7 · Pages：25-28,33 · 2096-4706（2026）07-0025-05 · CLC number：TP391.9；TH814 · Document code：A · DOI：10.19850/j.cnki.2096-4706.2026.07.006

Abstract

To address the issue of large measurement errors in gas ultrasonic flow meters caused by vortices and turbulence in pipelines, the rectification performance of three common types of detachable flow conditioners installed upstream of ultrasonic flow meters is investigated. Using the CFD flow field simulation function of ANSYS software, modeling and simulation of the flow conditioners are performed, and the velocity distribution at multiple downstream positions is analyzed, along with the pipe length required for velocity stabilization. The results show that the flow conditioner consisting of a swirl generator and a honeycomb straightener exhibits the fastest response and optimal rectification performance. The orifice plate flow conditioner demonstrates good rectification performance even with minimal thickness, indicating broad application prospects. This study provides a reference for the design of flow conditioners for gas ultrasonic flow meters.

Keywords

flow conditioner; CFD; ultrasonic flow meter

References

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About the authors

Hu Xuebin (1969-), male, Han ethnicity, from Huangshi, Hubei, is a senior engineer with a bachelor's degree. His research direction is mechanical metrology.