Print Email Facebook Twitter Design and Proof-of-Concept of a Matrix Transducer Array for Clamp-on Ultrasonic Flow Measurements Title Design and Proof-of-Concept of a Matrix Transducer Array for Clamp-on Ultrasonic Flow Measurements Author Massaad Mouawad, J.M. (TU Delft ImPhys/Medical Imaging) van Neer, P.L.M.J. (TU Delft ImPhys/Medical Imaging) van Willigen, D.M. (TU Delft Electronic Instrumentation) Noothout, E.C. (TU Delft ImPhys/Medical Imaging) de Jong, N. (TU Delft ImPhys/Medical Imaging) Pertijs, M.A.P. (TU Delft Electronic Instrumentation) Verweij, M.D. (TU Delft ImPhys/Medical Imaging) Date 2022 Abstract Common clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters consist of two single-element transducers placed on the pipe wall. Flow speed is measured noninvasively, i.e., without interrupting the flow and without perforating the pipe wall, which also minimizes safety risks and avoids pressure drops inside the pipe. However, before metering, the transducers have to be carefully positioned along the pipe axis to correctly align the acoustic beams and obtain a well-calibrated flowmeter. This process is done manually, is dependent on the properties of the pipe and the liquid, does not account for pipe imperfections, and becomes troublesome on pipelines with an intricate shape. Matrix transducer arrays are suitable to dynamically steer acoustic beams and realize self-alignment upon reception, without user input. In this work, the design of a broadband 37×17 matrix array (center frequency of 1 MHz) to perform clamp-on ultrasonic flow measurements over a wide range of liquids (c=1000-2000m/s, α≤1 dB/MHz · cm) and pipe sizes is presented. Three critical aspects were assessed: efficiency, electronic beam steering, and wave mode conversion in the pipe wall. A prototype of a proof-of-concept flowmeter consisting of two 36-element linear arrays (center frequency of 1.1 MHz) was fabricated and placed on a 1-mm-thick, 40-mm inner diameter stainless steel pipe in a custom-made flow loop filled with water. At resonance, simulated and measured efficiencies in water of the linear arrays compared well: 0.88 and 0.81 kPa/V, respectively. Mean flow measurements were achieved by electronic beam steering of the acoustic beams and using both compressional and shear waves generated in the pipe wall. Correlation coefficients of R2>0.99 between measured and reference flow speeds were obtained, thus showing the operational concept of an array-based clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter. Subject AcousticsBeam steeringbeam steeringBiomedical measurementclamp-on flow meterGuided wavesLiquidsMeterstransducer designUltrasonic transducer arraysUltrasonic variables measurementultrasound flow meter To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7421d172-a81e-446b-aedd-ec329f14f1e3 DOI https://doi.org/10.1109/TUFFC.2022.3186170 ISSN 0885-3010 Source IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 69 (8), 2555-2568 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 J.M. Massaad Mouawad, P.L.M.J. van Neer, D.M. van Willigen, E.C. Noothout, N. de Jong, M.A.P. Pertijs, M.D. Verweij Files PDF Design_and_Proof_of_Conce ... ements.pdf 19.64 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:7421d172-a81e-446b-aedd-ec329f14f1e3/datastream/OBJ/view