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The Use of a Step-Down Diffuser as a Flow Transducer

Article  in  Measurement Techniques · July 2013

DOI: 10.1007/s11018-013-0222-1

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Measurement Techniques, Vol. 56, No. 4, July, 2013

THE USE OF A STEP-DOWN DIFFUSER

AS A FLOW TRANSDUCER

Zh. A. Daev UDC 681.121.85

The features of measurements of flow rate and quantity of matter with the use of an expanding device as a
flow transducer in a pipe with circular cross-section are considered.
Keywords: diffuser, flow rate, differential pressure.

The method of variable differential pressure is quite well known. Many scientific studies have been devoted to
improving measurements of flow rate and quantity of matter by means of the method. Fluid resistors which create in a flow of
fluid, gas, or steam a cross-section constriction that induces the formation of a differential pressure as a function of flow rate
are usually used as flow transducers. Any fluid resistor induces a similar effect, which with sufficient study provides a quanti-
tative estimate of the measured flow rate. Below, we propose to solve the problem of measuring flow rate by installing a step-
down diffuser (expanding device) transverse to a flow. The problem is inverse to the classical method of flow measurement.
The flow in a diffuser is accompanied by a decrease in flow rate and an increase in pressure. The particles of the mov-
ing fluid overcome a growing pressure due to their kinetic energy, which decreases along the diffuser in the direction from the
axis to the wall. Layers adjacent to the walls possess such a low kinetic energy that they are not able to overcome the increased
pressure and either stop moving or begin to move in the opposite direction. The counterflow induces separation of the basic
flow from the wall and vorticity. The intensity of these phenomena grows with increasing angle of expansion of the diffuser
and, in addition, losses of vorticity also increase. The variation in the pressure in the diffuser may be used to measure the flow
rate. A diagram of a diffuser and graph showing the variation in pressure along the structure are depicted in Fig. 1.
Complete inversion to the classical method is a distinctive feature associated with the use of expanding devices.
For example, the relative value of the diameter β = D2/D1 is greater than 1, and there exists a relationship between the length
of the diffuser L and β; D1 and D2 are the diameters at the entrance to and exit from the diffuser.
A confuser ensures a recovery in the measurement pipeline.
The flow rate in a diffuser is represented thus:

ν2 = ψ /(β2 − 1 − ξ) 2Δp / ρ ,

where ψ is the coefficient of pressure tapping, which is expressed in the same way as in the classical method using [2];
ξ, hydraulic loss factor; Δp, differential pressure; and p, density of matter under working conditions.
In the present article, we will assume the method of pressure tapping is the theoretical method, hence we will set the
Coriolis coefficient equal to 1, assuming the flow to be uniform and steady-state.
The flow rate coefficient at the entrance to the diffuser has the form

E2 = (β4 – 1)–1.

Intergas Central Asia, Aktobe, Kazakhstan; e-mail: zhand@yandex.ru. Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 4, pp. 48–50, April,
2013. Original article submitted December 4, 2012.

426 0543-1972/13/5604-0426 ©2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

 Fig. 1. Measurement of flow rate by means of a step-down diffuser: a) diagram and basic
dimensions of device; b) variation of pressure along walls of diffuser.

The equation for the volumetric flow rate

Q = αε 2Δp / ρ πD22 / 4,

where ε is the coefficient of expansion of gas; α, flow rate coefficient, with α = CE; and C, outflow coefficient of expanding
device, equal to the ratio of the effective to the theoretical flow rate.
The flow rate coefficient may be expressed by the formula

α = (β2 – 1 – ξ)–1/2.

By [3], the equation of losses for a step-down diffuser has the form
2 2
⎛ λ β4 + 1 ϕ⎞ ⎛ 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1⎞
ξ=⎜ + 3.2 tan1.25 ⎟ ⎜⎜ 1 − ⎟
⎟ + ⎜
⎜ 4 − ⎟⎟ ,
⎜ 8 sin (ϕ / 2) β 4 − 1 2 ⎟⎠ ⎝ β4 ⎠
⎝ ⎝β β2 ⎠

where λ is the coefficient of hydraulic friction and ϕ the expansion angle.

Using the above expressions, we obtain an important characteristic of instruments used in the measurement of flow
rate based on the method of variable differential pressure – the efflux coefficient

−1 / 2
⎡ ⎛ ⎞⎛
2 2 ⎤
⎢ 4 λ β4 + 1 1.25 ϕ 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1⎞ ⎥
C = β − 1 ⎢β − ⎜
4
+ 3.2 tan ⎟ ⎜⎜ 1 − ⎟ + ⎜⎜ 4 − 2 ⎟⎟ − 1⎥ .
⎜ 8 sin (ϕ / 2) β 4 − 1 ⎟ 4⎟
⎝ 2 ⎠⎝ β ⎠ ⎝β β ⎠
⎣⎢ ⎥⎦

Let us compare the graphs of the efflux coefficients for different expanding devices. The dependences C(β) for a
step-down diffuser are presented in Fig. 2a, for different expansion angles. It follows from the graphs of Fig. 2 that the sta-
bility of the efflux coefficient and the fact that it has a value of 1 over a broad range of relative diameters for different values
of the expansion angle are distinctive features of a step-down diffuser. Because the efflux coefficient is equal to 1, the effec-
tive and theoretical flow rates do not differ very greatly. Not all expanding devices possess this property. Thus, relationships
C(β) for sharp expansion diffusers and a conical diffuser with different expansion angles are shown in Fig. 2b, c. The com-

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 Fig. 2. Curves describing efflux coefficients for a step-down diffuser (a), abrupt symmetrical expanding dif-
fuser (b), and conical diffuser (c).

putational relationships in Fig. 2b, c, show that the efflux coefficients of these devices are different from 1. Consequently,
they do not possess the property of stability. Therefore, it may be concluded that a step-down diffuser is the optimal device
to use as a flow transducer.
Other practical advantages of expanding devices are the simplicity of fabrication, the fact that it is possible to com-
bine cleaning devices with flowmeter assemblies, lower pressure losses than in constricting devices, and the fact that the flow
does not exert any abrasive action on the structure of the transducer.
Generally, the uncertainty of the result of measurements of the flow rate does not differ from that obtained in the
case of the classical method where constricting devices are performed, except for certain additional sensitivity coefficients.
In the device being considered here, the equation for the total standard uncertainty in measurement of the flow rate of gas has
the form
2 2
⎛ 2(β 4 + 1) ⎞ ⎛ 4β 4 ⎞
uQ = uC2 + u 2ε +⎜
⎜ β4 − 1 ⎟
⎝
2
⎟ uD
⎠ 2
+⎜
⎝
( )
⎟ u 2 + 0.25 u 2Δp + uρ2 .
⎜ β 4 − 1⎟ D1
⎠

We obtain the final result in the form of an augmented uncertainty by multiplying the quantity uQ by the efflux coef-
ficient for a given confidence level.
Thus, the possibility of using a step-down diffuser as a primary transducer of variable differential pressure flowmeters
has been studied. Analytic relationships for the efflux and flow rate coefficients of a step-down diffuser have been presented.
A comparative analysis of other expanding devices has been given, which has proved that the proposed transducer possesses
stable and constant coefficients over a broad range of relative diameters for different expansion angles. We would like to sug-
gest that industrial tests of the transducer be performed using actual fluids and gases in order to refine the efflux coefficient.

REFERENCES

1. ISO 5167–1, Measurement of Fluid Flow by Means of Orifice Plates, Nozzles and Venturi Tubes Inserted in Circular
Cross-Section Conduits Running Full.
2. P. P. Kremlevskii, Flowmeters and Counters for Determining the Quantity of Matter [in Russian], Politekhnika,
St. Petersburg (2002).
3. I. E. Idelchik, Handbook on Hydraulic Resistance [in Russian], Mashinostroenie, Moscow (1992).

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