METHOD FOR OPERATING A FLOW METER

• US 20160138960A1
• Filed: 11/11/2015
• Published: 05/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB Technology AG (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Horst, Georg
• Application Number:
  US14/937,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20160138960A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/58 by electromagnetic flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/68 by using thermal effects
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/84 Coriolis or gyroscopic mass flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/10 of flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 3/56 Investigating resistance to wear or abrasion

Abstract

A method recognizes wear of a flow meter, involving measuring a baseline of a characteristic of the flow meter, operating under operating conditions, as a configuration, over a calibration period; forming an average value of the baseline, and defining a reference value, an upper limit, and a lower limit, based on the average value, and cyclically measuring the baseline of the characteristic, in a measuring over a measuring period, during wear-causing operation of the flow meter; forming the average value; comparing this average value to the upper and lower limits; and issuing a warning signal when the upper limit is exceeded or when the lower limit is fallen below.

Claims

1. A method of recognizing wear of a flow meter, the method comprising:

measuring a baseline of a characteristic of the flow meter, operating under operating conditions, as a configuration, over a predefined calibration period;

forming an average value, and defining a reference value, an upper limit, and a lower limit, based on the average value, and cyclically measuring the baseline of the characteristic, in a measuring over a predefined measuring period, during a wear-causing operation of the flow meter;

forming the average value;

comparing the average value to the upper limit and the lower limit; and

issuing a warning signal when the upper limit is exceeded or when the lower limit is fallen below.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wear of a Coriolis mass flow meter is recognized.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wear of a magnetic-inductive flow meter is recognized.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wear of a thermal mass meter is recognized.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising, as part of the configuration:

determining a standard deviation of the baseline of the characteristic of the average value over the predefined measuring period; and

defining the reference value, the upper limit, and the lower limit, based on the average value and the standard deviation.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining the minimum value and the maximum value of the baseline of the characteristic during the predefined measuring period as part of the configuration; and

defining the reference value, the upper limit, and the lower limit, based on the average value and the upper and lower limits.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined calibration period is shorter than a minute.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined calibration period is between a minute and an hour.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined calibration period is between an hour and a day.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the calibration period is longer than a day.

11. A flow meter configured to determine mass flow of a fluid, the meter comprising:

an electronic control unit including calculation instructions for the executions of the method of claim 1.