Response and flow characteristics of a dual-rotor turbine flowmeter

The technical problems of flow measurement in hypersonic flight could be mitigated through dual-rotor turbine flowmeters (DRT-FMs). In this study, a visual experiment platform was designed to reproduce the flow of a 1.3 cm diameter DRT-FM. A mathematical model considering two rotors was developed to perform a parameterised study and evaluate the rotor responses. Further, the entire flow passage was numerically simulated through an added automatic iterative rotor-dynamic calculation based on the angular momentum balance theory. According to the experimental results, the response range of the rotational speeds was divided into three stages: unresponsive, unstable, and stable. The downstream rotor responded at a lower flow rate, increasing the measurement range of the rotor turbine flowmeter. Considering the region of linear increase in the rotor speed in stable state under different flow media, tip clearances, and number of blades, the mathematical results indicated that the downstream rotor exhibited a compensation effect of the rotational speed on the calculation of rotational speed at the current flow rate conditions, which mitigates the measurement instability of the upstream rotor. Through the simulations, the rotation speed difference of the two rotors resulted in a slight periodic disturbance to the downstream rotor, which was alleviated after flowing through the spacer and could be ignored. Moreover, the high vorticity regions appeared around the rotors and areas of abrupt structural changes in the flow passage; the distribution gradually extended as the vorticity decreased. The present study provides an understanding of the DRT-FM and some recommendations to improve its characteristics.