A novel technique for solid mass loading measurement in dilute gas-solid two-phase flow by vortex flow meter based on vortex shedding principles

Vortex flowmeter has broad applications in industrial single-phase flow problems. There is experimental evidence suggesting that the presence of particles in gas-solid flows may cause a modulation in the turbulence intensity of the carrier phase. Using vortex flowmeter, one may manipulate vortex shedding generated by a bluff body and, therefore, change pressure fluctuation after bluff body and pressure drop between two sides of the vortex shedder. In this research, a vortex flowmeter with a differential pressure sensor was used to experimentally measure solid mass loading in a dilute gas-solid two-phase flow. The results indicated that the average bluff body pressure drop in gas-solid flows is always more than that occurring in gas flows, and the presence of particles can both attenuate and augment vortex shedding frequency. The results also showed that one can obtain the solid mass loading by means of pressure drop signals with a maximum relative error of 5%, which may be advantageous for industrial process measurement.