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An evaluation of air flow measurement opportunities in industrial compressed air systems
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Kungumaraj, Subhash. An evaluation of air flow measurement opportunities in industrial compressed air systems. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-fzhm-ep69

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TitleAn evaluation of air flow measurement opportunities in industrial compressed air systems
NameKungumaraj, Subhash (author); Muller, Michael (chair); Rutgers University; School of Graduate Studies
Date Created2022
Other Date2022-10 (degree)
SubjectMechanical engineering, Compressed air, Flow meters
Extent1 online resource (58 pages) : illustrations
DescriptionCompressed air system can account for a large portion of a manufacturing plant’s energy use. Therefore, efficiently operating compressed air systems can help significantly reduce energy use and cost. Compressed air usage can be measured to help maintain it properly. Historically, manufacturer’s compressor performance curves were used to calculate the mass flow rate and they were not measured directly. This was influenced by the unreliability of flow metering technology. Flow meters commonly induce pressure drops or other adverse effects on the system. They can also be intrusive to install on existing compressed air piping. Thermal mass flow meters working on the principle of heat transfer are becoming more common due to their minimal impact and non-intrusive nature. Therefore, flow rate measurement should be revisited with recent advances in flow metering technology.

The goals of this thesis are to study the role of flow meters in industrial compressed air systems and develop a facility for mass flow meter evaluation. Flow meter placement was studied with respect to different system layouts. Ideal placement was determined based on type of layout and location of equipment. This also enabled baselining performance and helping maintain overall system operation. Flowmeters downstream of every compressor gives individual and total compressed air generation. On the demand side, a multiple loop and trunk layout with only one compressed air line from the main loop is a good layout design for flowmeter placement and compressed air delivery.

A facility was designed and developed to evaluate mass flow meters using choked flow conditions. This enables testing of the mass flow meters at constant mass flow rates while varying the pressure. The facility also can change the choked area to evaluate mass flow meters under different mass flow rates for the same pressure ratio. A thermal mass flow meter is tested with the facility to evaluate its performance due to its recent rise in popularity. It was determined the CDI meters, CDI-5200 mass flow meter, to be accurate at high back pressure and have an error of 10% for lower back pressure. In conversation with the manufacturer, it was mentioned the flowmeter was calibrated for the higher back pressure ranges where the testing showed the flow readings matching with the pitot tube.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-fzhm-ep69
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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