US 12,480,793 B2
In situ ultrasonic flow meter validation
Yufeng Huang, Andover, MA (US); Chong Tao, Winchester, MA (US); Daniel Robert Johnson, Tewksbury, MA (US); Aniruddha S. Weling, Wayland, MA (US); Anthony Kowal, Berlin, MA (US); and Lei Sui, Winchester, MA (US)
Assigned to Baker Hughes Holdings LLC, Houston, TX (US)
Appl. No. 17/295,666
Filed by Baker Hughes Holdings LLC, Houston, TX (US)
PCT Filed Nov. 27, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/063534
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 20, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/112950, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 4, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/773,745, filed on Nov. 30, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0018695 A1, Jan. 20, 2022
Int. Cl. G01F 1/667 (2022.01); G01F 25/10 (2022.01)
CPC G01F 1/668 (2013.01) [G01F 25/10 (2022.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
receiving data characterizing first signal diagnostics and data characterizing a first speed of a first acoustic signal through a gas mixture along a first path in a pipe, the first speed of the first acoustic signal detected by a first channel of an ultrasonic flow meter including a first pair of transducers that are separated by a first path length of the first path, wherein the gas mixture is configured to flow along a flow path in the pipe, further receiving data characterizing properties of the gas mixture, the properties comprising a composition of the gas mixture, a pressure of the gas mixture in the ultrasonic flow meter, and a temperature of the gas mixture;
determining a status associated with the ultrasonic flow meter based on the data characterizing the first signal diagnostics and a difference between the first speed of the first acoustic signal and a speed of sound, wherein the speed of sound is calculated based on the properties of the gas mixture, the speed of sound being calculated using a predetermined algorithm; and
adjusting over a predetermined range, based on the determined status, a time delay of the first pair of transducers to match the first speed of the first acoustic signal to the speed of sound being calculated using the predetermined algorithm within a predetermined threshold.