Flow Rate Soft Measuring Method for Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow Based on Dual-Mode Ultrasound and Differential Pressure Sensing Technology

With the increasing global demand for energy, natural gas is progressively solidifying its role as a crucial component of the energy structure. During the extraction process, natural gas often entrains significant amounts of water, resulting in the formation of wet gas. Consequently, it is of great significance to develop a low-cost two-phase flowmeter for wet gas. Based on characteristic parameters of liquid film thickness and pressure drop, this article presents a dual-mode sensing technology for measuring gas-liquid flow in horizontal pipelines. Ultrasonic sensors are designed to extract the circumferential liquid film thickness and differential pressure sensors are used to capture the pressure drop. The system of equations describing the relationships between flow rates under different pressures and the above two parameters is established. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can give predictions for gas and liquid flow rates with the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 4.68% and 12.67%, respectively.