Momentum Change Flow Meter With Pressure Compensation Using FBGs

In this paper, a flow measurement device based on measuring deflections caused by the momentum effect of fluid flowing around a pipe elbow is presented. The movement induced on a cantilever arm as a result of this momentum change is measured using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical sensor. The measured response of the FBG was found to be highly correlated to the flow rate in the system. Temperature compensation of the FBG strain measurement was achieved using a second reference FBG. The effects of static pressure were compensated for with the addition of a dead leg bellows. It has been demonstrated that this flow sensor can effectively measure flow rate independently of both static pressure and temperature variations.