Method and system for determining flow distribution through a component

• Main Authors: Keiser Geoff, Zhang Yibing, Umansky Benjamin S, Stober Berne K, Hergenrother Michael L, Song Limin, Kalamaras Patricia H
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 29.08.2017
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUIDLEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME; PHYSICS; TESTING; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

Systems and methods for determining the flow distribution of a fluid through a component with a sensing cable including an optical fiber sensor array aligned with a heating element disposed in the component. An excitation source is configured to propagate at least one heat pulse through the heating element along at least a portion of the sensing cable to affect an exchange of thermal energy between the heating element and the fluid exposed to the sensing cable. An optical signal is adapted to receive a signal from each of a plurality of sensor locations and measure a temperature profile corresponding to the heat pulse at the sensor locations. A control unit is configured to determine a flow of the fluid by determining one or more properties of the fluid exposed to the sensing cable at each of the plurality of sensor locations based on the temperature profile corresponding thereto. The present invention can be effective in accurate and high spatial resolution of flow distributions through vessel components, such as a particulate bed (such as a reactor catalyst bed), a wash bed including packing material, an absorbent bed, a structured bed, a filter, or the like.