Measurement of steam quality using a vortex flowmeter

Abstract The velocity of steam through a pipeline can be measured using a vortex flowmeter. In this paper, the question of whether the same instrument can be used to measure steam quality has been addressed using two approaches. In the first, the signal from a single pickup was studied spectrally, and the width of its peak was related to steam quality. In the second approach, two piezoelectric pickups were placed in tandem downstream of a shedder bar from which vortices were shed due to steam flow. The phase lag between the two at the shedding frequency was evaluated as a marker for steam quality. Though the former approach has been previously studied, it was found to be more robust than the latter across a range of steam pressures and flowrates.