Measurement of flow rate in pipes by thermal method

In the literature, thermal methods for flow measurement is usually used for gas fluids. In this study, it was aimed to determine the flow rate of liquid by thermal method. For this purpose, the change of temperature depending on the flow was observed by immersing the heater into the water flow in a pipe. The heater used in 3D printers was used as a heater in the experiments. The 6 mm outer diameter cylindrical heater is housed in a 12 mm outer diameter copper capsule. Measurement holes were opened on the capsule wall so that the thermocouple could enter, and the capsule was immersed in the flow pipe at the desired depth and the change in temperature depending on the flow rate was measured. In the simulation study, firstly, the experimental setup was modeled in the ANSYS-Fluent simulation program and the verification study was carried out. In the model, the immersion depth of the capsule and the flow rates in the pipe were changed, and the change in the temperature of the measurement points was monitored. Finally, it has been discussed how temperature measurement can be used in flow measurement and an Arduino circuit prototype was established that gives the flow rate based on the temperature data.