A transit-time ultrasonic gas flowmeter for high-rangeability requirements, such as those encountered in flare-gas flow-metering, is presented. The concept of ray rescue angle for the orientation of the ultrasonic transducers in single-beam transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters is introduced to overcome the problem of ultrasonic beam drift in high-velocity flows. To overcome problems associated with noise at high velocities, a chirp signal is used. To preserve the accuracy of the meter at low velocities near zero flow, a combination of chirp and continuous-wave signals is used to interrogate the flow. Overall system performance is presented, based on results from extensive wind-tunnel tests.
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