Claims:
1. A fluid flow conditioning system comprising:
an adapter (106) provided for sensor mounting;
a flow measuring device (104); and
a mesh assembly (102) configured to be mounted on the adapter (106) wherein the mesh assembly (102) is configured to rotate at a predefined angle with respect to the flow measuring device (104) for conditioning a fluid flow in predetermined manner.

2. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh assembly (102) is configured with a mesh (202) fastened to a mesh adapter ring (204) wherein the mesh adapter ring (204) is configured with an orientation lug (206) provided for rotation of the mesh assembly (102).

3. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orientation of mesh assembly (102) configured to be mounted on the adapter (106)is based on kinematic on the fluid flow before an entry into the mesh (202).

4. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance (A) of the mesh assembly (202) from the flow measuring device (104) is configured to be varied based on a measurement reading obtained through actual experiment or simulation and target level of accuracy of the system.

5. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh assembly (102) is configured to be mounted on an inner periphery of the adapter (106).

6. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adapter (106) is a circular pipe of predefined length configured to be mounted in one end a fluid intake pipe (108)

7. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh assembly (102) is a flow conditioner assembly configured to convert a non-uniform fluid flow (110) to a uniform fluid flow (112).

8. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh (202) is configured to be manufactured from a wire of predefined diameter to constitute mesh openings of predefined dimensions.

9. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh adapter ring (204) is configured to be mounted in the adapter (106) and the sensor is configured to be mounted in the inner diameter (?d) of the mesh adapter ring (204) and a portion of the sensor is securely supported in the adapter (106).

10. The fluid flow conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotation angle a defining the orientation of the mesh assembly (102) with a center axis of the flow measuring device (104) is configured to be determined based on experiment or simulation and desired level of accuracy in the system.
, Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
FLUID FLOW CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Applicant:
Tata Motors Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the subject matter and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a flow conditioning system and more specifically relates to a location independent system for fluid flow conditioning.
BACKGROUND
[002] In modern automotive systems, sensors and actuators play important role in overall vehicle management and tuning. These sensors or actuators gives feedback to main processor of a vehicle to govern an overall vehicle performance. Hence, it is important to ensure a consistent and accurate measurement of the sensors, actuators and measuring devices. In a field of fluid mechanics, a flow measurement is an important parameter as an accurate flow measurement facilitates better control over system. These measurements include flow of different fluids associated with it like air, water, or fuel etc. The fluid flow measurement accuracy depends on one of the factors as velocity variation across cross section of a pipe and the velocity variation further depends on surrounding components or layout of the vehicle where the flow measurement device is mounted. Generally, in the vehicles, path of fluid flow has many bends and cross section change, due to space constraints and hence, it is difficult to maintain a straight portion before measurement point as per guidelines. Due to this, the flow available at the measurement point may not be uniform and may have turbulence. Generally, the system for the flow measurement is configured with a sensor that is sensitive to slight variations, disruptions and inconsistencies in the fluid flow. The flow disruptions cause the variable sensor output which may result in inconsistent or inaccurate outputs. Therefore, we can say that a conventional system of flow measurement unit and a flow straightener may introduces an error in the flow measurement.
[003] To condition the fluid flow before sensor, number of techniques have been used including a foam media or different filter medias. However, these techniques require a larger separation gap between the filter media and a flow measurement device
[004] Hence, an improvement in the flow conditioning system is needed to ensure the uniform flow even in small space to the flow measurement unit for accurate flow measurement.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[005] It is a main object of the present invention to provide a fluid flow conditioning through a wire mesh.
[006] It is an object of the present invention to enhance a uniformity of fluid flow.
[007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow conditioning system with adjustable wire mesh.
[008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a laminar flow across a wire mesh.
[009] It is another object of the present invention to supress a turbulence of a fluid flow.
[0010] It is another object of the present invention to provide a flow conditioning system which fits even in compact area.
SUMMARY
[0011] Before the present system and method are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to dynamic yarn pull-out testing device and method. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[0012] The proposed subject matter relates to a fluid flow conditioner system for conditioning a flow. The proposed fluid flow conditioning system mainly comprises an adapter provided for sensor mounting, a flow measuring device and a mesh assembly mounted on the adapter wherein the mesh assembly may be rotated at a predefined angle with respect to the flow measuring device for conditioning a fluid flow in predetermined manner. The mesh assembly of the proposed system may be configured with a mesh fastened to a mesh adapter ring wherein the mesh adapter ring may be provided with an orientation lug for rotation of the mesh assembly. The mesh of the said mesh assembly may be manufactured from a wire of predefined thickness to constitute mesh openings of predefined length and width. The said mesh assembly may be a flow conditioner assembly and converts a non-uniform/turbulent/distorted flow to a uniform/laminar flow. Further, the mesh assembly may be mounted on the adapter and may be supported on a periphery of the adapter wherein the mounting may be based on kinematic on the fluid flow before an entry into the mesh. The distance of the mesh assembly from the flow measuring device may be varied based on a measurement reading obtained through actual experiment or simulation and target level of accuracy of the system. Furthermore, the adapter may be a circular pipe of predefined length and may be fitted in a fluid intake pipe such that an outer diameter of the adapter touches an inner diameter of the fluid intake pipe. Further, the outer diameter (?D) of the mesh adapter ring may be adapted for mounting in the adapter and the sensor for flow measurement may be mounted in the inner diameter (?d) of the mesh adapter ring and a portion of the sensor may be securely supported by the adapter provided for sensor mounting. Further, a rotation angle a defined for orientation of the mesh assembly with a center axis of the flow measuring device may be determined based on experiment or simulation and desired level of accuracy required in the system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, example constructions of the disclosure are shown in the present document, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing.
[0014] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[0015] Figure 1 illustrates a flow through a flow conditioning system.
[0016] Figure 2 illustrates a wire mesh of a proposed system.
[0017] Figure 3 illustrates a flow conditioner assembly of a proposed system.
[0018] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognise from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any system and method similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0020] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0021] The present subject matter particularly discloses a flow conditioning system wherein a non-uniform fluid flow may be converted into a uniform fluid flow. The flow conditioning system mainly comprises a mesh mounted before a flow measuring unit. The said mesh may have different orientation based on a fluid flow and a fluid intake pipe.
[0022] Referring to Figure 1, a fluid flow through a proposed flow conditioning system (100) is shown. The flow conditioning system mainly comprises a mesh assembly (102) and a flow measuring device (104). The said mesh assembly (102) may configured to be a flow conditioner assembly. The mesh assembly (102) is configured to convert a non-uniform/distorted/turbulent fluid flow (110) to a uniform/laminar fluid flow (112). Further, the mesh assembly (102) comprises a mesh (202) fastened to a mesh adapter ring (204) and an orientation lug (206) mounted on the mesh adapter ring (204). The whole mesh assembly (102) may configured to be mounted in an adaptor (106) provided for sensor mounting. The mesh assembly (102) may be mounted at variable distance “A” from a flow measuring point or an axis (302) of the flow measuring device as depicted in figure 1. The said distance “A” may be decided based on measurement reading obtained through actual experiment or simulation and target level of accuracy of the system. Alternately the said distance “A” may also be established based on flow measurement with and without the flow conditioner and a consistency in each of the measurements against target to be achieved. In an embodiment, a sensor mounting may be supported at periphery by the adapter for sensor mounting (106). The adapter (106) may configured to be mounted in a fluid intake pipe (108) such that an outer diameter of the adapter (106) touches an inner diameter of the fluid intake pipe (108). The adapter (106) may be a circular pipe of predefined length as shown in figure 1 such that a distorted fluid flow (110) of the fluid intake pipe (108) may get diverted to become a straight flow.
[0023] Referring to Figure 2, the mesh (202) used in the proposed system is shown with the mesh dimension details. The figure 2 (a) shows the mesh (202) with the mesh adapter ring (204) and the orientation lug (206). In an embodiment, the mesh (202) may configured to be a wire mesh. The mesh (202) may be welded to the mesh adapter ring (204) or may be fastened to the mesh adapter ring (204) by any fastening agent. In an embodiment, the mesh adapter ring (204) may configured to be a steel ring. The mesh (202) may configured with a plurality of mesh openings of predefined size. Further, an outer diameter (?D) of the mesh adapter ring (204) may configured to be made suitable to an inner diameter (?d) of an adapter (106) provided for sensor mounting of the flow measuring device (104) and an inner diameter of the mesh adapter ring (204) may configured to be made suitable to an outer diameter of the sensor mounting of the flow measuring device (104). The mesh (202) along with the mesh adapter ring (204) may configured to rotate to a required orientation. The orientation lug (206) as shown in figure 2 (a) may help in orientation of the mesh (202) along with the mesh adapter ring (204). Furthermore, the figure 2 (b) shows the mesh details of the present subject matter wherein the dimension “X” may be a length of the mesh opening, the dimension “Y” may be a width of the mesh opening and the dimension “Z” may be a wire diameter/thickness of the wire used for mesh (202). In an embodiment, the above said dimensions may vary based on a required flow velocity across the flow conditioner. Also, the overall size of the mesh opening may be varied based on the pipe diameter through which the flow is to be laminar / uniform.
[0024] Referring to Figure 3, the flow conditioner assembly (102) of the proposed system is shown with different orientation of the mesh (202). The mesh (202) along with the mesh adapter ring (204) may be fixed to the adapter (106) provided for sensor mounting of the flow measuring device (104). The figure 3 (a) shows an initial orientation of the mesh (202) wherein the mesh opening may be perpendicular to a center axis (302) of the flow measuring device (104). The orientation of the mesh opening may be flexible with respect to the flow measurement point (302). The mesh opening may be adjusted to any rotation with respect to the center axis (302) of the flow measuring device (104). The rotation of the mesh (202) may be denoted as “angle a”. The “angle a” may be established through experiment or simulation and desired level of accuracy in the system. The figure 3 (b) shows the rotation of the mesh opening at the angle a with respect to the center axis (302) of the flow measuring device (104).
[0025] A fluid flow conditioning system for conditioning a flow is disclosed. The proposed fluid flow conditioning system mainly comprises an adapter (106) provided for sensor mounting, a flow measuring device (104) and a mesh assembly (102) mounted on the adapter (106)wherein the mesh assembly (102) may be rotated at a predefined angle (a) with respect to the flow measuring device (104) for conditioning a fluid flow in predetermined manner. The mesh assembly (102) of the proposed system may be configured with a mesh (202) welded/fastened to a mesh adapter ring (204) wherein the mesh adapter ring (204) may be provided with an orientation lug (206) for rotation of the mesh assembly (102). The mesh (202) of the said mesh assembly (102) may be manufactured from a wire of predefined diameter to constitute mesh openings of predefined dimensions. The said mesh assembly (102) may be a flow conditioner assembly that converts a non-uniform/turbulent/distorted flow (110) to a uniform/laminar flow (112). Further, the mesh assembly (102) may be mounted on a inner periphery of the adapter (106) wherein the mounting may be based on kinematic on the fluid flow before an entry into the mesh (202). The distance (A) of the mesh assembly (102) from the flow measuring device (104) may be varied based on a measurement reading obtained through actual experiment or simulation and target level of accuracy of the system. Furthermore, the adapter (106) may be a circular pipe of predefined length and may be mounted in one end of a fluid intake pipe (108) such that an outer diameter of the adapter (106) touches an inner diameter of the fluid intake pipe (108). Further, the outer diameter (?D) of the mesh adapter ring (204) may be suitably made for mounting in the adapter (106)and the portion of the sensor provided for flow measurement may be securely supported in the inner diameter (?d) of the mesh adapter ring (204). Further, the rotation angle a defined for orientation of the mesh assembly (102) may be determined based on experiment or simulation and desired level of accuracy required in the system.
[0026] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
• The present invention converts a non-uniform/a turbulent flow to a uniform/laminar flow.
• The present invention provides a simple and cost-effective flow conditioning system.
• The present invention provides a rotatable mesh assembly for flow conditioning.
• The present invention improves accuracy of a flow measuring device due to availability of a uniform flow at a flow measuring point.
• The present invention provides a flow conditioning system which is used for fluids like air, water and fuel by varying a mesh size or mesh pattern.

[0027] Following is the list of reference numerals used throughout the figures to refer like features and components.
Reference Numeral Part Name
102 Mesh assembly
104 Flow measuring device
106 Adapter for sensor mounting
108 Fluid intake pipe
110 Non-uniform flow
112 Uniform flow
202 Mesh
204 Mesh adapter ring
206 Orientation lug
302 Center axis of flow measuring device
X Length of mesh opening
Y Width of mesh opening
Z Diameter of wire mesh
a Rotation angle of mesh