Abstract Robust, low-cost nonintrusive flow meters are of interest in many industries. In particular, a reliable nonintrusive flow measurement for the diagnosis of air leaks in compressed air systems is desirable. Measurement of the air flow due to leaks in the system ensures an accurate estimation of potential cost and energy savings. This study evaluates a novel method of using thermal responses to nonintrusively measure leakage rates in compressed air lines. The method uses heat and the resulting thermal response to calculate the flow rate inside the compressed air line. Compared to the current methods for flow measurement, this method can simplify flow measurement while decreasing the sensitivity to errors when measuring flow rates. In this study, the methodology of the proposed method is explained along with the potential advantages to the design. Two approaches are evaluated: a dynamic step response and sinusoidal frequency response. Simulated tests evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methods, followed by experiments that validate the simulation results. A clear correlation between the thermal step response and the flow rate indicate viability of the proposed method in simulation. Experimental results yielded similar results, confirming the validity of the proposed method. The results of a field test in an industrial environment demonstrate the capability of the approach to other flow rate measurement techniques.

中文翻译：

---

使用热响应方法进行非侵入式压缩空气流量测量的可行性

摘要 坚固、低成本的非侵入式流量计在许多行业中受到关注。特别是，需要可靠的非侵入式流量测量来诊断压缩空气系统中的空气泄漏。由于系统泄漏而导致的气流测量可确保准确估计潜在的成本和能源节约。本研究评估了一种使用热响应以非侵入方式测量压缩空气管道泄漏率的新方法。该方法使用热量和由此产生的热响应来计算压缩空气管线内的流速。与现有的流量测量方法相比，这种方法可以简化流量测量，同时降低测量流量时对误差的敏感性。在这项研究中，解释了所提出方法的方法论以及设计的潜在优势。评估了两种方法：动态阶跃响应和正弦频率响应。模拟测试评估了所提出方法的可行性，然后是验证模拟结果的实验​​。热阶跃响应和流速之间的明确相关性表明所提出的方法在模拟中的可行性。实验结果产生了相似的结果，证实了所提出方法的有效性。工业环境中的现场测试结果证明了该方法适用于其他流量测量技术的能力。接下来是验证模拟结果的实验​​。热阶跃响应和流速之间的明确相关性表明所提出的方法在模拟中的可行性。实验结果产生了相似的结果，证实了所提出方法的有效性。工业环境中的现场测试结果证明了该方法适用于其他流量测量技术的能力。接下来是验证模拟结果的实验​​。热阶跃响应和流速之间的明确相关性表明所提出的方法在模拟中的可行性。实验结果产生了相似的结果，证实了所提出方法的有效性。工业环境中的现场测试结果证明了该方法适用于其他流量测量技术的能力。