Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination

Precise flow measurement is crucial in fluid power systems. Especially in combination with pressure, hydraulic power can be particularly beneficial for predictive maintenance and control applications. However, conventional flow sensors in fluid power systems are often invasive, thus disrupting the f...

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Main Authors: Faras Brumand-Poor, Tim Kotte, Abdulaziz Hanifa, Christian Reese, Marius Hofmeister, Katharina Schmitz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Analyses
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4648/3/1/8
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author Faras Brumand-Poor
Tim Kotte
Abdulaziz Hanifa
Christian Reese
Marius Hofmeister
Katharina Schmitz
author_facet Faras Brumand-Poor
Tim Kotte
Abdulaziz Hanifa
Christian Reese
Marius Hofmeister
Katharina Schmitz
author_sort Faras Brumand-Poor
collection DOAJ
description Precise flow measurement is crucial in fluid power systems. Especially in combination with pressure, hydraulic power can be particularly beneficial for predictive maintenance and control applications. However, conventional flow sensors in fluid power systems are often invasive, thus disrupting the flow and yielding unreliable measurements, especially under transient conditions. A common alternative is to estimate the flow rate using pressure differentials along a pipe and the Hagen–Poiseuille law, which is limited to steady, laminar, and incompressible flows. This study advances a previously introduced analytical soft sensor, demonstrating its ability to accurately determine the transient pipe flow beyond laminar conditions, without requiring a dedicated flow rate sensor. This method provides a robust and computationally efficient solution for real-world hydraulic systems by applying two pressure transducers. A key contribution of this work is the investigation of signal filtering, revealing that even a simple first-order low-pass filter with a 100 Hz cutoff frequency significantly improves accuracy, which is demonstrated for pulsation frequencies of 5, 10, and 15 Hz, where the filtered results closely match experimental data from a test rig. These findings underscore the soft sensor’s potential as a reliable alternative to traditional flow sensors, offering high accuracy with minimal computational overhead for a wide range of flow conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-252efd1039c94ac2b56f2cd59e733a5c2025-08-20T01:48:56ZengMDPI AGJournal of Experimental and Theoretical Analyses2813-46482025-03-0131810.3390/jeta3010008Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate DeterminationFaras Brumand-Poor0Tim Kotte1Abdulaziz Hanifa2Christian Reese3Marius Hofmeister4Katharina Schmitz5Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyPrecise flow measurement is crucial in fluid power systems. Especially in combination with pressure, hydraulic power can be particularly beneficial for predictive maintenance and control applications. However, conventional flow sensors in fluid power systems are often invasive, thus disrupting the flow and yielding unreliable measurements, especially under transient conditions. A common alternative is to estimate the flow rate using pressure differentials along a pipe and the Hagen–Poiseuille law, which is limited to steady, laminar, and incompressible flows. This study advances a previously introduced analytical soft sensor, demonstrating its ability to accurately determine the transient pipe flow beyond laminar conditions, without requiring a dedicated flow rate sensor. This method provides a robust and computationally efficient solution for real-world hydraulic systems by applying two pressure transducers. A key contribution of this work is the investigation of signal filtering, revealing that even a simple first-order low-pass filter with a 100 Hz cutoff frequency significantly improves accuracy, which is demonstrated for pulsation frequencies of 5, 10, and 15 Hz, where the filtered results closely match experimental data from a test rig. These findings underscore the soft sensor’s potential as a reliable alternative to traditional flow sensors, offering high accuracy with minimal computational overhead for a wide range of flow conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4648/3/1/8soft sensorvolumetric flow rate determinationnon-laminar flowsignal filtering
spellingShingle Faras Brumand-Poor
Tim Kotte
Abdulaziz Hanifa
Christian Reese
Marius Hofmeister
Katharina Schmitz
Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Analyses
soft sensor
volumetric flow rate determination
non-laminar flow
signal filtering
title Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
title_full Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
title_fullStr Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
title_full_unstemmed Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
title_short Advancing Pressure-Based Flow Rate Soft Sensors: Signal Filtering Effects and Non-Laminar Flow Rate Determination
title_sort advancing pressure based flow rate soft sensors signal filtering effects and non laminar flow rate determination
topic soft sensor
volumetric flow rate determination
non-laminar flow
signal filtering
url https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4648/3/1/8
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