ABSTRACT A bundle of acoustically slender metal rods, each thin compared to wavelength, tightly packed within a sheath, and welded closed at each end, provides a dispersion-free waveguide assembly that acts as a thermal buffer between a transducer and the hot fluid medium the flow of which is to be measured. Gas and steam flow applications have ranged up to 600°C. Liquid applications have ranged from cryogenic (-160°C) to 500°C and include intermittent two-phase flows. The individual rods comprising the bundle usually are approximately one millimeter in diameter. The sheath, made of a pipe or tube, typically has an outside diameter of 12.7 to about 33 mm and usually is about 300 mm long. Materials for the sheath and bundle are selected to satisfy requirements of compatibility with the fluid as well as for acoustic properties. Corrosion-resistant alloys such as 316SS and titanium are commonly used. The buffers are used with transducers that are metal-encapsulated and certified for use in hazardous areas. They operate at a frequency in the range of 0.1 to 1 MHz. The radiating end of the buffer is usually flat and perpendicular to the buffer's main axis. In some cases the end of the buffer is stepped or angled. Angling the radiating faces at ∼2° to overcome beam drift at Mach 0.1 recently contributed to solving a high-temperature high-velocity flow measurement problem. The temperature in this situation was 300°C, and the gas molecular weight was about 95, with pressure 0.9 to 1.1 bar.
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