On the error of the time–pulse method of measuring air consumption in mines

Abstract

The derivation of a formula for the time during which a sound signal propagates between two given points A and B in a stationary gas flow is considered. It is shown that the gas flow changes the signal reception time by a quantity proportional to the consumption, regardless of the detailed velocity profile. The difference between the reception time of signals from point B to the point A and vice versa is proportional to air consumption with high accuracy. It is shown that the relative error of the obtained formula does not exceed the squared maximum Mach number in the gas flow. This allows measurement of the consumption of gas moving in a mine with an arbitrary stationary subsonic velocity field.