Analytical calculation of sensitivity for Coriolis mass flowmeter

A simple analytical method is introduced to calculate the sensitivity of Coriolis mass flowmeter (CMF). The definition of the sensitivity is further developed based on the reciprocity principle, through employing two approaches: selecting the moment when the displacement of drive point is zero as the calculation moment; reducing the degree of high-order static indeterminacy by taking a half of the structure due to symmetry in structure and anti-symmetry in load. With these approaches, the method can be used to calculate sensitivities for the flowmeters with any shaped tubes and anywhere detected positions; thus, provides theory basis for tube shape design and detected positions determination. Detail analytical calculations for typical Straight-Circle-joint-shaped CMFs are illustrated. The method is validated on a published U-CMF and then, is further illustrated and experimentally validated through predicting the most sensitive detected point for a narrowed-U-CMF.