Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) system

Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice

Awarded Supplier: Signal Processing S.A.

Value of contract: 64,000.00 EUR

Justification for award: UDV measurement systems operate by propagating ultrasonic waves through the liquid metal, allowing for measurements of the flow velocity without disturbing the flow. In the SmallLab set-up, sensors will be mounted on or within a test channel. The data gathered from the velocity measurements will be used to record the complex temporally and spatially variant flow structures that form within the volume of the liquid metal. To provide valuable data for validation and benchmarking of computational fluid dynamics codes, high spatial and temporal resolution data is required. Increasing the number of sensors and implementing non-intrusive measurement techniques at multiple streamwise and spanwise locations of the flow domain is the key approach to providing the spatial resolution. To provide accurate temporal resolution, in conjunction with the spatial variability, the multiple sensors at each location must operate simultaneously to capture instantaneous data concurrently. This is especially important given the high temporal variability of flow structures. On the test facility, we must measure the velocities at at least 4 streamwise locations at instantaneously concurrent time points. Only by utilising this simultaneous data from multiple sensors can we build a virtual picture of the flow structures within the full liquid metal volume and accurately track their evolution in time. These fundamental requirements are reflected in the UDV specification, TD-0018378.

The technical lead on the project conducted extensive market research to identify potential suppliers for a UDV system that meets the defined specification. Consequently, only three possible suppliers were found. After analysis of three UDV system providers identified and their technical offerings, only one supplier was determined to offer the specification required.