The paper describes how the unconditioned signal from the sensor in a turbine flowmeter can be analyzed to provide a signature of the instrument. The signature indicates the condition of the instrument within the process environment and, moreover, it is additional to the customary process measurement information provided by a turbine flowmeter. A theoretical model is used to synthesize the basic signal expected from a turbine flowmeter based on an assumption that the instrument was operated under normal and abnormal conditions. The results obtained by analyzing synthesized and measured signals are compared and used to validate the theoretical model. The ideas presented in the paper have wide-ranging ramifications for both users and manufacturers of turbine flowmeters.
