Apparatus and method for reducing braze joint stress in a vibrating flowmeter

1. A method of forming a flowmeter, comprising the steps of:

bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon;

aligning a flow tube with at least one anchor block;

brazing the flow tube to the at least one anchor block;

allowing the flow tube and the at least one anchor block to cool and contract after brazing;

attaching the at least one anchor block to a support block after the flow tube has been brazed to the at least one anchor block; and

attaching a manifold to each end of the flow tube.

2. A method of forming a flowmeter, comprising the steps of:

bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon;

aligning a flow tube with at least one anchor block;

brazing the flow tube to the at least one anchor block;

attaching a first end of the flow tube to a first manifold and a second end of the flow tube to a second manifold, wherein the first and second manifolds each comprise a portion of a support block;

attaching the portion of the support block of the first manifold to the portion of the support block of the second manifold; and

attaching the at least one anchor block to at least one of the portion of the support block of the first manifold and the portion of the support block of the second manifold.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising the step of attaching at least one of the support block and at least one of the first and second manifolds to a flowmeter case.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of attaching the at least one anchor block to a support block comprises welding at least a portion of the at least one anchor block to the support block after the step of allowing the flow tube and the at least one anchor block to cool and contract a predetermined degree after brazing.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the welding comprises plug welding a boss defined by one of the at least one anchor block and the support block with a mating aperture defined by one of the anchor block and the support block.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the boss is insertable into the mating aperture in only a single orientation.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising the step of attaching a tube support that contacts at least a portion of the flow tube to at least one of the at least one anchor block and the support block.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the flow tube comprises a single-tube, dual loop flow tube; and wherein the method comprises the steps of:

forming a channel in the tube support that sweeps along a path in only a single plane; and

bending the flow tube so that a first inlet bend thereon is coplanar with a first flow tube loop; and

bending the flow tube so that a second inlet bend thereon is coplanar with a second flow tube loop.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the flow tube comprises a single-tube, dual loop flow tube; and wherein the method comprises the steps of:

forming a channel in the tube support that sweeps along a path in a single plane; and

bending the flow tube so that a crossover section of the flow tube comprises a first portion thereof proximate an outlet bend, the first portion being coplanar with a first flow tube loop; and

bending the flow tube so that the crossover section of the flow tube comprises a second portion thereof proximate an inlet bend, the second portion being coplanar with a second flow tube loop.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon comprises the step of:

bending a portion of the flow tube located between the manifold and the at least one anchor block to define a first apex.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the height of the first apex is between 0.01 inches and 1 inch from a proximate non-bent portion of the flow tube.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon comprises the step of:

bending a portion of the flow tube located between a first anchor block of the at least one anchor block and a second anchor block of the at least one anchor block to define a second apex.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the height of the second apex is between 0.01 inches and 1 inch from a proximate non-bent portion of the flow tube.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of attaching a manifold to each end of the flow tube comprises at least one of welding and brazing a manifold to each end of the flow tube.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the step of attaching the manifold to each end of the support block comprises welding a boss defined by one of the manifold and the support block with a mating aperture defined by one of the at least one anchor block and the support block.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the boss is fully insertable into the mating aperture in only a single orientation.

17. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of attaching the portion of the support block of the first manifold with the portion of the support block of the second manifold comprises welding the portion of the support block of the first manifold to the portion of the support block of the second manifold.

18. The method of claim 1 comprising the step of bending an offset bend in a crossover section of the flow tube.

19. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of forming a channel in the tube support that sweeps along a path in a single plane comprises forming a channel wherein an intrados of the flow tube engages only at the outermost edges thereon to define a gap between the flow tube and the tube support that is between 0.0025 and 0.0035 inches and wherein an extrados of the flow tube contacts the tube support proximate the center of the channel to define a gap proximate each outermost edge of the tube support.

20. The method of claim 2 , comprising the step of attaching at least one of the support block and at least one of the first and second manifolds to a flowmeter case.

21. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of attaching the at least one anchor block to a support block comprises welding at least a portion of the at least one anchor block to the support block after the step of allowing the flow tube and the at least one anchor block to cool and contract a predetermined degree after brazing.

22. The method of claim 2 , comprising the step of attaching a tube support that contacts at least a portion of the flow tube to at least one of the at least one anchor block and the support block.

23. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon comprises the step of:

bending a portion of the flow tube located between the manifold and the at least one anchor block to define a first apex.

24. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of bending a flow tube to create at least one thermal expansion bend thereon comprises the step of:

bending a portion of the flow tube located between a first anchor block of the at least one anchor block and a second anchor block of the at least one anchor block to define a second apex.

25. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of attaching a manifold to each end of the flow tube comprises at least one of welding and brazing a manifold to each end of the flow tube.

26. The method of claim 2 , comprising the step of bending an offset bend in a crossover section of the flow tube.