Flowmeter

Selection
Department Editor: Kate Torzewski

W
hen a flowmeter is needed, the selec-
Fluids Tem-
tion process should include study- Accuracy Maximum
Turn- (liquid, Pipe Sizes, perature
ing the characteristics of respective Flowmeter (full scale, pressure,
down gas, solid, in. range,
measurement technologies and analyzing the F; rate, R) psig
slurry) (º F)
advantages/disadvantages for different plant
environments. This effort will help ensure Square-edged,
orifice differential 0.5–1.5% R 4 to 1 L, G, S 0.5–40 8,800 –4–2,300
that a meter with the right performance and pressure
reliability, for a particular installation, is
selected. Some of the most common industrial Electromagnetic 0.2–2% R 10 to 1 L 0.15–60 5,000 –40–350
flowmeter designs are described here.
Turbine 0.15–1% R 10 to 1 L, G 0.5–30 6,000 –450–600

Differential Pressure Ultrasonic

1–30% R 50 to 1 L, G, SL 0.5–200 6,000 –40–250
(doppler)
A differential pressure meter operates by
Ultrasonic down to
measuring the pressure differential across the 0.5–5% R L, G 1–540 6,000 –40–650
(transit time) zero flow
meter and extracting the square root. These
meters have a primary element that causes Vortex 0.5–2% R 20 to 1 L, G, S 0.5–16 1,500 –330–800
a change in kinetic energy, which in turn
Positive
creates differential pressure in the pipe. A displacement
0.152% R 10 to 1 L 0.25–16 2,000 –40–600
secondary element measures the differential
pressure and provides a signal or readout, Coriolis 0.1–0.3% R
10 to 1, to
L, G 0.06–12 5,700 –400–800
which is converted to the actual flow value. 80 to 1
Two basic types of primary elements rely Thermal (gases) 1% F 50 to 1 G 0.125–8 4,500 32–572
on this measurement: orifice plates and
Venturi tubes. Both element types rely on the Thermal (liquids) 0.5% F 50 to 1 L 0.06–0.25 4,500 40–165
law of conservation of energy and Bernoulli’s
energy equation to determine volumetric that provides a linear output, which is directly include oval gear, rotary piston, helical,
flowrates. proportional to mass flow. nutating disk and diaphragm flowmeters. In
The electrical current required to maintain all design types, the fluid or gas forces a me-
Electromagnetic the temperature at the temperature sensor chanical element, such as a set of gears, a
Electromagnetic meters (commonly referred to is proportional to the mass flow through the disk, or a piston, to move within the primary
as “mag” meters), employ Faraday’s law of flowmeter. These flowmeters are commonly device. For every revolution of a gear, or the
electromagnetic induction, which states that used in automobiles to determine the air complete movement of a piston or plate, a
voltage will be induced when a conductor density as it travels into the engine. known volume of material is displaced.
moves through a magnetic field. The liquid
serves as the conductor. Energized coils out- Vortex Shedding Ultrasonic
side the flow tube create the magnetic field.
In this instrument, fluid vortices are formed Ultrasonic meters operate by comparing the
The amount of voltage produced is directly
against the meter body. These vortices are time for an ultrasonic signal to travel with
proportional to the flowrate.
produced from the downstream face of the the flow (downstream) against the time for
Magnetic flowmeters are only applicable
meter in an oscillatory manner. The shed- an ultrasonic signal to travel against the flow
for fluids with some electrical conductivity,
ding is sensed using a thermistor, and the (upstream). The difference between these
typically those with conductivity values above
frequency of shedding is proportional to transit times is proportional to the flow, and
5 µS/cm. Most aqueous solutions contain
volumetric flowrate. the flowmeter converts this information to
enough conductive dissolved solids to meet
this requirement. However, ultrapure water, flowrate and total flow.
some solvents, and most hydrocarbon-based Turbine They are particularly useful for measuring
solutions do not. the flow of non-conductive fluids, such as
Turbine meters incorporate a freely suspend- solvents and hydrocarbons in large pipes —
ed rotor that is turned by fluid flow through
Coriolis the meter body. Since the flow passage is
applications for which a magnetic flowmeter
will not work. Ultrasonic flowmeters are also
Coriolis meters provide mass-flow data by fixed, the rotor's rotational speed is a true often used in district heating and chilled-
measuring fluid running through a bent tube, representation of the volumetric flowrate. The water systems.
which is induced to vibrate in an angular, rotation produces a train of electrical pulses, Doppler ultrasonic flowmeters have one
harmonic oscillation. Due to the Coriolis which are sensed by an external pickoff and transducer mounted at an oblique angle to
forces, the tube will deform, and an ad- then counted and totalized. The number of the pipe. The transducer generates a signal
ditional vibration component will be added pulses counted for a given period of time is into the fluid, which is reflected back from
to the oscillation. This causes a phase shift directly proportional to flow volume. suspended particles or air bubbles.
over areas of the tube, and this shift can be Turbine meters are used extensively to Transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters have two
measured with sensors. Density measure- measure refined petroleum products, such as transducers, likewise mounted at an oblique
ments are made by analyzing the frequency gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene in custody- angle to the pipe, on opposite sides of the
shift of the vibrating pipe as the fluid flows transfer applications. pipe. Allternating, one transmitter sends
past the pickup. sound waves through the fluid to the other.
Positive Displacement
Thermal Mass References
Positive displacement (PD) meters separate
Thermal mass meters utilize a heated sensing liquid into specific increments. The accumula- 1. Keith, J., Evaluating Industrial Flowmeters
element that is isolated from the path of fluid tion of these measured increments over time Chem. Eng., April 2007, pp. 54–59.
flow. The flow stream conducts heat from is given as the flowrate. As the fluid passes 2. Kohlmann, M., Selecting the Right Flowmeter
the sensing element, and this heat is directly through the meter, a pulse, which represents for the Job. Chem. Eng., September 2004, pp.
proportional to the mass flowrate. The meter’s a known volume of fluid, is generated. 60–64.
electronics include the flow analyzer, temper- Some of the design types included in 3.“Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook,” 8th
ature compensator and a signal conditioner the positive-displacement flowmeter family ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008.