Flow

Richard Thorn. "Flow."

Flow Measurement

28.1

Differential Pressure Flowmeters

Important Principles of Fluid Flow in Pipes • Bernoulli’s

Equation • Common Differential Pressure Flowmeters •

Other Differential Pressure Flowmeters • Performance and

Applications • Installation • Differential Pressure

Measurement • Standards • Future Developments

28.2

Variable Area Flowmeters

General Description of Variable Area Flowmeters •

Measuring Principles of Variable Area Flowmeters

28.3

Positive Displacement Flowmeters

Design and Construction • Some Commercially Available

PD Meter Designs • Advantages and Disadvantages of PD

Meters • Applications • Accessories • Price and Performance

28.4

Turbine and Vane Flowmeters

Axial Turbine Flowmeters • Insertion Axial Turbine
Flowmeters • Angular Momentum Flowmeters • Multijet
Turbine Flowmeters • Cylindrical Rotor Flowmeter •
Manufacturers • Conclusion

28.5

Impeller Flowmeters

Sensing Principles • Flow Ranges • Installation •

Manufacturers

28.6

Electromagnetic Flowmeters

Faraday’s Law of Induction • Construction and Operation of Electromagnetic Flowmeters • Types of Electromagnetic Flowmeters • Installation and Practical Applications of

Electromagnetic Flowmeters • Effects of Electric

Conductivity of Fluid • Signal Pickup and Demodulation

Techniques

28.7

Ultrasonic Flowmeters

Transit Time Flowmeter

28.8

Vortex Shedding Flowmeters

Principle of Operation • Calculation of Mass Flow and
Standard Volume • Flowmeter Construction • Application
Considerations • Recent Developments

28.9

Thermal Mass Flow Sensors

Principles of Conventional Thermal Mass Flowmeters •

Mass and Heat Transfer • Analytical Models for Calorimetric

Flowmeters • Principles of Microﬂow Sensors • Smart

Thermal Flow Sensors and Advanced Evaluation Circuits •

Calibration Conditions

28.10 Coriolis Effect Mass Flowmeters

Theory of Operation • Construction • Advantages •

Disadvantages • Applications • A Look Ahead

Richard Thorn

University of Derby

Adrian Melling

Universitaet Erlangen-Nuember

Herbert Köchner

Universitaet Erlangen-Nuember

Reinhard Haak

Universitaet Erlangen-Nuember

Zaki D. Husain

Daniel Flow Products, Inc.

Donald J. Wass

Daniel Flow Products, Inc.

David Wadlow

Sensors Research Consulting, Inc.

Harold M. Miller

Data Industrial Corporation

Halit Eren

Curtin University of Technology

Hans-Peter Vaterlaus

Rittmeyer Ltd.

Thomas Hossle

Rittmeyer Ltd.

Paolo Giordano

Rittmeyer Ltd.

Christophe Bruttin

Rittmeyer Ltd.

Wade M. Mattar

The Foxboro Company

James H. Vignos

The Foxboro Company

Nam-Trung Nguyen

University of California at Berkeley

Jesse Yoder

Automation Research Corporation

Rekha Philip-Chandy

Liverpool John Moores University

Roger Morgan

Liverpool John Moores University

Patricia J. Scully

Liverpool John Moores University

28.11 Drag Force Flowmeters

Design of the Flow Sensor • Principle of the Fluid Flow
Measurement • Implementation Using Resistive Strain
Gages • Optical Fiber Strain Gage Drag Force Flowmeter •

Conclusion

28.1 Differential Pressure Flowmeters

Richard Thorn

Flow measurement is an everyday event. Whether you are filling up a car with petrol (gasoline) or wanting to know how much water the garden sprinkler is consuming, a flowmeter is required. Similarly, it is also difficult to think of a sector of industry in which a flowmeter of one type or another does not play a part. The world market in flowmeters was estimated to be worth $2500 million in 1995, and is expected to grow steadily for the foreseeable future. The value of product being measured by these meters is also very large. For example, in the U.K. alone, it was estimated that in 1994 the value of crude oil produced was worth $15 billion.

Given the size of the flowmeter market, and the value of product being measured, it is somewhat surprising that both the accuracy and capability of many flowmeters are poor in comparison to those instruments used for measurement of other common process variables such as pressure and temperature. For example, the orifice plate flowmeter, which was first used commercially in the early 1900s and has a typical accuracy of± 2% of reading, is still the only flowmeter approved by most countries for the fiscal measurement of natural gas. Although newer techniques such as Coriolis flowmeters have become increas- ingly popular in recent years, the flow measurement industry is by nature conservative and still dominated by traditional measurement techniques. For a review of recent flowmeter developments, refer to [1].

Over 40% of all liquid, gas, and steam measurements made in industry are still accomplished using common types of differential pressure flowmeter ; that is, the orifice plate, Venturi tube, and nozzle. The operation of these flowmeters is based on the observation made by Bernoulli that if an annular restriction is placed in a pipeline, then the velocity of the fluid through the restriction is increased. The increase in velocity at the restriction causes the static pressure to decrease at this section, and a pressure difference is created across the element. The difference between the pressure upstream and pressure downstream of this obstruction is related to the rate of fluid flowing through the restriction and therefore through the pipe. A differential pressure flowmeter consists of two basic elements: an obstruction to cause a pressure drop in the flow (a differential producer) and a method of measuring the pressure drop across this obstruction (a differential pressure transducer).

One of the major advantages of the orifice plate, Venturi tube, or nozzle is that the measurement uncertainty can be predicted without the need for calibration, if it is manufactured and installed in accordance with one of the international standards covering these devices. In addition, this type of differential pressure flowmeter is simple, has no moving parts, and is therefore reliable. The main disadvantages of these devices are their limited range (typically 3:1), the permanent pressure drop they produce in the pipeline (which can result in higher pumping costs), and their sensitivity to installation effects (which can be minimized using straight lengths of pipe before and after the flowmeter). The combined advantages of this type of flowmeter are still quite hard to beat, and although it has limitations, these have been well investigated and can be compensated for in most circumstances. Unless very high accuracy is required, or unless the application makes a nonintrusive device essential, the differential flowmeter should be considered. Despite the predictions of its demise, there is little doubt that the differential pressure flowmeter will remain a common method of flow measurement for many years to come.