FLOW MEASUREMENTS

Flow
1. Volumetric flow: volume of fluid
past a given point per unit time.
Unit: SI m3/s
Material forms to be measured:
Liquids
Gases
Slurries (liquids + suspended solid)
Usually carried in pipes.
Instruments used:
differential-pressure meters
orifice plate
venturi tube
flow nozzle
Dall flow tube
pitot tube
variable area meters
positive-displacement meters
turbine flowmeters
thermal flowmeter;
energy-balance thermal
flowmeter
thermal anemometers
electromagnetic flowmeters
vortex-shedding flowmeters
ultrasonic flowmeters
 Doppler shift ultrasonic
flowmeter
Transit time ultrasonic
flowmeter
gate-type meters
laser Doppler flowmeters
2. Mass flow: mass of fluid or solid
past a given point per unit time.
Unit: SI kg/s
Material forms to be measured:
For small particles produced by a
crushing or grinding process
transported by some form of
conveyor is calculated in terms of
the mass of material on a given
length of conveyor multiplied by
the speed of conveyor.
For fluid is usually not direct but
determined by simultaneous
measurement of volume flow rate
and fluid density.
Instrument: for direct
measurement: Coriolis meter.

DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE METERS

Insertion of some device into a fluid-
carrying pipe which causes an
obstruction and creates pressure
difference on either side of the device.
Devices:
orifice plate
venturi tube
flow nozzle
Dall flow tube
pitot tube
Advantages:
No moving parts so that
robust
reliable
easy to maintain

Disadvantage:
Obstruction causes a permanent loss of
pressure in the flowing fluid.

Fundamental equation for differential

pressure flowmeters:
1 2 P1 1 2 P2
v gh
2 1 1 2 v2 gh
2
1 2

When there is restriction:

velocity increase
pressure decreases
Volume flow rate proportional to the
square root of the pressure difference.
The pressure difference is measured
using pressure transducers (e.g.
diaphragm)
Theoretical volume flow rate
 A2 2 P1 P2
QTh
A
2

1 2
A1
A1: cross sectional area of the fluid flow
before the obstruction
P1: pressure of the fluid flow before the
obstruction
A2: cross sectional area of the fluid flow
at the narrowest point of the flow
beyond the obstruction
P2: pressure of the fluid flow at the
narrowest point of the flow beyond the
obstruction
: fluid density
Conditions:
the absence of any heat transfer
mechanism
frictionless flow of the incompressible
fluid

Not a practical equation and never

applicable.
Reasons:
frictionless flow is never achieved
neither A1 and A2 can be measured

Practical equation
M 2 P1 P2
QACT CEA
2

C: discharge coefficient
C has been measured experimentally
for several types of flowmeters
Values of C depend upon:
type of flowmeter

Reynolds number ReD

diameter ratio
C can be found from the following
sources:
B.S. 1024: Section 1.1: 1981
ISO 5167: 1980
1
E: velocity of approach factor E 4
1
d
: flowmeter-pipe diameter ratio D
d: flowmeter diameter
D: pipe diameter
2
d
A : flowmeter cross sectional area A
M
2
M
2
4
Reynolds number
Reynolds number is a number that
indicates the condition of a fluid whether
the flow in a given situation is laminar or
turbulent.
Laminar flow: The particles move in
highly ordered manner retaining the
same relative positions in successive
cross sections.
Turbulent flow: The particles move in
highly disordered; each particle moves
randomly in three dimensions and
occupies different relative positions in
successive cross sections.
vD
D
Re

v: fluid velocity
D: pipe diameter
: fluid density
: fluid viscosity

Guidance:
Re < 2 x 103 laminar flow
2 x 103 < Re < 104 transition region
Re > 104 turbulent region
Useful formulas for designing differential
pressure flowmeters
Mean velocity
Q
v
A
Q: volume flow rate
A: cross sectional area of the fluid
normal to the direction of the flow
Mass flow rate
= Q = Av
M

Conservation of mass flow rate

1A1v 1 = 2A2v 2 = M

Conservation of volume flow rate

A1v 1 = A 2v 2 = Q

Pitot Tube
Static pressure: Pressure of a fluid
exerted normal to the surface along
which the fluid flows.
Impact pressure: Pressure of a moving
fluid exerted normal to the surface along
which the fluid flows.
Stagnation pressure (Total pressure):
Sum of the static pressure and impact
pressure
Static pressure + Impact pressure =
Stagnation pressure

Mechanical Flowmeters
A machine which is placed in the path of
the flow, and made move by the flow
Frequency proportional to volume
flowrate
f= KQ

To measure total volume of fluid that has

been delivered during a time interval T
T
V 0Qdt

Total number of machine cycles during T

T T
N 0fdt K0Qdt KV

Total count proportional to the volume

Turbine flowmeter
Rotor angular velocity is proportional to
the volume flowrate
r kQ
k: constant which depends on the
geometry of the blade system

Mean velocity
Q
v
A
A: cross sectional area of the fluid

A = Area of pipe Area of hub Area of

blades
2 2 d
D d m R t
4 4 2

m: number of blades
t: average thickness of blades