Dicet Flow Module 1

5/12/2020
Flow
Measurement
D I C E T Flow Measurement
Define Application – Basic Facts

• Flowing Media (Steam, Water, Air, Gas etc…)
• Density - pressure and temperature
• Flow Range, minimum to maximum
(turndown needed)
• Accuracy – how stated? % of range or span
• Repeatability
• Straight run requirements & available
• Economic Considerations – Initial cost,
maintenance cost & operating costs
5/12/2020
FLOW MEASUREMENT
• HOW MUCH (TOTAL)
• HOW FAST (RATE)
Fluid Flow
Process control deals with the continuous
flow/movement of a liquid or a gas from one
place to another.
5/12/2020
Volume Flow
 The amount of space occupied by an object
• In flow applications, traditional technologies
compute flowing volume by measuring fluid
velocity multiplied by the across sectional area of
the pipe
 Common volume units

• gallons Velocity (V)
• liters Area
• cubic meters Flow Rate = Velocity x Area
• cubic feet
Volumetric Flowrate (Q)
V
A
Q
Volume = Area x Length

Volume Flow = Area x Velocity
5/12/2020
Engineering Units
Volumetric Flow Rate (for Liquids)
• Metric Unit - cubic meter per second, m3/s
liters per minute, l/m or lpm
• English Unit - gallons per minute, gpm
cubic feet per second, ft3/s
Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 deg.F

Nml - reference to 101.325 Atm. At 0 deg.C
Engineering Units
Volumetric Flow Rate (for Gases)
• Others
 StdCuft/s - Standard Cubic feet per second (scfs)
 StdCuft/min - Standard Cubic feet per minute (scfm)
 StdCuft/h - Standard Cubic feet per hour (scfh)
 StdCuft/d - Standard Cubic feet per day (scfd)
 StdCum/h - Standard Cubic meter per hour (scmh)
 StdCum/d - Standard Cubic meter per day (scmd)
 NmlCum/h - Normal Cubic meter per hour (ncmh)
 NmlCum/d - Normal Cubic meter per day
Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 ºF

Nml - reference to 101.325 Atm. At 0 ºC
5/12/2020
Engineering Units
Volumetric Flow Rate
• Others
 Normal liter per minute (nlpm)
Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 ºF

Nml - reference to 101.325 Atm. At 0 ºC
Mass
 Mass is one of three unchanged characteristics of an object
• Time, Length and Mass
 Mass is the quantity of material an object contains
 Weight is sometime confused with Mass

• Weight is caused by a mass that is acted upon by a gravitational
force
Example : a given mass has different weights on the earth and
the moon
 Common mass units : pounds, kilograms, grams, tons
5/12/2020
Why measure Mass Flow ?

Eliminate impact of changing fluid properties
Volume : 154.8 liters Volume : 159.0 liters Volume : 0.40 m3 Volume : 0.42 m3
Mass : 155 kg Mass : 155 kg Mass : 3.665 g Mass : 3.665 g
P= 152 KPa P = 138 KPa
15.6° C
-6.7° C
Impact of Changing Process Temperature Impact of Changing Process Pressure
The mass of fluid (155kg) is constant while The mass of fluid (3.665g) is
the volume changes 2.7% (154L vs. 159L) constant while the volume changes
due to changing temperature 5% (0.40 vs. 0.42 m3) due to
changing pressure
Mass Flowrate (m)
Q=VA
Mass Flow = m = ρ Q
V
m=ρAV
A
m
where m = Mass Flow
Q = Volume Flow
ρ = Fluid Density
Mass = Volume x Density
5/12/2020
Engineering Units
Mass Flow Rate
• Metric Unit - kilogram per second, kg/s
kilogram per minute, kpm (air)
kilogram per hour, kph (air)
Engineering Units
Mass Flow Rate
• Others
 lbs/sec - Pounds per second
 lbs/min - Pounds per minute, ppm (air)
 lbs/hour - Pounds per hour, pph (air)
 lbs/day - Pounds per day
 gram/sec - grams per second
 grams/min - grams per minute
 grams/hour - grams per hour
 kg/min - kilograms per minute
 kg/hour - kilogram per hour
5/12/2020
5/12/2020
Mass vs Volume Flowmeters

• Why are we concerned?
• How much does it really matter?
• Flow through a 4” line measured in a Averaging Pitot
Flow Rate 1000 cfm 1000 cfm

Pressure 5 psi 5 psi
Temperature 100 F 70 F
DP in WC 12.181 11.532
There is a 6% error just by changing density / temperature slightly…can

you meter cope??
5/12/2020
General Flow Terminology
 Factors affecting flowmeter performance

 Process media
– Gas
– Liquid
 Density (Specific Gravity)
 Viscosity
 Pressure
 Temperature
 Velocity
Flowmeter Performance
 Accuracy
 Repeatability
 Linearity
 Rangeability
5/12/2020
Fluid Properties
Flow Through A Pipe
Idealized Real World
V V
Pipe Velocity Profile
5/12/2020
Flow Profile Correlation
Steam
V Water
Heavy Crude
 Velocity profile is a predictable function of Reynolds number.

Fluids with the same Reynolds number will have similar
velocity profiles.
General Flow Principles

- Symmetric Laminar Flow
• Fluid moving with maximum velocity at pipe center,
decreasing toward walls
• Very little mixing of fluid across the pipe cross section

• Not very common except when the fluid is very viscous
5/12/2020

- Turbulent Flow
• Considerable mixing takes place across the pipe
cross section
• Velocity is nearly the same across pipe(Flat Profile)
• Occurs in most fluid flows where viscosity is not high
5/12/2020
Laminar flow Turbulent flow
Translational flow
Characterization of Fluid Flow
 Types of Flow
RE < 2100 Laminar
Transitional
RE >3000 Turbulent ***
*** Well documented & proven fully

developed flow profiles
5/12/2020
Laminar flow
Turbulent flow
5/12/2020
Basic Flow Principles

- Flow Profile Effects
• Pipe fittings, reducers, expanders, strainers, elbows, and
valves all affect the flow profile resulting in one or more
of the following :
 Swirl
- Fluid rotation about the pipe axis
 Vortices (‘secondary flows’)

- Often caused by separation - from a sudden enlargement in pipe
area
 Asymmetrical profile
 Symmetrical profile that has a high core velocity

- Caused by a sudden reduction in pipe area
Flow Profile Influence Factors

Reynolds Number Swirl
Actual velocity
Asymmetrical Profile Pulsating Flow
5/12/2020
5/12/2020
5/12/2020
5/12/2020
Different Types of Flow Conditioners used to Improve Flow Profiles

- Reynolds Number
• The Reynolds number (RD) is a dimensionless number
which describes flow conditions at a point in time
RD = Velocity x Density x Pipe ID
Viscosity
• Can be used for estimating the transition between laminar

and turbulent flow
 Normally laminar flow can be expected if RD is less than 2000

Turbulent flow can be expected if RD is more than 4000
• Range between laminar and turbulent considered unstable
5/12/2020
General Flow Terminology
 Reynolds Number (RE) – A single dimensionless

parameter formed as the ratio of inertial to viscous
forces. Magnitude indicates whether flow is laminar
or turbulent
Fluid Fluid Characteristic
Inertia Forces Density Velocity Dimension*
(p) (V) (D)
RE = =
Viscous Forces Fluid Viscosity (cp)
* Usually inside pipe diameter.

- Reynolds Number
Flow Classification Reynolds Number
Laminar Less than 2000
Turbulent Greater than 4000
Transitional Between 2000 and 4000
Laminar Turbulent
flow flow
Translational flow
5/12/2020
Density
 For a homogeneous solid, liquid, or gas, it’s the mass per
unit volume at given operating conditions
 Density is not constant with changing temperatures. In
general, density is inversely proportional to temperature
 Common density units : lb/ft3 or kg/m3
Liquids Gases
Temp  = Density  Temp  = Density 
Temp  = Density  Temp  = Density 
Pressure  = Negligible Pressure  = Density 
Pressure  = Negligible Pressure  = Density 
5/12/2020
Specific Gravity
• Liquids : The ratio of the operating density of the liquid to
that of a standard fluid (water at standard conditions-
usually 60º F or 20º C)
 If specific gravity is less than 1, the fluid is lighter than

water (will float)
 If specific gravity is greater than 1, the fluid is heavier
than water (will settle)
• Gases : The ratio of the molecular weight of the gas to that
of air (ratio of densities is also used)
• Dimensionless number
5/12/2020
Density of liquid
5/12/2020
Viscosity
 Viscosity is a measure of a fluid’s tendency to resist a shearing force
(A measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow)
Area Force
Fluid
Thickness
Fixed Plate
 A greater force is required to shear high viscosity fluids at a given

rate (velocity) than is required to shear low viscosity fluids
• Viscosity = shear stress/shear rate
• Inverse relationship with temperature
– Viscosity normally decreases with an increase in temperature
• “Viscous” is only a relative term
5/12/2020
5/12/2020

Dicet Flow Module 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dicet Flow Module 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

5/12/2020

Define Application – Basic Facts

• HOW MUCH (TOTAL)

• HOW FAST (RATE)

 Common volume units

• cubic meters Flow Rate = Velocity x Area

Volumetric Flowrate (Q)

Volume = Area x Length

Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 deg.F

Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 ºF

Std - reference to 14.696 psi Atm. at 68 ºF

 Mass is the quantity of material an object contains

 Weight is sometime confused with Mass

 Common mass units : pounds, kilograms, grams, tons

Why measure Mass Flow ?

P= 152 KPa P = 138 KPa

Impact of Changing Process Temperature Impact of Changing Process Pressure

Mass Flowrate (m)

Mass = Volume x Density

Mass vs Volume Flowmeters

Flow Rate 1000 cfm 1000 cfm

There is a 6% error just by changing density / temperature slightly…can

General Flow Terminology

 Factors affecting flowmeter performance

Flow Through A Pipe

Idealized Real World

Pipe Velocity Profile

Flow Profile Correlation

 Velocity profile is a predictable function of Reynolds number.

General Flow Principles

• Very little mixing of fluid across the pipe cross section

General Flow Principles

• Velocity is nearly the same across pipe(Flat Profile)

• Occurs in most fluid flows where viscosity is not high

Laminar flow Turbulent flow

Characterization of Fluid Flow

RE >3000 Turbulent ***

*** Well documented & proven fully

Basic Flow Principles

 Vortices (‘secondary flows’)

 Symmetrical profile that has a high core velocity

Flow Profile Influence Factors

Asymmetrical Profile Pulsating Flow

Different Types of Flow Conditioners used to Improve Flow Profiles

General Flow Principles

• Can be used for estimating the transition between laminar

 Normally laminar flow can be expected if RD is less than 2000

• Range between laminar and turbulent considered unstable

General Flow Terminology

 Reynolds Number (RE) – A single dimensionless

* Usually inside pipe diameter.

General Flow Principles

 If specific gravity is less than 1, the fluid is lighter than

 A greater force is required to shear high viscosity fluids at a given

You might also like