12/17/2017 Basics of Flow measurement Instrumentation Tools

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 Home / Flow Measurement / Basics of Flow measurement

FLOW MEASUREMENT

Basics of Flow measurement

 S Bharadwaj Reddy  1 Comment

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Flow measurement has a history of about 3000 years. It has been studied only in the last 200 years and in the last 30 years all the
new techniques have evolved. There is now a wide variety of methods available to measure the ow of liquids, solids, gases and
vapours.

There are three di erent ow quantities to be measured :- Flow M

1. The actual velocity of the uid at a given point (measured in metres per second).
2. The volume rate of ow (measured in metres cubed per minute). Categor
3. The mass ow rate (measured in kilograms per second).
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It is also possible to measure total ow which is the total volume or mass which has owed in a set time period.

Fluid ow metering systems provide vital information for the following purpose :-

Production Planning ;- the quantities of product supplied to customers generally vary according to seasonal demand. Usually an
average rate of production is planned on a calendar day which takes into account any periods of shutdown necessary for
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maintenance and inspection.
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Product Quality ;- ow controllers are necessary in the proportional blending of intermediate products to produce on-
speci cation nished products of consistent quality. L
Control of Process ;- sometimes ow meters are used for control of some other main process variables. Examples in Separator
column, liquid levels are kept constant by varying the ow rate of the process in columns are also kept constant by varying the
ow rate of the process uid passing through them. Pressure in column are also kept constant by varying the ow rate of the
cooling medium .
Flow M

What Is ow?
Flow is de ned as uid (liquids or/and gases) in motion.

Factors A ecting Flow Rates in pipes :

The major factors a ecting the ow of uids through pipes are:

the velocity of the uid.

the friction of the uid in contact with the pipe.
the viscosity of the uid.
the density of the uid.

Fluid velocity depends on the head pressure which is forcing the uid through the pipe. The greater the head pressure, the faster
the uid ow rate (all other factors remaining constant), and consequently, the greater the volume of ow. Pipe size also a ects Like our
the ow rate. For example, doubling the diameter of a pipe increases the potential ow rate by a factor of four times.

Pipe friction reduces the ow rate of uids through pipes and is, therefore, considered a negative factor. Because of the friction of
a uid in contact with a pipe, the ow rate of the uid is slower near the walls of the pipe than at the center. The smoother,
cleaner, and larger a pipe is, the less e ect pipe friction has on the overall uid ow rate.
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Viscosity (η), or the molecular friction within a uid, negatively a ects the ow rate of uids. Viscosity and pipe friction decrease
the ow rate of a uid near the walls of a pipe. Viscosity increases or decreases with changing temperature, but not always as Latest C
might be expected. In liquids, viscosity typically decreases with increasing temperature. However, in some uids viscosity can
begin to increase above certain temperatures. Generally, the higher a uid’s viscosity, the lower the uid ow rate (other factors chabane b
remaining constant). Viscosity is measured in units of centipoise. Another type of viscosity, called kinematic viscosity, is measured I want to c
in units of centistokes. It is obtained by dividing centipoise by the uid’s speci c gravity. panel with

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Density (ρ) of a uid a ects ow rates in that a more dense uid requires more head pressure to maintain a desired ow rate. your answ

Also, the fact that gases are compressible, whereas liquids essentially are not, often requires that di erent methods be used for Antonio G
measuring the ow rates of liquids, gases, or liquids with gases in them. It has been found that the most important ow factors simplesm
can be correlated together into a dimensionless parameter called the Reynolds Number. Portugues

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Understanding Flow measurin
The Flow Law ANKIT KU
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If liquid ow through a pipe of varying diameters, at any particular time the same volume ows at all points. This means, the JASHPAL
velocity of liquid must increase at a narrow point (see gure below). links are n
routed tro

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Please, I n
of open p

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Back to the principle that energy is conserved within a system; it may just change from a state to another, the same principle
applies to the ow within a ow closed-system. Consider the Below Diagram :

A liquid with a density of ρo ows constantly in a pipe with reducing diameters from A to B. Two points on the pipe were tapped
with a small tube, namely Tapping 1 & Tapping 2, and results in two di erent levels of pressure.

The Law of Conservation of Energy, with respect to a owing uid, states that ‘the total energy of a ow of liquid does not change,
as long as the system is kept closed (no external in uences)’.

Neglecting the types of energy which do not change during ow, the total energy is made up of;

i. Potential Energy (due to position, and dependent on the height of head of liquid and on static pressure, equals to m·g·h).

ii. Kinetic Energy (due to movement, and dependent on the velocity of ow and on back pressure, equals to ½mv²)

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If the velocity increases as the cross-section decreases, movement energy increases. As the total energy remains constant,
potential energy and/or pressure must become smaller as the cross-section decreases.

There is no measurable change in potential energy. However, the static pressure changes, dependent upon the back pressure, i.e.
dependent on the velocity of ow.

It is mainly the static pressure which is of importance in ‘hydro-static system’, as the height of head of liquid and velocity of ow
are usually too small.

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One comment

Amin Rushi 3 months ago

Very nice Details about ow. its totally Practical so helpful in plant Instrumentation.
Thankx Bhardwajji.

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