Flow Measurement

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Introduction of flow meters Units used for gas Units used for liquids

Pressure based flow meters Orifice plate flow meter Venturi flow meter

Cone flow meter Dall tube flow meter Mechanical flow meter

Piston flow meter Helical gear Flow meter Woltman flow meter

Rotameter flow meter Sonar flow meter

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Flow Meters
• A flow meter is an instrument used to measure linear, nonlinear,
mass or volumetric flow rate of a liquid or a gas.

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Flow Measurement in History

• Our interest in the measurement of air and water flow is timeless.

• Knowledge of the direction and velocity of air flow was essential
information for all ancient navigators.
• And the ability to measure water flow was necessary for the fair
distribution of water through the aqueducts of such early
communities as the Sumerian cities of Ur, Kish, and Mari near the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around 5,000 B.C.

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 Units used for Gas
• Gases are compressible and change volume when placed under
pressure, are heated or are cooled.
• A volume of gas under one set of pressure and temperature conditions
is not equivalent to the same gas under different conditions.
• References will be made to "actual" flow rate through a meter and
"standard" or "base" flow rate through a meter with units such
as acm/h (actual cubic meters per hour), sm3/sec (standard cubic
meters per second),
• Gas mass flow rate can be directly measured, independent of pressure
and temperature effects, with thermal mass flow meters, Coriolis mass
flow meters, or mass flow controllers.
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Units used for Liquid
• For liquids, various units are used depending upon the application
and industry, but might include
• gallons (U.S. or imperial) per minute, liters per second, bushels per
minute or,
• when describing river flows, cumecs (cubic meters per second) or
acre-feet per day.
• In oceanography a common unit to measure volume
transport sverdrup (Sv) equivalent to 106 m3/s.

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Which flow meter use to measure fluid
flow

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Choosing a flow meter
• Why to use flow meter
• Know your flow
• Opt for the widest turndown
• Its price
• Spare parts availability
• Use the same supplier for all your flowmetering equipment

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Pressure-based meters

• DP flowmeters, create a cross sectional change in the flow tube,

which causes the velocity of the flowing fluid to change
• A change in velocity occurs whenever there is a change in flow cross-
section; i.e., with a decrease in velocity, an increase in pressure
occurs.
• Orifice Plates
• Venturi meter
• Cone meter
• Dall tube
• Multi hole pressure probe

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Orifice Plate
• As the flowing fluid passes through the orifice, the restriction causes
an increase in velocity and decrease in pressure.
• A differential pressure transmitter is used to measure pressure
between the orifice and the pipe flow stream.
• The orifice plates are simple, cheap and can be delivered for almost
any application and in any material.
• Orifice differential pressure flowmeters can be constructed to
measure gas, liquid or steam

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• There is always a permanent pressure loss.
• No dirty liquids allowed.

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Venturi meter
• A Venturi meter constricts the flow in some fashion, and pressure
sensors measure the differential pressure before and within the
constriction.
• This method is widely used to measure flow rate in the transmission
of gas through pipelines,
• It has been used since Roman Empire times.
• The first large-scale Venturi meters to measure liquid flows were
developed by Clemens Herschel, who used them to measure small
and large flows of water and wastewater beginning at the very end of
the 19th century.
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• used in dirty streams because there is no build-up of the foreign material
• relatively long passage having a smooth entry and exit

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Cone meters

• Cone meters are a newer differential pressure measuring device first

launched in 1985 by McCrometer in Hemet, CA.
• The cone acts as a conditioning device as well as a differential
pressure producer. Upstream requirements are between 0–5.
• cone meters are generally of welded construction, it is recommended
they are always calibrated prior to service.
• Calibrated cone meters have an uncertainty up to ±0.5%. Un-
calibrated cone meters have an uncertainty of ±5.0%

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One tap is placed slightly upstream of the cone and the other is in
the downstream face of the cone itself.
The pressure difference can then be incorporated into a derivation
of the Bernoulli equation to determine the fluid flow rate.

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Dall tube
• The Dall tube is a shortened version of a Venturi meter,
• with a lower pressure drop than an orifice plate.
• As with these flow meters the flow rate in a Dall tube is determined by
measuring the pressure drop caused by restriction in the conduit.
• The pressure differential is typically measured using diaphragm pressure
transducers with digital readout.
• these meters have significantly lower permanent pressure losses than
orifice meters
• Dall tubes are widely used for measuring the flow rate of large pipework.
• Differential pressure produced by a Dall tube is higher than Venturi tube
and nozzle, all of them having same throat diameters.
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 Advantages

• Low permanent pressure loss, saving energy.

• Less maintenance and inspection required.
• Short length when compare to other flow meters.
• Wear and erosion are negligible
• Available in numerous materials of construction.

• Pressure differences so sensitive to upstream

disturbances.
• Not suitable for hot feed water.
• It designed for clean fluid, it is not for suspended solid
particle fluid

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Mechanical flow meters
• Piston meter/rotatory piston
• Helical gear flow meter
• Turbine flow meter
• Woltman flow meter
• Single jet flow meter
• Paddle wheel flow meter
• Multiple jet meter
• Current flow meter

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Piston meter
Piston Meters offer the highest accuracy and measure the lowest flow rates of
any meter.
By employing the tightest fits and tolerances, these precision meters are suitable
for all low viscosity liquids.
Highest accuracy (±0.2% of reading) and Widest flow range (200:1 or more). A
piston meter is an ideal choice for
fuel measurement
hydraulic test stands
additive injection
low flow applications

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Helical gear
• Helical gear flow meters get their name from the shape of their gears or
rotors.
• These rotors resemble the shape of a helix, which is a spiral-shaped
structure.
• As the fluid flows through the meter, it enters the compartments in the
rotors, causing the rotors to rotate.
• The length of the rotor is sufficient that the inlet and outlet are always
separated from each other thus blocking a free flow of liquid.
• The mating helical rotors create a progressive cavity which opens to admit
fluid, seals itself off and then opens up to the downstream side to release the
fluid.
• This happens in a continuous fashion and the flowrate is calculated from the
speed of rotation.

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 Woltman meter

The Woltman meter (invented by Reinhard Woltman in the 19th century) is a

meter with magnetic transmission and dry recording head.
Measuring applications in potable water, irrigation and industry networks.
• Made from corrosion resistant materials.
• The head can rotate 360 ° for easy reading.
• Dry contact pulse emitter.

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 Variable-area flow meters
• Rotameter consist of tapered tube made by glass of plastic with a float inside that is
free to move
• A rotameter is device measure flow of liquid and gas in a closed tube.
• It belongs to class of meters called variable flow meter in which pressure drop
remain constant and flow varies directly with cross sectional area

When fluid enter from bottom it exert force on float and float move up,
when gravitational and force exerted by liquid become equal equilibrium
exist and float become stationary, then flow rate measure by graduation
scale on float
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 Electromagnetic, ultrasonic and Coriolis
flow meters

Modern innovations in the measurement of flow rate incorporate

electronic devices.
That can correct for varying pressure and temperature (i.e. density)
conditions, non-linearities, and for the characteristics of the fluid.

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Sonar flow
measurement

Sonar flow meters are non-intrusive

clamp on devices that measure flow
in pipes conveying slurries,
corrosive fluids, multiphase fluids
and flows where insertion type
flow meters are not desired.
Sonar flow meters have been widely
adopted in mining, metals
processing, and upstream oil and
gas industries where traditional
technologies have certain
limitations due to their tolerance to
various flow regimes and turn down
ratios.

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