Flow

Measurement
FLOW PROFILES
Laminar
-Characterized by concentric layers of fluid moving in parallel
down the length of a pipe.

Turbulent
-Characterized by a fluid motion that has local velocities and
pressures that fluctuate randomly.
Factors affecting Flow rates in pipes
1. Fluid Velocity or Head (+)
-Depends on the head pressure which is forcing the fluid
through the pipes.
2. Viscosity (-)
-is the molecular friction w/in a fluid
3. Frictional Resistance (-)
-the friction of the fluid in contact w/ the pipe
Four Types of Flowmeters
1. Volumetric
– Directly measures ”Q” by repeatedly trapping a sample of the fluid.
– PD meters, Helical screw meter, rotating lobe meter, paddle wheel meter
2. Velocity
– Measures the velocity; ie. Turbine, vortex shedding, electromagnetic,
ultrasonic
3. Inferential/Indirect
– Differential pressure or head meters. Ie; orifice plates, venturi tubes, flow
tubes, flow nozzles, pitot tubes, elbow tap meters, rotameters, target meters
4. Mass
– Measures mass directly. i.e, mass coriolis, thermal
1. Volumetric Flowmeters
a) Helical screw
The helical (spindle) flow meter (SRZ)
operates by way of the displacement
principle. Two circular helical axes with
geometric profiles are in a cylindrical
housing. Through the enclosed
measuring chambers between the spindle
and the wall of the housing, the liquid is
transported, causing the spindles to
rotate. The spin speed of the spindles is
proportional to the volume flow over a
very wide range.
1. Volumetric Flowmeters
b) Rotating Lobe
A flowmeter is an instrumentation device
used to measure and record the flow rate
of a gas or fluid. A rotating vane flow
meter is a type of positive displacement
meter in which the fluid passed through
a rotating set of vanes. The passage
between each set of vanes delivers a
specific volume of fluid to the outlet side
of the meter, allowing the flow rate to be
determined based on the rotational rate
of the vanes.
1. Volumetric Flowmeters
c) paddle wheel
The working principle of a paddle
wheel flowmeter is simple. A
paddle wheel probe is in contact
with the process fluid and, as the
fluid flows in the flowmeter, it
makes the paddle wheel rotate at a
speed proportional to the flow rate
2. Velocity Flowmeters
a) Turbine flowmeter
-The unit consists of a multiple-
bladed rotor mounted with a pipe,
perpendicular to the liquid flow. The
rotor spins as the liquid passes
through the blades. The rotational
speed is a direct function of flow rate
and can be sensed by magnetic pick-
up, photoelectric cell, or gears
Applications

The turbine meters are widely used for military applications.

They are particularly useful in blending systems for the
petroleum industry. They are effective in aerospace and air
borne applications for energy-fuel and cryogenic flow
measurements
2. Velocity Flowmeters
b) Vortex
Vortex flow meters operate under
the vortex shedding principle,
where an oscillating vortexes occur
when a fluid such as water flow
past a bluff (as opposed to
streamlined) body. The frequency
that the vortexes are shed depend
on the size and shape of the body.
2. Velocity Flowmeters
c) Electromagnetic
Electromagnetic Flowmeters are
based on Faraday's Law of
Electromagnetic Induction.
In an Electromagnetic Flowmeter,
the magnetic field is generated by a
set of coils. As the conductive liquid
passes through the electromagnetic
field, an electric voltage is induced
in the liquid which is directly
proportional to its velocity.
• This induced voltage is perpendicular to both, the liquid flow
direction and the electromagnetic field direction. The voltage sensed
by the electrodes is further processed by the transmitter to give
standardized output signal or displayed in appropriate engineering
unit.
• The flux density of the electromagnetic field in a given Flowmeter and
the distance between the electrodes are constant.
• The induced voltage is not affected by the physical properties of
liquids like temperature, viscosity, pressure, density and conductivity
as long as the conductivity of the measured liquid is above the
minimum threshold level. For reliable measurement, the pipe must
be completely full of liquid
2. Velocity Flowmeters
d) ultrasonic
Ultrasonic flowmeters use sound waves to
determine the velocity of a fluid flowing in a
pipe. At no flow conditions, the frequencies
of an ultrasonic wave transmitted into a pipe
and its reflections from the fluid are the
same. Under flowing conditions, the
frequency of the reflected wave is different
due to the Doppler effect. When the fluid
moves faster, the frequency shift increases
linearly. The transmitter processes signals
from the transmitted wave and its reflections
to determine the flow rate.
For transit time ultrasonic flowmeters, be sure that the fluid can
adequately conduct ultrasonic waves, because the flowmeter will
not measure when the ultrasonic waves cannot penetrate the flow
stream between the transducers.
Similarly, ultrasonic waves must be able to penetrate the fluid for
Doppler flowmeters to operate accurately. When the fluid is
relatively opaque and does not penetrate the fluid, Doppler
flowmeters tend to measure the velocity of the fluid at or near the
pipe wall, which can cause significant measurement error and/or
cause the flowmeter to fail.
3. Indirect/Inferential Flowmeters
a) Orifice
An Orifice Meter is basically a type of
flow meter used to measure the rate of
flow of Liquid or Gas, especially
Steam, using the Differential Pressure
Measurement principle. It is mainly
used for robust applications as it is
known for its durability and is very
economical.
Principle:
• When a liquid / gas, whose flow-rate is to be
determined, is passed through an Orifice Meter, there is
a drop in the pressure between the Inlet section and
Outlet Section of Orifice Meter. This drop in pressure
can be measured using a differential pressure
measuring instrument.
• Since this differential pressure is in direct proportion to
the flow-rate as per the Bernoulli's Equation hence the
differential pressure instrument can be configured to
display flow-rate instead of showing differential
pressure.
• The working principle of Orifice Meter is the same, as
that of Venturi meter.
Orifice meters are built in different forms
depending upon the application specific
requirement, The shape, size and location
of holes on the Orifice Plate describes the
Orifice Meter Specifications as per the
following:
• Concentric Orifice Plate
• Eccentric Orifice Plate
• Segment Orifice Plate
• Quadrant Edge Orifice Plate
Concentric Orifice Plate
It is made up of SS and its thickness varies from 3.175 to 12.70 mm. The plate thickness
at the orifice edge should not be exceeded by any of following parameters:
• 1 - D/50 where, D = The pipe inside diameter
• 2 - d/8 where, d = orifice bore diameter
• 3 - (D-d)/8
• *Beta Ratio(β): It is the ratio of orifice bore diameter (d) to the pipe inside diameter
(D).
Quadrant Edge Orifice Plate
This type of orifice plate is used for flow such as crude oil, high viscosity syrups or
slurries etc. It is conceivably used when the line Reynolds Numbers* range from 100,000
or above or in between to 3,000 to 5,000 with a accuracy coefficient of roughly 0.5%.
Eccentric Orifice Plate
• It is similar to Concentric Orifice plate other than the offset hole which is
bored tangential to a circle, concentric with the pipe and of a diameter
equal to 98% of that of the pipe. It is generally employed for measuring
fluids containing
• Media having Solid particles
• Oils containing water
• Wet steam
Segment Orifice Plate
• It has a hole which is a semi circle or a segment of circle. The diameter is
customarily 98% of the diameter of the pipe.
Advantages of Orifice meter:
• The Orifice meter is very cheap as compared to other types of flow meters.
• Less space is required to Install and hence ideal for space constrained applications
• Operational response can be designed with perfection.
• Installation direction possibilities: Vertical / Horizontal / Inclined.
Limitations of Orifice meter:
• Easily gets clogged due to impurities in gas or in unclear liquids
• The minimum pressure that can be achieved for reading the flow is sometimes difficult to
achieve due to limitations in the vena-contracta length for an Orifice Plate.
• Unlike Venturi meter, downstream pressure cannot be recovered in Orifice Meters. Overall
head loss is around 40% to 90% of the differential pressure .
• Flow straighteners are required at the inlet and the outlet to attain streamline flow
thereby increasing the cost and space for installation.
• Orifice Plate can get easily corroded with time thereby entails an error.
• Discharge Co-efficient obtained is low.
3. Indirect/Inferential Flowmeters
b) Venturi
When a fluid, whose flowrate is to be determined, is passed through a Venturi
meter, there is a drop in the pressure between the Inlet section and Cylindrical
Throat of Venturi meter. The drop in pressure can be measured using a
differential pressure measuring instrument. Since this differential pressure is in
direct proportion to the flowrate as per the Bernoulli's Equation hence the
differential pressure instrument can be configured to display flowrate instead of
showing differential pressure.
Application of Venturi meter:
• It is used where high pressure recovery is required.
• Can be used for measuring flow rates of water, gases,
suspended solids, slurries and dirty liquids.
• Can be used to measure high flow rates in pipes having
diameters in a few meters.
Advantages of Venturi meter:
• The Venturi tubes can be used to handle fluids that contain
slurries / sludges (for example: Sugar Cane Mill) , because these
Venturi tubes contain no sharp corners and do not project into
the fluid stream.
• Negligible possibility of clogging with deposits or sludge.
• A higher Coefficient of discharge obtainable.
• Operational response can be designed with perfection.
• Installation direction possibilities: Vertical / Horizontal / Inclined.
Limitations of Venturi meter:
• Venturi meters are expensive
• Cannot be used in space constrained application because of their
significant size.
• Flow straighteners are required at the inlet and the outlet to
attain streamline flow thereby increasing the cost and space for
installation further.
• Minimum line size for Installation of Venturi meter is limited to
1/2" (0.5 inch).
3. Indirect/Inferential Flowmeters
c) Flow nozzle
Flow Nozzle Principle.

• When a flow nozzle is placed in a pipe carrying whose rate

of flow is to be measured, the flow nozzle causes a pressure
drop which varies with the flow rate. This pressure drop is
measured using a differential pressure sensor and when
calibrated this pressure becomes a measure of flow rate.
Description of Flow Nozzle
• The main parts of flow nozzle arrangement used to measure
flow rate are as follows:
• A flow nozzle which is held between flanges of pipe carrying
the fluid whose flow rate is being measured. The flow nozzle’s
area is minimum at its throat.
• Openings are provided at two places 1 and 2 for attaching a
differential pressure sensor (u-tube manometer, differential
pressure gauge etc.,) as show in the diagram.
Applications of Flow Nozzle
• It is used to measure flow rates of the liquid discharged into
the atmosphere.
• It is usually used in situation where suspended solids have the
property of settling.
• Is widely used for high pressure and temperature steam flows.
Advantages of flow Nozzle
• Installation is easy and is cheaper when compared to venturi
meter
• It is very compact
• Has high coefficient of discharge.
Disadvantages of flow Nozzle
• Pressure recovery is low
• Maintenance is high
• Installation is difficult when compared to orifice flow meter.
3. Indirect/Inferential Flowmeters
d) Pitot Tubes
The basic pitot tube consists of a tube
pointing directly into the fluid flow.
As this tube contains fluid, a pressure
can be measured; the moving fluid is
brought to rest (stagnates) as there is
no outlet to allow flow to continue.
This pressure is the stagnation
pressure of the fluid, also known as
the total pressure or (particularly in
aviation) the pitot pressure.
How it operates is that flow moving down the pipe encounters
the front side of the T-shaped bar which creates high-pressure
above the pipe static pressure, which is picked up by slots in the
Annubar sensor. These slots capture the flow profile across the
bar to get a more accurate measurement of the flow rate. Low
pressure, below the pipe static pressure, is created on the back
side of the bar. The differential pressure (DP) transmitter reads
these pressure values
4. Mass Flowmeters
a) coriolis
A Coriolis flow meter contains a
tube which is energized by a fixed
vibration. When a fluid (gas or
liquid) passes through this tube
the mass flow momentum will
cause a change in the tube
vibration, the tube will twist
resulting in a phase shift.
What Is the Coriolis Effect?
• Coriolis flow meters are named after Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis,
a French mathematician and engineer. In 1835, Coriolis wrote a
paper in which he described the behavior of objects in a rotating
frame of reference. While this is sometimes called the Coriolis
Force, it is more accurately called the Coriolis Effect, since it is not
the result of a force acting directly on the object, but rather the
perceived motion of a body moving in a straight line over a
rotating body or frame of reference.
4. Mass Flowmeters
b) Thermal
Thermal mass flow meters are designed
to accurately monitor and measure mass
flow (as opposed to measuring volumetric
flow) of clean gases, a parameter that is
not temperature dependent.

Therefore, the thermal mass flow meter

does not require a correction for changes
in gas temperature, pressure, viscosity
and density.
Thermal Mass Flow Meter Advantages
• Measure gas mass flow rate directly
• Suitable for applications where temperature and pressures
fluctuate
• Highly accurate and repeatable measurements with a typical
accuracy of ± 1% FS
• Able to measure accurately low gas flow rates or low gas velocities
• Excellent turn down ratio, typically 50:1
• No moving parts
Thermal Mass Flow Meter Limitations
• Gas mass meter use is limited to clean, non abrasive fluids
• Presence of moisture or droplets can lead to measurement
inaccuracy
• Thermal properties must be known: variation from calibrated
values can cause inaccuracies
• Relatively high initial cost
Thermal Flow Meter Applications
Thermal mass flow meters are suitable for a variety of processes requiring mass
flow measurement and are frequently used for the regulation of low gas flows.
Some common gas flow applications for thermal mass flow meters include:
• Compressed air flow and distribution
• Natural gas consumption eg for burner and boiler feed control
• Monitoring and control of stack or flue gas (where composition known)
• Landfill gas recovery
• Flare gas measurement
• Gas flow mixing & blending
• Gas leak testing and detection
-End of Flow measurement