Which flow meter is best

But it only measures flow of conducting fluids, since oil is non-conducting fluid, the oil flow measurement is not possible with magnetic flowmeter. Moreover, i f our application is water or highly conducting liquid, then Magnetic flowmeter is a suitable option.

To know more about magnetic flow meters, you can read the Visaya Article here. A variable area oil flow meter can also be considered as an option for flow measurement of lubricating oil.

But it provides visual flow measurement i. Therefore, this option does not benefit you in oil flow measurement. Electromagnetic oil flow meters, variable area oil flow meters, and ultrasonic oil flow meters have their own limitations. Therefore, we recommend a coriolis oil flow meter for sunflower oil.

If you have any questions about the suitable oil flow meter for your requirements, you can get in touch with our engineers! How to choose the best oil flow meter for measuring sunflower oil? Visaya May 08, Oil flow meter specifications Besides the process parameters, we will also need to consider accuracy, chemical compatibility, space constraints, and installation requirements in order to choose an appropriate oil flow meter.

To know more about the type of flow meters, you can read the Visaya Article on flow meter types Oil flow meter types Taking all the above into account gives us a couple of good choices: a Coriolis oil flow meter, ultrasonic oil flow meter, electromagnetic oil flow meter, and variable area oil flowmeter. The following section describes each of the flow meter to help us understand the applications in details: Coriolis oil flow meter Coriolis meters are great oil flow meters.

Proline Promass E Coriolis flow meter with a minimized total cost of ownership and an ultra-compact transmitter. Buy online now. Ultraflow U Ultrasonic flow meter with display. Over pressuring the meter will result in deforming the meter and likely inaccuracy over time as the meter material reaches the limits of its elasticity. High temperatures will affect the pressure capacity of the meter, causing metals to become more ductile and likely to stretch. Maximum pressure ratings allow for the maximum temperature rating of a meter.

Some applications may specify and require high accuracy meters, like for those being used in dosing applications or custody transfer applications where a consumer is being charged based on the reading. Inaccurate readings result in financial loss or quality issues on a product being manufactured. It is important to select the meter to meet the desired accuracy of the process.

It can be expressed as percent of Full Scale or percent of Reading. Accuracy over range or Full Scale accuracy implies that the error is consistent over the full range of the flow rate for the meter.

On the other hand, percentage of reading accuracy calculates from the actual reading. Hence, it is apparent that a meter with accuracy calculated over reading will be more accurate at low range readings than a meter with full scale accuracy specified. Repeatability measures the ability of the device to produce the same result or reading given the same condition, regardless what the accuracy of the meter is.

Repeatability is like the grouping of arrows on a target, they may be all together, but they are better if they are close to the bullseye rather than near the edge. It is measures the ability of the meter to maintain within the specified accuracy all throughout the specified flow range.

An ideal meter provides a linear output across the flow range while in the real world hydraulics mean there are friction, slippage and pressure differences that cause the meter to slow or not measure fluid flow depending on the speed of the fluid and the nature of the flow.

At this point, your choice of flow meters should have been narrowed down or perhaps the right meter has decided upon. Now, to be able to obtain optimum performance and achieve the desired accuracy of the meter, it is necessary to ensure that proper installation of the meter is well understood and installed correctly.

The piping configuration is one of the key things to take into consideration in the installation of flowmeter. It is crucial mainly because it must be constructed in the way the flow meter is always full of liquid to provide accurate measurement. Also, pipe direction is another factor, which suggests if the meter will be installed horizontally or vertically? For vertical mounting, it is necessary that the flow should be from bottom to top to ensure meter is always full of liquid and will prevent air entrapment in the meter.

Velocity meters, require straight run pipe in the upstream and downstream to get a stable flow profile. This is essential because irregular velocity profile have an impact in the accuracy and repeatability of the meter. Existing installations may not have enough space or provisions to accommodate the straight run pipe necessary and flow conditioning may an alternative to stabilise the flow profile by removing swirl and disturbances.

This will result in the bearing wearing prematurely and the rotor rubbing on the chamber floor. Some flow meters are unidirectional, just like our oval gear mechanical meter, and the arrow of the flow must be followed accordingly, whereas our electronic oval gear meters and turbine meters are bidirectional and can be installed in the pipeline in either direction.

For detailed installation guideline of a meter, it is necessary to read the Instruction Manual prior installation. The final option to select to get a functional meter is how the meter will translate the flow rate into a usable data form.

This is determined by what the flow data will be used for; process control, billing, regulatory reporting or monitoring. Is flow rate, batch or accumulated volume required to be recorded manually or electronically on a data logger or control system. Initially we need to decide if the register requires local mounting and if so the temperature of the application must be considered and should coincide with the temperature limit of the electronics.

For remote mounting, the key thing is to ascertain whether the transmission is analogue or digital, as some instrument may not have both options. In case power supply is unavailable at site, an alternative solution perhaps would be a mechanical flowmeter or electronic meter that can be operated with batteries. For instance, the frequency or number of pulses per second from the meter must be able to be received by the register, otherwise a converter or an additional accessory may be required.

Such consideration is crucial during the selection process to avoid unnecessary costly modification. Even if a flow technology and its installation were free of charge, there are still operating costs, such as pump heads that contribute costs of the measurement. In addition, know your priorities by asking what can be sacrificed and what's truly needed for the process application.

Also, repeatability is often more important than accuracy because consistency creates a more efficient process. Because every flow device has limits, the strengths and limitations of each must be evaluated to find the most appropriate choice. Mechanical flowmeters measure flow as a process flow moves mechanical parts within them. Typically, a mechanical part with a fixed volume is rotated by the stream, and its rotations are counted to infer a volumetric flow rate.

Strengths of mechanical flowmeters include low upfront costs, the ability to be manufactured in small sizes, and suitability for extremely low-flow applications. However, mechanical meters may have higher total installed costs, as well as mechanical parts that will degrade over time. Differential pressure DP flowmeters typically introduce a velocity increase and corresponding pressure drop to the system, which pulls some of the pressure or potential energy into kinetic energy or velocity.

By measuring the pressure drop, velocity can be calculated to find flow. DP meters are available in many sizes and styles, including orifice plate, pitot tube, venturi, v-cone and wedge. However, impulse lines are prone to plugging, and wear and tear on the elements can "invisibly" alter measurement accuracy. Another important limit of DP flowmeters is that flow rate is proportional to the square root of the differential pressure, which limits turndown.

Vortex flowmeters rely on a turbulent flow. When a fluid contacts the shedder bar of a vortex meter, piezoelectronics count the vortices and translate them into flow rate. Vortex flowmeters have low upfront costs, can measure liquids or vapors, are tolerant of droplets in vapor service, and have no stagnant zones. Limitations of vortex meters include the need for a turbulent flow along with a minimum flow requirement to provide any measurement at all. Vortex flowmeters are also generally limited in size to between 0.

Magnetic flowmeters determine flow by generating a magnetic field, and measuring the generated voltage to find velocity Figure 2. Magnetic flowmeters are generally moderate in cost for their size, have an unrestricted flow path, good turndown and are offered with various electrode designs for different services. However, they can only measure conductive liquids, and metallic solutions can generate magnetic fields that can cause inaccurate measurements. Coriolis flowmeters use the Coriolis force to find mass flow.

Most Coriolis flowmeters vibrate two tubes at a natural frequency and measure the change in vibration when the flow stream is introduced. Coriolis flowmeters offer extremely high precision, accuracy and turndown; they measure mass directly; provide a density measurement even without flow; and are insensitive to solids.

However, Coriolis meters contain precisely machined elements that are sensitive to corrosive or abrasive surfaces. Other drawbacks include a high permanent pressure loss, relatively low maximum temperature, difficulty with low-pressure gases, and larger sizes that are very expensive. Ultrasonic flowmeters use ultrasonic beam pulses to measure fluid flow.

They're available in two primary types: transit-time and doppler. Because the fluid moves with one beam and against the other, the difference in time for the two beams to travel between the elements is used to calculate the flow rate.

It should be noted that transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters require clean service, as particles and bubbles will alter the pulse, and create noise and a loss of signal. Doppler ultrasonic flowmeters require particles or bubbles in the stream to function. Ultrasonic flowmeters generally are high precision and turndown, don't restrict flow path, are available in clamp-on type, and are often low-cost.

However, when using an ultrasonic flowmeter, again, particulate content must be known.