TROUBLE-FREE FLOWMETER INSTALLATION

When choosing and installing a flowmeter you should look at specification, specification and you’ve guessed it – specification. Get this wrong and you will never attain a trouble-free installation. After careful consideration of application parameters including flow, pressure, fluid type and properties plus required function you should look at the proposed installation location for your flowmeter and take note of its full operational envelope. Prior to even specifying a flowmeter we recommend that you read the manufacturer’s instructions of the product you are considering as this may change your choice if certain requirements you have cannot be accommodated. Often you will have to make a compromise as illustrated with these real-world challenges experienced by Titan customers. Case study 1: Due to its low cost our customer first considered using a turbine flowmeter for their target application as it could make the required measurements easily. Unfortunately the installation environment for this application was very convoluted as no straight lengths of upstream and downstream pipework were possible this would result in unreliable readings using a turbine flowmeter. As a consequence, choosing a positive displacement meter would be a far better option. While the initial outlay might be higher for the positive displacement meter, the longer term installed cost and performance advantages justified this initial extra expenditure. Case study 2: Another customer wished to meter the flow of a fluid at up to 60°C in a location next to a furnace with radiant temperatures well above many flowmeters operating specification envelope. With one installation we had repeated turbine flowmeter failures even though the application was well within the flowmeters operating limits. It transpired that the customer had put the flowmeter at the end of a very long pipe run which drained down completely every night. On start-up the fluid pushed a vast quantity of air at high speed in front of it. This spun the turbine to excessive speeds which was then met with a slug of fluid which would rotate the impellor at a much lower RPM. An overspeed is bad news but when followed by a rapid deceleration it is even worse. Installing a simple non-return valve prevented the system from draining down and made the flow-metering using the turbine meter reliable. Conclusion: To discuss trouble-free installation of a flowmeter optimised for your application please contact us on +44-1935-812790 or via email here.

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