Sumali, Flow Measurement

Flow Measurement
Obstruction meters
Have a fixed flow restriction.
Work by measuring pressure drop across an orifice

Figure 7.28 Orifice flowmeter

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Flow rate is
Qa

C d A2
1 A2 / A1

2 p1 p2

A1 = pipe cross section area

A2 = orifice cross section area

(7.49)

Sumali, Flow Measurement

p1
p2

Cd

= upstream pressure (Fig. 7.28)

= downstream pressure (Fig. 7.28)
= density
= discharge coefficient, a function of
= orifice diameter / pipe diameter, and

NR = VD(pipe)/; V = velocity in pipe.

Fig. 7.29
Variation in
discharge
coefficient
Discharge coefficients have been tabulated for
standard geometries.
Fig. 7.8 From
Holman
Standard orifice
geometry per
ASME

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Fig. 7.11
From
Holman
Discharge
coefficient for
orifice in Fig.
7.8

Calculation of flowrate Qa requires Reynolds number

NR = V D(pipe)/ . Reynolds number calculation
requires V = velocity in pipe. But this velocity is not
known until the flow rate is known. Therefore,
calculation of flow rate in Eq. (7.49) requires iteration.

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Compressible fluid flow

Compressible means downstream pressure p2 <
upstream pressure p1. However,
if p2/ p1 0.99, use the incompressible equation
(7.49). The mass flowrate version of that is
W

2 g p1 p 2
v1

C d A2
1 A2 / A1

(7.54)

W = weight flow rate, N/s or lbf/s

g = local gravity, m/s2 or ft/s2
v1 = specific volume at state 1, m3/kg or ft3/lbf
If p2/ p1 < 0.99, use the compressible equation
W Y

C d A2
1 A2 / A1

2 g p1 p 2
v1

(7.55)

Y is a correction factor. For flange or vena-contracta

taps (Fig. 7.28)
Y 1 0.41 0.35 4

p1 p 2 1
p1 k

= ratio of specific heats (1.4 for air)

For pipe taps (Fig. 7.28)

(7.56)

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Y 1 0.333 1.145( 2 0.7 5 12 13 )

p1 p 2 1
p1 k

(7.57)

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Nozzle, venturi, Dall flow tube

The flow nozzle,
venturi, and Dall
flow tube work by
the same
principle as the
orifice.
Advantages
include lower
permanent
pressure loss,
higher accuracy,
etc.

Fig. 7.31 Variable-pressure-drop flowmeters

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Rotameter
Float position is
proportional to
flowrate

Annular space area between float and tube varies

continuously with vertical displacement
Float positions itself to balance between vertical
forces:
Gravity (float weight)
Differential pressure times float area
Viscous force
Buoyancy force.
Float position can be sensed with an LVDT,
potentiometer, etc, resulting in electrical signal
proportional to flow rate.

Sumali, Flow Measurement

Turbine meter

Turbine blade passing frequency is counted digitally

with an electronic pulse-rate meter.

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10

Positive-displacement meters
Flow of fluid through volume chambers causes
rotation of an output shaft.
Highly accurate.
Errors caused mainly by leaks.
Main disadvantage: pressure drop, because fluid is
required to push
chambers.

Figs. 7.37 and 38

Example of piston-type
positive displacement flowmeter, pressure drop.
For food and beverage processes, use cleanable,
pocketless helix-type positive-displacement
flowmeters as in Fig. 7.39.
Other positive displacement meters (Holman,
Experimental Methods for Engineers, 6th ed.) include

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Nutating-disk flowmeter
Disk wobbles, drives a
counter.
Accuracy 1%.

Rotary vane flowmeter

Spring loaded vanes form
chambers.
Drum rotates.
Accuracy 0.5%.
Lobed-impeller flowmeter
Fluid is trapped between two
rotors, drives rotors to turn a
counter.

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Flow totalizer
Flow totalizer integrates flow rate to indicate the total
quantity of fluid that passes through.
Water meters and gasoline-pump gallon indicators
are flow totalizer.
Integration can be done electronically, or with a
counter (like an odometer indicates integral of
speed).

Metering pumps
Cause a flow rate and measure it simultaneously.
A positive displacement machine
Usually speed is fixed. Flow rate is varied by
changing pump displacement (volume of chambers).

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Electromagnetic flowmeters
Principle: induction. Conductor of length l moves at
velocity v across a magnetic field B. The resulting
voltage is e = Blv
(7.64)
Replace conductor with moving conducting fluid. The
opposite sides of the fluid will have potential

e = BDpv

(7.64)

Dp = pipe diameter, m
B = field flux density, Wb/m2 = Vs/m2
v = fluid speed (assumed uniform here), m/s.
Real device: Fig. 7.41.
Fluid must be
conductive.
Conductivity: tap water
0.1S/cm (low);
mercury 1010 S/cm
(extremely high).
Fig. 7.41 Electromagnetic flowmeter
construction

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14

Drag-force flowmeters
Principle: drag force caused by fluid impinging a body
is
1
Fd C d AV 2
2

(7.65)

Cd = drag coefficient, dimensionless

A = cross-section area, m2 or ft2

= fluid mass density, kg/m3 or slug/ft3

= fluid velocity, m/s or ft/s.

Measure drag force Fd to obtain flow.

Drag coefficient Cd can be made almost constant for
certain conditions. So flow is almost proportional to
square root of drag force Fd.
Strain
gages

Fig. 7.42 Drag-force

flowmeter

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15

Ultrasonic flowmeter
Transmit-time principle:
If fluid does not move the transmit time of a pulse is
to = L/c.
c = speed of sound in the fluid.
If fluid moves at a speed V, the transmit time
changes by (see p. 591)
LV
t t t
(7.68)
c
b) t is not available.
o

So use 2 pairs of
transmittersreceivers

t
t 2 t1

2VL
c2

c) measure difference in
pulsing frequencies

2V cos
,
L
independent of c
f

d) time-share transducers to
cut cost.

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16

Fig. 7.43 Ultrasonic flowmeters

Doppler principle:

f f t f r

2 f t cos
V
c

Doppler ultrasonic
flowmeters rely on
particles or
Principle: speed of fluid
causes a shift in
frequency from the
transmitter frequency to
the receiver frequency
(7.71)

Device measures f, then computes fluid velocity V.

Many commercial ultrasonic flowmeters use Doppler
principle.
Available as clamp-on flowmeters, non-intrusive to
pipes.

Vortex-shedding flowmeter
Karman vortices
are created at a
frequency
N V (p.594)
f
st

V = velocity
d = characteristic
Figure 7.45 Vortex-shedding
flowmeter principle

dimension of body
Nst = strouhal
number.

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17

Pitot-Static tube
Assume flow is
one-dimensional
and frictionless.
Derive from
Bernoullis eq. :
V

2
p stag p stat

(7.1)
Fig. 7.1 Pitot-static tube

where
V = flow

velocity, m/s

= fluid mass density, kg/m3

pstag = stagnation or total pressure, free stram, Pa
pstat = static pressure, free stram, Pa.
Compressible fluid
V

2k p stat
k 1 stat

k 1
k

p stag
p stat

(7.4)

= ratio of specific heats. For air k = 1.4

(7.5)
Pitot static tubes are used to measure local fluid
velocity, i.e., velocity at a point.
Possible sources of error include:

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18

Tube not aligned with direction of flow

Viscosity (friction)
Velocity not uniform over probe hole.

Hot-wire anemometer
Principle: pass current through wire to heat the wire.
Constant-current type:
maintain current. Relate
resulting wire
temperature to flow
velocity.
Constant-temperature
type: maintain wire
temperature. Relate the
current consumption to
flow velocity.