Turbine Meters - IM-TM Series

Removable Meter Cartridge (RMC)

iMeter has developed a series of turbine gas me-
ters, ranging from 2” G40 up till 8” G 2500 for
pressures up till 16 bar.
All meters are based on the concept of a Remov-
able Meter Cartridge (RMC).
This enables the owner/operator to change the
characteristics of the meter on-site.
For each meter body, four types of RMC G-
ratings are available to offer maximum modular
flexibility in terms of minimum capacity, maximum
capacity, pressure loss, and G-rating.
Turbine Meters

The cartridge length is three times the diameter and

complies fully with the European directives for tur-
bine meters. The cartridge as well as the turbine
wheel are machined from high quality aluminum to
guarantee long term stability. As the cartridges can
be pre-calibrated by certified test institutes, up-
grades in performance or functionality of the meters
can be done easily and locally. Re-calibration of me-
ters becomes a matter of hours, since the cartridges
8 can be exchanged on site with pre-calibrated car-
tridges, reducing logistical efforts to a minimum and
still keeping the quality and performance at the high-
est level.

By using a special ring to position the cartridge in

the meter body, the cross-sectional area of the
cartridge is significantly larger compared to con-
ventional turbine meters. This enables to manufac-
ture these meters with an extended maximum ca-
pacity (extended G-rating). With these capaci-
ties at hand, being able to apply one size
(diameter) smaller turbine meter will not only have
a positive effect on the purchase price of the me-
ter but will also allow to use smaller meter-run
piping, valves, etc. and hence will reduce the size
of the station and it’s building significantly.

Most of the conventional meter manufacturers e.g. have a 6” turbine meter available with typically a Qmax.
of 1600 m³/h, the 6” IM-TM-CT can handle a capacity of 2500 m³/h.
All the critical components, including the turbine rotor and primary gears, are housed in the cartridge
(RMC), making the concept very suitable for local co-production and assembly. Except for the RMC, the
remaining parts like meter body, external gear box, index, etc. can be manufactured locally, if required, in
accordance to local directives and quality standards. Since the high quality RMC is the actual measuring
mechanism, and in depending on the meter body tolerances, the end quality of the locally produced and
assembled meter will still meet the highest quality requirements.
Optimized Bearing Construction
Axial Load Compensation (ALC)
A pressure shock load in combination with the
weight of the turbine wheel will cause impacts be-
tween the tiny balls and the inner/outer ring of the
ball bearing. This can be the starting point of an
excessive wear resulting in increased friction and
consequently a shift in accuracy. Eventually these
bearings will collapse. The IM-TM-CT series meters
are compensated for this density related additional
axial load. This so called Axial Load Compensation
(ALC) will compensate for the density related axial
load on the turbine wheel by causing a slightly
over pressure down stream the turbine wheel.

Turbine Meters
The use of low weight cheap plastic turbine wheels
is not considered as a serious engineering solution,
since their measurement performance is very poor
while the impurities in the gas will degrade the plas-
tic wheel and as such will significantly affect the ac-
curacy of the meter.
Hence, aluminium is the standard. The combination
of the blade angle and the blade height is linked di-
rectly to the G-rating of meter. The new machining
approach of these blades allows a wide variety of
combinations to be made at the highest tolerances 9
The IM-TM turbine meters are all standard equipped with precise machined aluminum turbine wheels to
provide the necessary stability to guarantee the measuring accuracy over the entire pressure range.

As the forces on the turbine wheel and as such the

axial load on the bearings are proportional to the
density of the gas measured, the axial load on the
bearings is significantly higher when the meter is
operated at higher pressures (at 8 bar natural gas
conditions the density is already 5 time higher which
also applies to the axial load on the front bearing).
Consequently the bearings will be overloaded when
running at high capacities unless constructional pro-
visions are being made.

This overpressure will push the wheel backwards

against the direction of the gas flow and as such
restricting the axial load acting on the main front
bearing. Unfortunately this ALC could make the me-
ter much more sensitive for dirty gas, since dirt
tends to accumulate in the area where the pressure
is increased (near front bearing). To solve both
these problems, the bearings, gears and shafts are
located upstream the turbine wheel, meaning that
the ALC works well without affecting the condition of
the bearings with dirt and or dust.
 Dirt Protection and Full Flushing Oil System
In order to keep the bearings in proper condition it is
essential to flush out the dirt (dust) and refresh the
oil on a regular base.
For applications were the gas is not absolutely clean,
conventional oil systems injecting oil into the bear-
ings by means of an oil pump, are not sufficient
enough. These conventional oil systems take care
only for the refreshment of the oil but will not flush
the dirt/dust out of the bearings.
For more severe conditions, the bearings have to be
flushed too.
Oil systems that not only refresh the oil but also
flush the bearings and wet the rotating parts (gears
and shafts) are widely used in all kind of applications
(cars, compressors, etc.) and typically in well de-
signed rotary meters.
Turbine Meters

As such the IM-TM-CT series meters are equipped

with a “refreshing-and-flushing-system” whereby the
oil is pumped into a reservoir in the bearing block
(where all the bearings, shafts and gears are
housed).
A splash vane running at high speed (speed of the
main shaft) “splashes” the oil through the bearing
block, flushing, cleaning and wetting all the parts
10 and surfaces. Tests with similar oil systems imple-
mented on rotary meters, show a significant im-
provement of the life time.
To improve the resistance against dirty gas even
further, the IM-TM-CT series meters have it’s bear-
ings mounted deep inside the bearing block only
accessible by a labyrinth. This means that it is basi-
cally impossible for dirt particles to get into the bear-
ings.

HF Sensor Combined with Isolated Thermowell

Optional the IM-TM-CT meters can be equipped with
a High Frequency sensor.
This sensor can also be added to the meter later
without removing the meter or the cartridge for that
matter.
The sensor is designed and approved according
ATEX, FM and CSA. The generated output signal
complies with EN 60947-5-6 / NAMUR.
The unique housing of this High Frequency sensor is
also suitable to operate as thermowell to provide an
accurate temperature measurement.
Since this thermowell is isolated from the meter
body by means of O-rings, the traditional offset in
temperature reading is eliminated.
The Advantage of IM-TM
• Reduced cost of production, to be passed on to the cus-
tomer.
• Reduced cost in station design allowing future customer
increase in gas demand with a simple RMC upgrade in
G-rating without the expensive and complicated size
enlarging of the meter runs using conventional turbine
meters.
• Easy “on-site” maintenance by replacing the RMC with a
freshly pre-calibrated new RMC of the same G-rating or
alternative G-rating.
• Reduced cost of repair by removing and returning-for-
overhaul, the RMC only, doing away with the long and
hence unacceptable lead times for conventional meter
repair and overhaul.
• Increased Life time by using an oil system that not only
refreshes the oil in the bearings and lubricates all mov-

Turbine Meters
ing parts, but really flushes out all the dirt and dust.
• Less sensitive to severe gas conditions by improved me-
chanical protection of the main bearings against dirt

The Standard Features

Applications:
• Fluids : natural gas, town gas, propane and inert gases. 11
• Industry : Gas supply, stove manufacturers, chemical industry.

Pressure ratings:
• Standard DIN PN10/16 and ANSI 150.
• Various flanges (DIN, ANSI, JIS) are available on request.

Nominal diameters:
• 50 mm (2”) to 200 mm (8”). Larger sizes on request.

Measuring range:
• 20 : 1 minimum or better at atmospheric conditions up to 50 : 1 at higher densities.

Flow rates:
• 8 m3/h up to 4000 m³/h

Repeatability:
• better than 0.1 %

Measuring accuracy:
• 0,2 Qmax to Qmax : ± 1 % or better
• Qmin to 0,2Q max : ± 2 % or better

Temperature range:
• Standard : -25 °C to + 60 °C
• On request : -40 °C to + 80 °C
 The Standard Meter Data
Measuring HF LF Overall
Diameter G-Rate Pressure Body
Range Frequency Frequency Length
mm (inch) Rating Material
(m3/h) (Hz) (pulse/m3) (mm)

Aluminium
G40 8 – 65 10 ANSI 150
50 GGG40
G65 10 - 100 200 – 400 10 150 DIN
(2”) G100 8 - 160 1 PN10/16
Carbon
Steel
G100 8 - 160 Aluminium
1 ANSI 150
80 G160 13 - 250 GGG40
200 - 300 1 240 DIN
(3”) G250 20 - 400
1 PN10/16
Carbon
G400 32 - 650 Steel

G160 13 - 250 1 Aluminium

ANSI 150
100 G250 20 - 400 1 GGG40
200 - 300 300 DIN
(4”) G400 32 - 650 1
PN10/16
Carbon
G650 50 - 1000 1 Steel

G400 32 - 650 1 Aluminium

Turbine Meters

ANSI 150
150 G650 50 - 1000 1 GGG40
100 - 200 450 DIN
(6”) G1000 80 - 1600 0,1
PN10/16
Carbon
G1600 130 - 2500 0,1 Steel

G650 50 - 1000 0,1 Aluminium

ANSI 150
200 G1000 80 - 1600 0,1 GGG40
75 - 150 600 DIN
(8”) G1600 130 - 2500 0,1
PN10/16
Carbon
G2500 200 - 4000 0,1 Steel

12 Dimensions & Weights

Size DN L C E H

50 mm (2”) 50 150 180 100 240

80 mm (3”) 80 240 190 115 265

100 mm (4“) 100 300 200 125 300

150 mm (6“) 150 450 230 155 360

200 mm (8“) 200 600 265 175 390