Flow Meters Industry Information
IQS Newsroom Articles on Flow Meters
Flow meters are used to measure the flow of air, fluids and gas. Some of the
most popular flow meters are:
peak flow meters,
water flow meters, fuel flow
meters, air flow meters,
ultrasonic flow meters
and flow monitor services. Many flow meters measure the volume of the material
while other flow meters measure the speed, and still other flow meters measure
the mass of the materials. For the most part, flow meters are used to infer mass
flow through calculations that flow meters and flow monitor instruments make
after taking various flow measurements, such as absolute pressure, differential
pressure, viscosity and temperature. Most flow meters are made of three parts:
the primary device, transducer and transmitter. These three flow meters parts
are usually combined so that the flow meter is one complete instrument. Flow indicators, which are observation windows in industrial processing lines, aid in measuring flow by visual indicators.
Flow meter distributors manufacture various instruments for different measurements of
flow. Thermal mass flow meters take measurements with two sensors that work together.
A temperature sensor reference and an active heated sensor take measurements
by calculating how much heat loss occurs in the flowing liquid, and thus these
flow meters can determine the flow rate based on this amount. Another type of
flow meter is the Coriolis mass flow meter, which operates on the basis of the
Coriolis Effect. In the Coriolis Effect, an excitation force is applied to the flow meter
tube, causing the fluid or gas to rotate because the acceleration is acting in
opposite directions on both sides of the applied force. A flow meter measurement
can then be taken. Other kinds of flow meters operate using sound: These are
called ultrasonic flow meters, and include several types, like Doppler Effect
flow meters and time-of-flight flow meters.
Flow meters are useful in a variety of fields.
Medically, flow meters are used to measure a patient's air intake. These
types of flow meters are called peak
flow meters and are particularly beneficial
for asthma patients. In plumbing, water
flow meters are used to measure the amount
of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. In general, flow meters
are used in many industrial purposes for flow measurements to help companies
determine profit gain or loss. Other industries that benefit from the use of
flow meters, peak flow meters, fuel flow meters, water flow meters and flow
monitor services include automotive, petroleum and gas,
utility services, HVAC, food processing and raw materials.
Each type of flow meter has specific guidelines that must be followed for proper
use. For example, when using gas flow meters, the flow meters must remain full
of gas. Liquid in gas flow meters can affect the flow meter's accuracy. Similarly,
in order for liquid flow meters to work properly, they must remain full of liquid.
Gas in liquid flow meters can affect the accuracy of flow meters' readings. Generally,
contaminants of any kind will cause an inaccurate reading of flow meters, so
flow meter distributors advise that flow meters and flow monitor instruments
must be treated with care and cleaned regularly.