Coriolis flow meters rely on the Earth’s Coriolis effect to measure fluid mass flow rates. Inside the flow body of a SmartMeasurement Coriolis meter, flow is diverted into two parallel sensor flow tubes, which are vibrated in opposition to one another by an energized drive coil. The mass flow meter’s phase shift, measured by Hall Effect sensors mounted at the sensor tubes’ inlet and outlets, is caused by the Coriolis effect and is directly proportional to the mass of the media flowing through the tubes. Thus, the Coriolis flow meter is a true mass flow meter.

Electromagnetic flowmeters, also known as magnetic flow meters or simply mag meters, offer a number of practical advantages over traditional flow metering technologies which employ mechanical measuring techniques.

The simple construction of our electromagnetic flow meters is the key to these advantages. A SmartMeasurement magnetic flow meter does not contain any moving parts, rotating gears or turbines, or bearings. Instead, it relies on two electrodes to measure the density of the induced magnetic field that results from an electrically conductive fluid, such as water, flowing through a pipe. The density of the magnetic field is directly proportional to the fluid velocity of the flowing liquid.

Ultrasonic flow meters offer a number of advantages over other flow measuring technologies. The most distinct of these advantages is the non-invasive nature of ultrasonic measuring technique: fluid flow can be measured by clamping a pair of transducers onto the outside of the pipe without contacting the measured fluid.

This installation method, unique among flow metering technologies, allows ultrasonic flow meters to be used in applications where the process cannot be shut down and/or the pipe cannot be cut for installation. Clamp on flow meters also cause no pressure drop, suffer no mechanical wear and tear, allow for bidirectional measurement, and provide the ability to pass unlimited solids past the meter without damage.

Fluid velocity is measured by sending an ultrasonic pulse from an upstream transducer to a downstream transducer and back again. The measured difference in the amount of time that each pulse takes to traverse the pipe is directly proportional to the mean fluid velocity. SmartMeasurement’s ultrasonic flowmeters use this measured velocity to calculate the liquid flow rate based on user-entered information about the process application.

Energy Flow Meters Overview: Flowmeters that perform energy measurement consist of a flowmeter with integrated temperature measurement to measure both supply and return temperature and then calculate thermal energy in units of BTUs. In addition to providing direct BTU measurement, these flowmeters also can display liquid flow rate and process temperature. The temperature measurement is typically achieved via use of precision RTD elements while the liquid flow rate measurement can be done with an electromagnetic flowmeter, a turbine flowmeter, an ultrasonic flowmeter, or a variety of other flowmeter technologies.

SmartMeasurement^TM offers Energy flow meters that employ ultrasonic and magnetic flow measurement technologies in order to provide users with a degree of flexibility in selecting the best product for their specific application.  For non-intrusive energy measurement, the ALSONIC-EG provides highly accurate energy measurement for applications including treated water with low electrical conductivity and buildings where the air-conditioning can’t be turned off to install the meter.  The ALSONIC-EG enables retrofitting of transducers under pressure with a clamp-on non-intrusive installation method. For applications where there are particulates or bubbles entrained in the fluid, the ALMAG-EG, which makes use of a Mag Meter to measure the liquid flow, is the instrument of choice.  All SmartMeasurement BTU Flowmeters are available with optional Mbus, BACNET, MODBUS, and Profibus communication protocols.

Positive Displacement Flowmeters, which employ one of the oldest-known flow measurement techniques, are widely used in industry and have one of the largest install bases of any flow meter technology. Positive Displacement Flowmeters feature two precisely machined rotating members inside a measuring chamber of known volume which may be used to accurately determine volumetric flow rate as a function of the rotors’ velocity.

The advantages that the Positive Displacement Flowmeter provides over other technologies are numerous. These advantages include high accuracy (up to 0.1% of reading), excellent repeatability, wide turndown ratios, high temperature operation, high viscosity operation, no upstream or downstream straight pipe requirement, the ability to be used with mechanical registers which require no electrical power, and readings which are immune to changes in viscosity. This combination of features and advantages makes the PD meter an ideal choice for applications that can be found in many different industries including food & beverage, paint & coatings, oil & gas, and fluid power.

Thermal meters measure gas mass flow directly without the need for additional need pressure, temperature and/or density monitoring.  They operate either by introducing a known amount of heat into the flowing stream and measuring an associated temperature change, or by maintaining a probe at a constant temperature and measuring the energy required to do so.  Thermal mass flowmeters include two temperature sensors and an electric heater between them. The heater can protrude into the fluid stream or may be external to the pipe. By eliminating temperature changes in the process, any heat transfer within the flow stream is directly proportional to its mass flow.

Thermal meters have no moving parts, wide turn-downs (up to 1000:1), a range from 0.02 meters per second (4 feet per minute) to over 200 mps (40,000 fpm), and very low pressure drop.  Smartmeasurement^TM, s ATMF series of thermal mass flowmeters can be used with pipe diameters ranging from 8mm (_¼”) to up to several meters using our multi-sensor configurations.  Process connections can be flanged, threaded, or hot-tapped ball valve.  Smartmeasurement^TM’ s ATMF Series Thermal Mass Flowmeters feature available integral style or remote mount electronics, an easy-to-read OLED display, and a unique calibration self-check technique that allows for field verification of the factory calibration.

Turbine Flowmeters measure volumetric flow, where flow passing through the tube is measured as a function of the mean velocity of the streaming fluid.   Turbine flow meters may be configured to measure either gas or liquid flow rates. A low mass turbine wheel carried axially in the tube is rotated by the fluid; the RPM of the turbine wheel is directly proportional to the mean fluid velocity within the tube

SmartmeasurementTM’ s ALTM turbine flow meters come in sizes ranging from 15-300mm (½” to 12”) and feature a wide turn-down with minimum uncertainty and a very repeatable output.  The ALTM is excellent for precise measurement of instantaneous flow of low-viscosity fluids such as tap and demineralized water, fuels, liquefied gases, light fuel oils, solvents, and pharmaceutical fluids.

Variable area flowmeters are simple and versatile devices that operate at a relatively constant pressure drop and measure the flow of liquids, gases, and steam. Variable Area (VA) flowmeters make use of a float, piston or vane placed inside a flow body, which changes position in response to changes in flow rate of the measure fluid media. The position of the float, piston or vane provides a direct visual indication of flow rate. Either the force of gravity or a spring is used to return the float to its resting position when the flow lessens.

Smartmeasurement^TM’ s ALVAMT Variable Area flow meter is of the spring operated variety, which allows the meter to be mounted in either horizontal or vertical orientations. The ALVAMT makes use of rugged, metal tube construction making it ideal for high pressure, high temperature and other demanding flow applications where safety is a concern.  Features include mechanical readouts for use in locations where power is not available or in hazardous areas; analog and digital LCD local display options, multiple process connection options; several different materials of construction for metering of aggressive fluids and corrosion resistance; and HART enabled 4-20mA output to allow for remote monitoring and control.

Vortex meters are one of the few flow measuring technologies that can measure all three phases of a fluid; gas, liquid and steam.  This technology provides a cost-effective, reliable, low maintenance solution for many flow measurement applications. It has no moving parts, therefore no routine maintenance or cleaning is required. The vortex flowmeter can measure also measure wet and/or dirty gases. Vortex flow sensing technology relies on measuring the number of vortex pulses generated by a bluff body immersed in the flow stream. A bluff body is machined inside the vortex flow meter; as flow pass through this bluff body, vortices are generated in either side of the bluff body. The flow rate can be determined by measuring the number of vortices.  .

The design of Smartmeasurement^TM‘ s ALVT vortex flowmeter allows for extremely wide turndowns while maintaining an almost unlimited upper end as well as a high pressure rating.   The ALVT can be configured in inline styles with both NPT and flanged connections or as an insertion meter with optional hot-tapped ball valve mounting for installation and/or removal of the instrument without shutting down the process.  Our ALVT-MASS multivariable vortex flow meter incorporates an RTD temperature sensor and a solid state pressure transducer that allows the mass flow rate of steam, gases and liquids to be measured and displayed directly on the meter’s display.