Success Story

The new standard in flow verification facilities for hot water

Working alongside the Beijing institute of Metrology, Sartorius provided the perfect technology to help legally verify water meters across northern China.
Background information 2010 saw a fundamental shift in the attitudes of the Chinese government towards energy consumption for private citizens. The previous method saw citizens being charged per square meter of their dwelling. The new approach will charge consumers for the actual volume of energy they use. This change will affect residences in 16 of Chinas Northern provinces, and by 2020 will apply to 10 billion square meters of residential housing. It is expected that every year an additional 3 million meters will be added to the market. This new method requires a heat meter to be installed in every dwelling. As a metrological meter for trade every one of these must be certified. To achieve this, every provincial institute of metrology will have to develop the necessary infrastructure to meet this demand. To support this the institute of metrology in Beijing (BJIM) helped launch the large diameter heat meter calibration devices, and its metrological practices. The investment of 20 million RMB has facilitated the construction of a new 18 million m2 laboratory. This facility allows the calibration of meters with an uncertainty of less than 0.1% and a maximum flow rate of up to 600 m3/h. This facility employs state of the art technologies such as solar power, innovative weighing systems and new regulating systems to solidify its relevance long into the future. Customer requirements The calibration system employed uses flow and temperature to determine usage. In order to accurately analyse the flow, the most trusted method is mass. When employed in conjunction with national mass metrological standards flow can be easily ascertained. To properly measure flow, the institute required three scales with accuracies higher than 0.01% and capacities of 60 kg, 600 kg and 6000 kg. Additionally, excellent repeatability and linearity were requested. Due to the nature of the weighing environment the scales would also have to be resistant to adverse conditions. Alongside the scales, digital displays were required with high IP ratings and inherent abilities to reduce communication interference. Once supplied, the institute would personally test all of the instruments and guarantee their suitability. Solution Sartorius is globally renowned for its ability to manufacture very accurate high resolution scales with a range of capacities. It was for this reason that the institute approached Sartorius to find out more. To fit the customers needs, Sartorius suggested the IS high resolution scale range. These scales use EMC or Electromagnetic compensation. EMC is a counterforce applied to the mass of a sample being weighed. This is achieved by compensating

About the Customer

The Beijing Institute of Metrology in China is a non-profit, national, legal verification agency. They also act as the National centre for measurement and testing for the whole of Northern china.

The environment in which the scales were with a magnetic force generated from to be implemented required high quality a coil with current flowing through it. stainless steel construction and IP67 ratAn optical position sensor detects the ings, which Sartorius was happy to supply. movement of a lever from a position of equilibrium. This lever is directly connected The scales were then connected to a series of Combics 3 controllers using RS485 digito a coil positioned within the field of a tal outputs. The Combics 3 comes equipped permanent magnet. The coil current is regwith an IP69K rating, making it the ideal ulated to ensure that the lever returns to for solution for any tough environment. its position of equilibrium when a load is placed upon the scale. The amount of movement is transmitted as a signal which Customer satisfaction is evaluated and reproduced as a weight readout. This approach results in much Having tested all of the scales and controlmore accurate weight readouts. The IS lers themselves, BJIM were happy to report range of scales provide accuracies at an that they were able to certify the scales to interval of 600,000d well above the class II. Subsequently, they 120,000d required by The new facilities opens contacted Sartorius to say the institute. a window on heat meter that the scales were continucalibration, whilst also ing to provide accurate and Additional benefits modeling the fantastic reliable results. Reporting on offered by the scales quality of Sartorius the testing of the products, were repeatability of products. the senior institute engineer, +/-2d, and built in Mr. Zhang Lihe said The new calibration, allowing Mr. Zhang Lihe facilities opens a window on the quick and easy heat meter calibration, whilst calibration of the also modeling the fantastic quality of system without weights. Sartorius products. The institute was highly pleased with Sartorius recommendation and implemented the scales beneath three water tanks. These tanks are filled with hot water, which then becomes the zero point. The IS ability to provide the function of pre-set tare allows the process of weighing and calibration to continue without interruption.

Sartorius Weighing Technology GmbH Weender Landstrasse 94-108 37075 Goettingen, Germany Phone +49.551.308.0 Fax +49.551.308.3289 www.sartorius.com