MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION

ME 312

LECTURE VIII:
Flow Measurement

Dr. Bassam
 Lecture Content
 Basic Terminology
 Type of Flow
 Reynolds Number
 Type of quantity to measure
 Type of Flow measurement

a)Direct flow measurement

b) In-direct flow measurement-Flowmeter s

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Basic Terminology:
What is meant by Fluid?
 Any flowing medium, may be liquid, gas, solid or a combination .
 The flow may be laminar or turbulent, steady state or transient.
 The desired measurement could be a) velocity at point, b) the rate of
the flow or c) mass flow rate, and d) a picture of the entire flow field.
 The measurement technique will be based on the one above
mentioned factors

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Basic Terminology continues:
 SPECIFIC GRAVITY : The ratio of The Density Of a material, liquid or
gas, to the Density of water or air,
 COMPRESSIBLE FLUID: Fluids (such as Gasses) Where The Volume
Changes With Respect To Changes in Pressure. These Fluids Experience
Large Changes In Density Due To Changes In Pressure.
 NON-COMPRESSIBLE FLUID: Fluids (Generally Liquids) Which Resist
Changes In Volume As The Pressure Changes. These Fluids Experience
Little Change In Density Due To Pressure Changes.
 Beta Ratio (d/D):Ratio of a differential pressure flow device bore (d)
divided by internal diameter of pipe (D). A higher Beta ratio means a
larger orifice size. A larger orifice plate bore size means greater flow
capacity and a lower permanent pressure loss

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Ways of measurement

1) Primary way: This is the most direct way to measure flow rate;
either through volume or mass measurement that flo through fixed
period.
2) Secondary way: This is the most used technique for measurement;
generally through other quantity such as pressure difference or other
mechanical quantities.

Flow-meters: used to measure volume or mass; while

velocity-meter used to measure speed of the flow

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Classification of Flow measurement Methods:
Flow measurement can be done using 4 different techniques
1) Primary Method:
a) Weight Tank b) Volume tank
2) Flow-meters:
i)Obstruction meters ( responding to pressure differentials)
a)Venturi tube b) Flow nozzles c) Orifices d)variable area meters.
ii) Volume flowmeters (responding to volumetric flow rate)
a)Turbine tube b)Voretx Shedding meters c)Ultrsonic flowmeters
d) positive displacement meters e)electromagnetic flowmeter-(liquid only)
iii) Mass flowmeters (respond to mass flow rates)
a) Coriolis meters b) thermal mass flow anemometer

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Classification Continues:
3) Velocity Probes
i) Pressure probes:
a) Total pressure and Pitot static tubes b) direction-sensing probes
ii) Hot wire and hot-film anemometer
iii) Doppler Shift method
laser-Doppler anemometer b) ultrasonic-Doppler anemometer
( liquid only).
4)Flow Visualization techniques:
a) Hydrogen bubbles ( liquid only) b) laser-induced fluorescence
c) Dye injection, Particle tracer ( liquid)
d) refractive-index change: inerferometry

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Types of Flow:
1) Laminar Flow - is characterized by concentric layers of fluid
moving in parallel down the length of a pipe. the highest velocity
(Vmax) is found in the center of the pipe. the lowest velocity
(Vmin) is found along the pipe wall.
SIDE VIEW END VIEW

VMAX

PARABOLIC FLOW PROFILE CONCENTRIC FLUID LAYERS

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2)Turbulent Flow - is characterized by a fluid motion that
has local velocities and pressures that fluctuate randomly.
Generally, happens at high flow rates and with larger pipes.

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3) Transitional flow: is a mixture of laminar and turbulent
flow, with turbulence in the center of the pipe, and laminar
flow near the edges. Each of these flows behave in different
manners in terms of their frictional energy loss while flowing,
and have different equations that predict their behavior

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 Reynolds Number:
 Is a unitless number that defined as the ratio of inertial forces (velocity
and density that keep the fluid in motion) to viscous forces (frictional
forces that slow the fluid down) and is used for determining the dynamic
properties of the fluid to allow an equal comparison between different
fluids and flows.
Laminar Flow occurs at low Reynolds numbers<2100, where viscous forces
are dominant, and is characterized by smooth, constant fluid motion.

Turbulent Flow occurs at high Reynolds numbers>2300 and is dominated by

inertial forces, producing random eddies, vortices and other flow
fluctuations.

 Reynolds number is good in fluid dymanic as it provides a criterion for

determining similarity between different fluids, flowrates and piping
configurations

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 Reynolds Number

where:
V is the mean velocity of the object relative to the fluid (m/s)
L is a characteristic linear dimension, (travelled length of the fluid(m)
 is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid (Pa·s or N·s/m² or kg/(m·s))
 is the kinematic viscosity (m²/s)
 is the density of the fluid (kg/m³).

0 2000 4000

LAMINAR TRANSITION TURBULENT

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Type of flow measurements:
I) Primary-Quantity method
Very simple and used in day to day life and rural areas. Generally is used
when the required volume is high and requires large devices.
Drawbacks: inaccurate when small volumes are measured. Fluctuations in the
measured values during the opening and closing the valves

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Primary Method continues
1) Volume flow rate (VFR):is the volume of the fluid that flows
passed a given cross sectional area per second; therefore
VFR= A*v
Where VFR= volume flow rate; A= cross sectional area and v=
velocity
Units for VFR= m3/s Lt/s or gal/s
2) Mass flow rate(MFR): is the number of kilogram of mass flow that
flows a give cross sectional area per second,
MFR= Av
Where
=is the density, A =cross sectional area, and V=velocity
Standard unit of MFR is Kg/hr

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II) Flow-meters
1)Obstruction meters : Differential pressure flowmeters:
 Over 40% of all liquid, gas, and steam measurements made in
industry are still accomplished using common types of differential
pressure flowmeter
 Bernoulli's equation is used to measure the flow of fluid in a pipe.
 Bernoulli’s equation states that the pressure drop across the
constriction is proportional to the square of the flow rate
 These flowmeters introduce a limitation in the pipe that creates a
pressure drop across the flowmeter. When the flow increases, more
pressure drop is created.
 Impulse piping direct the upstream and downstream pressures of
the flowmeter to the transmitter that measures the differential
pressure to determine the fluid flow.
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Obstruction meters: Differential pressure flowmeters
Basic Equation

Venturi Tube
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 Type of obstruction or Differential flowmeter:
a)Venturi Tube-meter

In the Venturi Tube, the flowrate is measured by reducing the cross sectional flow area in
the flow path, generating a pressure difference. After the constricted area, the fluid is passes
through a pressure recovery exit section, where up to 80% of the differential pressure
generated at the constricted area, is recovered.
There are two main types of Venturi meters.
The first one, known as the classical Herschel Venturi meter, is a very long meter
characterized by low. Pressure readings at different points in the meter are combined to
provide an average pressure reading.
The second type of Venturi meter is known as the short form Venturi meter. This differs
from its longer counterpart by reduced size and weight.

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Type of differential continues:
 b) Orifice Plate or meter
 With an orifice plate, the fluid flow is measured through the difference in
pressure from the upstream side to the downstream side of a partially
obstructed pipe. The plate obstructing the flow offers a precisely measured
obstruction that narrows the pipe and forces the flowing fluid to compress.
 The orifice plates are simple, cheap and can be used for
almost any application in any material but they are inaccurate
for low flow rate

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Differential Flow-Meters Performance and Applications

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2) Volume Flowmeters
a)Positive Displacement(PD) Flowmeters:
 (PD)flowmeter measures fluid flow by precision-fitted rotors as flow
measuring elements. Fluid of Known and fixed volumes are displaced
between the rotors. The rotation of the rotors are proportional to the volume
of the fluid being displaced.
 The number of rotations of the rotor is counted by an integral electronic
pulse transmitter and converted to volume and flow rate.
 PD flowmeters are equivalent to A bucket and a stopwatch in operation. The
stopwatch is started when the flow starts, and stopped when the bucket
reaches its limit. The volume divided by the time gives the flow rate.
 Example of PD meters are: Rotary vane meter, Turbine-meter, Oval gear
meter, and Nutating disk meter.
 PD use: for all nonabrasive fluids such as heating oils, lubrication oils,
polymer additives, animal and vegetable fat, printing ink, freon, and many
more.
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Volume flowmeters continues
 b) Turbine Flowmeter:
 When fluid moves through a pipe and acts on the vanes of a turbine, the
turbine will start to spin and rotate. The rate of spin is measured to
calculate the flow rate.
 Recommended Service: Clean & Viscous Liquids, Clean Gases
 Accuracy: better than ±0.1%. ;Cost: High; Type of Output: Linear

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c)Ultrasonic Flowmeters
 An ultrasonic flow meters measure the velocity of a fluid with ultrasound
beam to calculate the volume flow. Using ultrasonic transducers, the flow
meter can measure the average velocity along the path of an emitted beam
of ultrasound, by averaging the difference in measured transit time
between the pulses of ultrasound propagating into and against the direction
of the flow or by measuring the frequency shift from the Doppler effect.
 Ultrasonic flow meters are affected by the acoustic properties of the fluid
and are impacted by temperature, density, viscosity and suspended
particulates.
 There are three different types of ultrasonic flow meters.
 A) Contra-propagating transit-time
 B)Doppler flow meters.
 C) Open-Channel flow meter.

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Ultrasonic flowmeters-

ultrasonic meters employ two transducers located upstream and downstream of

each other. Each transmits a sound wave to the other, and the time difference
between the receipt of the two signals indicates the fluid velocity. Transit
time meters usually require clean fluids and are used where high rangeability
is required. Accuracy is within 1% for ideal applications.

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 Ultrasonic continues
Flow is measured by
measuring the difference
in transit time for two
ultrasonic beams
transmitted in a fluid
both upstream and
downstream.

Transit time difference is proportional to mean Ultrasonic Meters are

velocity Vm, therefore Vm can be calculated as mainly used on large
follows: size lines where high
rangeability is required.
Vm = (L / 2 * cos ) * [(TAB – TBA) / (TAB . TBA)]

Basic Flow Equation: Q = A * V

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d) Magnetic/electromagnetic-flowmeter( Mag-meter)
 Mag-meter applies magnetic field to the metering tube, which
results in a potential difference proportional to the flow velocity
perpendicular to the flux lines.

The operation of Mag meter is based upon Faraday's Law, which

states that the voltage induced across any conductor as it moves at
right angles through a magnetic field is proportional to the velocity
of the conductor
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III)Mass FlowMeters
a) Thermal mass Flowmeters
 Thermal mass flow meters are used mainly for gas flow applications.
 thermal mass flow meters use heat to measure flow.
 The amount of heat lost from the sensor is dependent upon the sensor
design and the thermal properties of the fluid.
 Thermal flow meters can be used to measure the mass flow of the fluid
because the thermal flow measurement is not dependent upon the pressure
or temperature of the fluid.
 How it works
 Thermal mass flow meters introduce heat into the flowing
medium and measure how much heat dissipates using
temperature sensors and The mass flow rate is inferred in one of
two ways,

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Thermal mass continues

1) By measuring the temperature rise in the flowing material and/or

by measuring the heater power required to achieve a constant set of
temperature in the flowing material. Based on the knowledge of
heat and Temp, then the mass rate can be calculated as follows

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 Types Thermal mass Flow meter
There are several types of thermal mass flowmeters, among them are:

1) Hot-wire or hot film sensor ( toaster wire): The wire is heated either
a constant voltage over the wire or a constant current through the wire.

The wire's electrical resistance increases as the wire’s temperature increases, which
in turns varies the electrical current flowing through.

When air flows past the wire, the wire cools, the resistance drops, then more
current to flow. As more current flows, the wire’s temperature increases until the
resistance reaches equilibrium again. The current or voltage drop is proportional to
the mass of air flowing past the wire

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 a) Hot-wire flow meter

In the above circuit, R3 and R4 are much greater that R1

Therefore, current flows through R1 is essentially independent of
changes in the sensor resistor R1. Any flow in the channel cools
the hot wire, decreases its resistance as given by Equation

un then balanced bridge produces an output

voltage
Vo, which is related to the mass flow
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Type of thermal flowmeters continues:
b) Calorimetric sensors:
 The sensor principle is based on two temperature sensors in close quarters of
one another but thermally insulated from one another.

Generally is used in air

compression
How it works
One of the two temperature sensors is heated and the cooling effect of
the flowing fluid is used to monitor the flow rate. In general, there is a
constant temperature difference between the two temperature sensors.
When the fluid flow increases, heat energy is extracted from the heated
sensor and the temperature difference between the sensors are
reduced. The reduction is proportional to the flow rate of the fluid.

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Mass flow meters continues
c)Coriolis Flowmeter
 used to measure the mass flow rate of both liquids and gas-flow
 The flowmeter consists of either a pair of parallel vibrating tubes or
a single vibrating tube that is formed into a configuration that has
two parallel sections.
 The two vibrating tubes (or the two parallel sections of a single tube) deflect
according to the mass flow rate of the measured fluid that is flowing inside.

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Coriolis meters continues
 They are also manufactured in different shapes such as B, D,

U, triangular, helix and straight shapes as shown below.

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Coriolis meter-How it works
 The tubes are anchored at two points. An electromechanical drive unit,
positioned midway between the two anchors, excites vibrations in each
tube at the tube resonant frequency.

As fluid flows toward this

central point(peak amplitude of
vibration), the fluid takes on
acceleration due to the vibration
of the tube. As the fluid flows
away from the amplitude of peak
vibration, it decelerates as it
moves toward the tube outlet

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Coriolis continues:
 The tube has different forces, because of this the tube takes on twisting
motion as it passes through each vibration cycle, the amount of twist is
directly proportional to the mass flow through the tube.
 The net deflection of one tube relative to the other is given by d = k f R,
where k is a constant, f is the frequency of the tube vibration and R is
the mass flow rate of the fluid inside the tube.
 The degree of tube twisting is sensed by the Coriolis meter’s detector
system. At any point on the tube, tube motion represents a sine wave.
As mass flow occurs, there is a phase shift between the inlet side and
the outlet side

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Coriolis continues
Advantages
 high accuracy under wide flow ranges and conditions.
 have a low cost of ownership
 insensitive to spinning effect, making flow conditioning needless

Disadvantages

cost of Coriolis meters rises significantly as line sizes increase

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3) Velocity Probes/meters
a) Ultrasonic-Doppler Flowmeter (liquid Only)

The DFM principle of operation employs the frequency shift (Doppler

Effect) of an ultrasonic signal when it is reflected by suspended particles
or gas bubbles (discontinuities) in motion.
 Current technology requires that the liquid contain at least 100 parts per

million (PPM) of 100 micron or larger suspended particles or bubbles.

 these flowmeters are ideal for wastewater applications or any dirty liquid

which is conductive or water based

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b) Pitot tube-meter
 Pitot tube is widely used to determine the airspeed of an aircraft,
water-speed of a boat, and to measure liquid, air and gas
velocities in industrial applications.

The pitot tube is used to measure the local velocity at a given

point in the flow stream and not the average velocity in the pipe
by converting the kinetic energy of the flow into potential energy

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Flow Visualization techniques:
 Flow visualization is an effective means to obtain better understandings of
the physics of the flow physics.
 There are various methods of flow visualization, ranging from very simple
and easy to access, to very complicate and expensive.
 The most important issue concerned is how to present the flow
phenomenon of interest by clear photo images to touch people who might
have no knowledge of the flow.

There are serveral methods that are widely used, in this class
we will touch basis on Dye-injection method

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Dye injection
 This method is employed in a water tunnel or water channel.

The method is to introduce dye by an injection tube (needle)

to the location of interest in the flow field.
Issues of concern:
 The disturbance introduced by the dye injection tube

(Reynolds number based on the diameter of the tube)

 The density of dye has to be close to that of the working fluid

 The velocity of the dye should be smaller but comparable to

the flow velocity to minimize the disturbance

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Example:
Angioplasty : is the technique of mechanically
widening narrowed or obstructed arteries

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