PD Meter

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How Positive Displacement Flowmeters Work

Positive displacement flowmeter technology is the only flow measurement technology


that directly measures the volume of the fluid passing through the flowmeter. Positive
displacement flowmeters achieve this by repeatedly entrapping fluid in order to measure
its flow. This process can be thought of as repeatedly filling a bucket with fluid before
dumping the contents downstream. The number of times that the bucket is filled and
emptied is indicative of the flow through the flowmeter. Many positive displacement
flowmeter geometries are available.
Entrapment is usually accomplished using rotating parts that form moving seals
between each other and/or the flowmeter body. In most designs, the rotating parts have
tight tolerances so these seals can prevent fluid from going through the flowmeter
without being measured (slippage). In some positive displacement flowmeter designs,
bearings are used to support the rotating parts. Rotation can be sensed mechanically or
by detecting the movement of a rotating part. When more fluid is flowing, the rotating
parts turn proportionally faster. The transmitter processes the signal generated by the
rotation to determine the flow of the fluid. Some positive displacement flowmeters have
mechanical registers that show the total flow on a local display. Other positive
displacement flowmeters output pulses that can be used by a secondary electronic
device to determine the flow rate.
Positive displacement flowmeters can be applied to clean, sanitary, and corrosive
liquids, such as water and foods, and some gases. Usually best applied when high
accuracy is required at a reasonable price. PD meters represent 8% of global sales for
flowmeters.
Plusses and Minuses
Good for smaller line sizes, low flow rates, high viscosity and last a long time especially
for oils. The downsides are there are moving parts to wear, need maintenance, snag on
impurities and are not updated as much as other technologies with new protocols etc.
How to Use Positive Displacement Flowmeters
Positive displacement flowmeters measure the volumetric flow of fluids in pipes, such as
water, hydrocarbons, cryogenic liquids, and chemicals. Some designs can measure gas
flow although liquid flow applications are much more prevalent. In liquid service,
increasing viscosity decreases slippage and increases the pressure drop across the
flowmeter. Surprisingly, accuracy can actually improve at low flow conditions in a given
positive displacement flowmeter when viscosity increases and slippage decreases.
A large pressure drop across the flowmeter can prematurely wear and/or damage
bearings and/or seals. Therefore, most positive displacement flowmeters have a
maximum pressure drop specification that is intended to limit positive displacement
flowmeter bearing wear to reasonable levels. Operating the flowmeter above the
pressure drop limits of the flowmeter can result in premature bearing wear and
catastrophic flowmeter failure. Note that flowmeter size may be increased to reduce the

pressure drop in these applications. This can increase cost significantly but failure to
adhere to this specification can be even more expensive in some applications.
Be careful because damaged sealing surfaces can increase slippage and degrade
measurement accuracy. Using positive displacement flowmeters in abrasive or dirty
fluids can cause maintenance problems because of potential damage to the sealing
surfaces, damage to the bearings, and/or plugging of the flowmeter. A filter may be
required to remove dirt.
Be sure that gas bubbles are removed from liquid flow streams when using positive
displacement flowmeters. Flow measurements taken with bubbles present will be higher
than the true liquid flow because the bubble volumes will be measured as if they were a
volume of liquid. Therefore, the presence of gas bubbles and (especially) the presence
of a varying amount of gas bubbles can adversely affect the flow measurements
associated with positive displacement flowmeters. A gas eliminator may be required to
remove bubbles and mitigate this problem.
This flowmeter can be applied to clean, sanitary, and corrosive liquids, such as water
and foods, and some gases. Materials of construction are important because small
amounts of corrosion or abrasion can damage the sealing surfaces and adversely affect
measurement accuracy. In addition, consideration should be given to all wetted parts,
including the body, rotating parts, bearings and gaskets.
Many positive displacement flowmeters are used in municipal water districts to measure
residential water consumption. Considering an installed base of millions of houses and
apartments with metered water service, this application represents perhaps one of the
largest number of applications of positive displacement flowmeters worldwide.
Corrosive liquid applications are commonly found in the chemical industry processes,
and in chemical feed systems used in most industries. However, other flowmeter
technologies may be more suitable for these services.
Industries Where Used
The industries where they are used in descending order are oil and gas, water and
wastewater, chemical, power, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, pulp and paper,
metals and mining and aerospace.
Application Cautions for Positive Displacement Flowmeters
Avoid using positive displacement flowmeters in dirty fluids unless the dirt can be
effectively removed upstream of the flowmeter. Operating these flowmeters in dirty
fluids can cause plugging and increase maintenance costs. Be careful when selecting
bearings because the non-lubricating nature of some fluids, impurities, and dirt can
increase bearing wear and maintenance costs. Note that bearings usually do not
necessarily fail catastrophically; they can slow down and adversely affect accuracy
before they stop working.

Avoid liquids with gas bubbles unless the bubbles can be effectively removed. As
viscosity increases, be sure to ensure that the pressure drop across the flowmeter is
acceptable. Make sure that the viscosity of the operating fluid is similar to that of the
calibrated fluid, because the different amounts of slippage exhibited by different fluids
can cause measurement error.

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