PD Meter
PD Meter
PD Meter
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.