Process instrumentation

Advances in Flowmeter Technology

If you haven’t looked at flowmeters lately, you may be surprised at how far
many sensor and signal processing technologies have evolved in recent years.

Trevor Ball, Robert Zaun, c Conditioning orifice plates

Source: Rosemount
Amy Johnson, and Mark Kester, require less straight pipe up and
Emerson Proce ss M an a ge m e n t downstream while still providing

W
superior measurement performance.
c Improved orifice technology
hile some flow- facilitates transmitter-direct mount-
meters haven’t ing and installs in existing raised-face
changed much flanges.
in 50 years, c Averaging pitot tubes, with
others have insertion technology and low pres-
made significant sure drop, have been made more
improvements. Some the biggest accurate.
changes have been in electron- Transmitter advancements include
ics and advanced diagnostics that more sophisticated diagnostics, wire-
make flowmeters much more useful less networking, and multivariable
for automation and process control. capabilities:
Much of the instrumentation c Built-in transmitter diagnostics
market has been in flux for the past can go beyond internal verification,
two years, thanks to problematic using statistical process monitoring
economic conditions, so predictions to detect abnormal situations such as
about which flow sensor types are fluid composition changes or impulse
gaining and which are declining Magnetic flowmeters are immune to many line plugging.
in use vary widely. Market analysts challenging application problems. This mag- c Careful power management can
seem to agree, however, that where meter is not affected by sludge buildup in a reduce consumption to the point
technology improvements have wastewater treatment plant. that battery powering and wireless
been made—such as differential communication are practical. This
pressure, ultrasonic, Coriolis, and can lower installation costs and
vortex flowmeters—these are gaining in popularity, while allow measurements to be made in inaccessible loca-
some of the more traditional flow sensors, such as tur- tions.
bine and positive displacement, are declining. c Multivariable DP flowmeters can calculate mass and
Let’s look at a group of flowmeter technologies, energy flow with a single pipe penetration, replacing the
examine their general characteristics and see some need to install up to 10 separate devices.
recent improvements. With these advancements, DP flowmeters have con-
tinued to be a growing technology and remain an
DP still a standard industry standard.
Differential-pressure (DP) flowmeters all work on the same
simple principal: the pressure drop across a restriction is Magnetic for tough liquids
proportional to flow rate. They can be engineered for spe- Magnetic flowmeters or magmeters function on the
cific characteristics to provide best results in a broad set of principle of Faraday’s Law, which states that a conductor
applications, including custody transfer, process control, and moving through a magnetic field will generate a voltage
monitoring. DP flowmeters are easy to calibrate, which low- proportional to its speed. In a magmeter, the conductor is
ers maintenance costs, often enough to justify replacing old the fluid passing through the sensor, and the relationship
DP devices with newer, more sophisticated units. among voltage generated, magnetic field strength, and
Advancements in DP flow technology include both velocity is established through calibration.
the primary element and transmitters. Even the basic Magmeters can provide a highly accurate volumetric
orifice plate, long the industry standard, has seen many flow measurement, cause no pressure loss through the
improvements: sensor, and can be scaled to line sizes from 0.1 to 120 in.
Applied Automation September 2010 • A11
 Process instrumentation
diameter. A magmeter can handle
aggressive slurry flows such as min-
ing slurries and pulp stock, appli-
cations that are very difficult for
other types of sensors.
There are practical limitations,
however. For example, the pro-
cess fluid must be conductive and
magmeters cannot be used with
gas or steam.
Coriolis for precision
Coriolis flow measurement is
based on the principle that as a
fluid moves through an oscillat-
ing tube vibrating at its resonant
frequency, forces are induced
which cause the tube to twist. The
amount of twist is directly propor-
tional to the mass flow rate of the
fluid flowing through the tube.
Density is measured at the same Replacing old orifice plate DP sensors with
time, as the mass per unit volume modern Annubar sensors let a paper mill
of the fluid in the fixed volume of increase steam pressure and raise production.
the tubes increases or decreases
in proportion to the resonant
frequency. Dividing the density by the mass provides a
highly accurate calculation of volumetric flow.
By providing highly accurate multivariable measure-
ments over a wide turndown, Coriolis meters have prov-
en to be ideal for a wide range of applications, including
process and quality control, fiscal custody transfer, batch-
ing, mass balance, and more. Because a mass measure-
ment is unaffected by changes in pressure, temperature,
density, and viscosity, they are increasingly used in place
of volumetric meters. Moreover, sophisticated analysis of
liquid characteristics is possible, including viscosity and
specific gravity.
Because of their ability to provide increase savings
and efficiency, Coriolis flowmeters are one of the few
technologies that increased sales over the past two
years. More recent developments, including the ability to
measure accurately in the presence of entrained gas and
the advent of two-wire loop-powered Coriolis meters,
increase the technology’s utility.
Vortex the workhorse
Vortex flowmeters work on a principle called the von
Karmen effect, which states that when flow passes by a
bluff body or shedder bar, it generates vortices downstream
of the bluff body. The frequency of the vortices is propor-
tional to flow velocity. A vortex sensor typically uses an
transducer to detect the frequency of the vortices and trans-
mit a flow signal.
Vortex flowmeters are an accurate and reliable instru-
mentation workhorse, and can be used to measure liquid,
steam, or gas and provide good accuracy, high reliability,
A12 • September 2010 Applied Automation
wide turndown, and an attractive
Source: Rosemount
price level compared to other sen-
sors, especially in line sizes of 6 in. or
smaller. Adoption continues to grow
as users recognize the advantages this
metering technology.
One disadvantage of vortex meters
is their inability to measure very low
flows. For measurable vortices to be
generated there needs to be a mini-
mum velocity. The specific threshold
depends on the device and fluid
parameters.
Ultrasonics still developing
While ultrasonic flowmeters were
first introduced in 1963, they have
improved so much in the past 50
years that they are still considered a
“high-technology” device by some
market analysts.
There are two main technical
approaches: Doppler and transit time:
c A Doppler meter sends an ultra
sonic signal across a pipe, measures
the signal reflected off particles in
the moving fluid, and computes flow speed by measuring
the Doppler shift.
c A transit time unit transmits two ultrasonic signals
to a receiver on the other side of the pipe, one with the
flow and one against the flow. It measures the difference
in transit times between the two signals to calculate flow.
Recent developments in ultrasonic flowmeters include
the ability to measure gas and low flows, and configura-
tions that measure both Doppler and transit time. The
fastest-growing application for ultrasonic flowmeters is
custody transfer of petroleum fluids.
Thermal mass for gas
A thermal mass flowmeter measures flow by detecting the
amount of heat convected from a heated surface to the fluid
flowing over it. Thermal mass flow meters are almost entirely
used for measuring gas.
Two methods are used: capillary and immersible:
- In a capillary sensor, a small portion of the gas is diverted
to a small, heated capillary tube that has two RTD temperature
sensors wrapped around the outside. The RTDs measure the
rate at which the gas carries off the heat.
- An immersible sensor is completely located in the pipe,
usually in the form of a probe. This makes it suitable for a wide
range of pipe diameters and mass flow rates. For very large
pipes, the probe may have more than one measuring point.
Mechanical solutions
Sensors built around mechanical approaches date
back centuries and still have a large installed base, but
their market position in most areas is eroding in the
face of electronically-based approaches with no mov-
ing parts. Most mechanical sensor designs available
today use some form of electronic signal processing,
however they still depend on a rotating element turn-
ing in bearings.
Turbine flowmeters have been around since 1790
and rely upon a spinning rotor, which can be a
paddlewheel, propeller, or a similar device. Flow is
derived from the speed of the rotor as it spins in the
passing fluid.
Positive displacement (PD) flowmeters are also an
old approach and measure flow by making the fluid
displace a device such as a piston, gear, nutating
disk, rotary vane, or diaphragm. PD flowmeters can
be extremely precise and have a very wide turndown
range, however they can cause a large pressure drop
and accurate movements are expensive.
Not your father’s transmitter
For 50 years, flowmeters have used transmitters; that
is, a device that converts the native signal from the
flow sensor to a standard format analog signal, typi-
cally either a 4-20 mA current or a 3-15 psi pneumatic
pressure that can be transmitted back to the control
room or fed into a local controller.
Pneumatic transmitters are all but gone from the
scene, but most modern field devices still communi-
cate via a 4-20 mA signal over a twisted-pair cable.
Today, they also connect via HART, wireless HART, and
fieldbus networks. Modern transmitters are bristling
with electronics, computers, and intelligence that allow
them to perform diagnostics and advanced functions
of all kinds, such as calculate mass flow in a DP or
vortex flowmeter, or detect something as subtle as the
changing of beer brands with a Coriolis meter.
Ever since manufacturers put the first microproces-
sors into transmitters, operators have had the ability
to perform diagnostic and calibration functions. In
the early days and into the present, this was done in
the field with a handheld HART communicator, which
required the operator to physically plug in to access
internal transmitter data. Today, fieldbus networks
and HART allow such functions to be performed from
the control room. Asset management software plat-
forms can obtain sensor data from the transmitter
and perform necessary diagnostics without sending
out a technician.
Automated diagnostics
Diagnostic functions available today range from those
that seek out specific problems to those that constantly
monitor the general health of a flowmeter system. For
example, the Micro Motion Smart Meter Verification sys-
tem can check the health and performance of the entire
Coriolis unit, sensor and electronics, while the device is
in line and the process is flowing. This provides substan-
tial savings by reducing manpower and calibration costs.
Similar technologies applied to DP flowmeters can probe
beyond the health of the device by detecting process
anomalies. In one case, such information from a flowme-
ter allowed a large chemical manufacturer to detect an
upset in catalytic flow approximately 30 minutes before
it reached a critical “stick-slip flow” condition. Operators
were able to take preventive actions promptly and avoid-
ed a shut down.
Being able to verify calibration automatically can save
considerable amounts of money. For example, breweries
have to verify calibration of flowmeters used to measure
the amount of alcohol produced for tax purposes. The
U.S. FDA 27 CFR Part 25 requires that, “…the brewer
shall periodically test the measuring device.” One brew-
ery had 12 magmeters that fell under this requirement,
so they contracted with an outside organization to
verify the flowmeters twice a year. At $1,600 per meter
per verification, this cost $38,400 per year. Downtime
while the meters were being calibrated cost $470,000 in
lost revenue.
The brewery replaced the old flowmeters with newer
units that had an internal meter verification diagnostic.
Now, the checks are performed automatically, with virtu-
ally no interruption to the process, saving the brewery
more than $500,000 per year.
Flowmeter diagnostic functions
Diagnostic functions can be used as practical tools to
diagnose process problems affecting the sensors.
Sensor failure and degradation—Most transmitters
Diagnosing Magmeters
E
very type of flowmeter has its own specific diagnos-
tics. Using magmeters as an example, here are some
special diagnostic functions they have available:
Ground and wiring fault detection—A transmitter
continuously monitors signal amplitudes over a wide
range of frequencies. If the amplitude of the signal at
either 50 or 60 Hz (the most common ac cycle frequen-
cies) exceeds 5 mV, that is an indication of a ground or
wiring issue.
High process noise—This diagnostic checks to see if
there is a process condition causing unstable or noisy
readings, such as high levels of chemical reactions or
entrained gas in the liquid. The transmitter monitors sig-
nal amplitudes over a wide range of frequencies, checks
the signal to noise ratio, and alarms if the signal to noise
ratio exceeds limits.
Empty Pipe—False readings can occur when a pipe is
empty, such as in batching operations. This diagnostic
determines when a pipe is empty, sets the flow rate to
zero, and alerts the operator.
Applied Automation September 2010 • A13
 Process instrumentation
can determine when a sensor has failed, or when the
sensor is reading too high or too low. Flowmeters with
moving parts, such as PD and turbine meters, can suf-
fer wear or erosion, and deposits on the inside wall of
a flowmeter can affect performance. Flow transmitters
can detect such problems.
Plugged line—Coriolis flowmeters can experience
long-term coating buildup or plugging. By monitoring the
voltage required to obtain sensor readings, diagnostics can
detect the presence of coated or plugged sensor lines. DP
flowmeters can also detect plugged impulse lines. A gas-
to-liquids (GTL) plant was able to employ this technology
to improve process quality and increase uptime by using
the information to optimize maintenance schedules.
Spikes—Entrained air, gas breakout in condensate, cavi-
tations, or other problems can cause measurement error
or damage to downstream equipment. The transmitter can
measure process noise and detect the presence of these
process issues. At one industrial gas manufacturer’s billing
site, a reciprocating gas compressor was causing pulsation
in the flow measurement line leading to inaccurate bill-
ing. Advanced diagnostics incorporated in a DP flowmeter
were able to detect this situation so it could be corrected.
Composition—Similar to the example where a brewery
How can updating the sensor technology benefit you?
H ere are some user examples of benefitting from
improved sensor and transmitter technology from
a variety of industries and applications:
A pulp & paper plant in Germany was using traditional
orifice plates to measure steam flow to three of their
paper machines. To help increase production, it upgrad-
ed the installation with a Rosemount Annubar mass
flowmeter (see photo page A12) which had a lower
pressure loss and provided fully-compensated mass flow
measurement.
A wastewater treatment facility had problems mea-
suring flow of thickened sludge during custody transfer
to a waste disposal company. The high solids content of
the sludge, and its coating of the pipe, confused other
types of flow meters. The plant was paying too much to
the disposal company because of the inaccurate mea-
surement, and the maintenance costs of flushing the
lines to improve accuracy were high. The plant installed
a Rosemount 8750A magnetic flowmeter (see photo
page A11), which was not affected by the high solids
content or the build up.
Brewers often use the multifaceted capabilities of a
Coriolis meter. One company installed a Coriolis meter
on a Lauter Tun and improved efficiency of the brewing
process while reducing waste and eliminating time-
consuming sampling. The device measures the wort
A14 • September 2010 Applied Automation
used a Coriolis meter to detect changes in beer, diagnos-
tics in multivariable meters can determine liquid fractions
in gas and pipelines, liquid condensate giveaway, and
other situations where fluid composition can change.
Electrical loop diagnostics—Unwanted electrical loop
changes, such as water in the housing, ground loop issues,
corrosion, or an unstable power supply, are all conditions
that may affect the output. Sophisticated diagnostics can
monitor the integrity of the electrical loop from the flow-
meter to the host system and send alerts when unwanted
conditions may jeopardize the operation.
More than a process variable
Modern flowmeters do much more than just measure
flow. With their advanced diagnostics, signal processing
and computing functions, flowmeters can save a user a
considerable amount of money in maintenance, calibra-
tion, and troubleshooting. Why is there a control problem
in the process? Ask your flowmeter.
Trevor Ball, Robert Zaun, Amy Johnson, and Mark
Kester work as product managers in Emerson Process
Management’s various instrumentation divisions, including
Rosemount, Micro Motion, and Daniel.
concentration to ±0.1° Plato/Balling, and provides a
±0.05% volume flow rate of the wort as it passes to
the brew kettle.
The large turndown range of vortex flowmeters
makes them suitable for applications with a wide flow.
A paper mill wanted to add a new grade of paper that
required high gloss. High gloss paper demands a high
steam flow rate, while low gloss paper demands a low
steam flow rate. Adding the high gloss grade increased
the range of steam flow seen by the flowmeter, and the
low end steam flow could not be accurately measured
any longer by the conventional flow meter. To solve the
problem, the mill installed a Rosemount 8800 Vortex
Flowmeter to measure steam flow to the supercalender,
which resulted in a more reliable and accurate signal at
even the lowest flow rates.
At California Paperboard, signal spikes were costing
$90,000 to $180,000 per year in lost production and
wasted raw materials. The flowmeter for the pulp stock
sent a feedforward signal to the dryend scanner on a
Fourdrinier machine. When a spike occurred, it forced
the control system to disable automatic control. Product
inconsistency increased, and a half-hour of produc-
tion time was lost with each episode. The problem was
solved by installing a magmeter with digital signal pro-
cessing, which filtered out the spikes.