FLOW SENSORS

Prepared By: Jesamy Van Carlo D.

Valenzuela

FLOW RATE
Is defined as the volume of material passing a fixed
point per unit of time.
Sensing the flow of fluids is an important
measurement in industrial processes.
Is frequently used as a control variable, which aids in
maintaining the efficiency of a process.
Flow rate is also used to indicate a fault.

FLOW RATE
The flow rate of a fluid flowing through a pipe can be
expressed in the following terms:
Q = VA

Q is the flow rate of the fluid through a pipe (in3/s)

V is the velocity of the fluid (in/s)

A is the cross-sectional area (in2)

FLOW RATE
Laminar Flow fluid flow is smoothly parallel to the
walls of the pipe.
Turbulent flow fluid flow is down the pipe but swirling
within the flow.

CLASSIFICATION OF FLOW SENSORS

Manufacturers and users classify flow sensors in
various ways; however, sensors can be classified in
two broad categories:
o

Intrusive sensors that disturb the flow of the fluid that they
are measuring.

Non-intrusive sensors that dont disturb the flow of the fluid

that they are measuring.

MEASUREMENT METHOD OF FLOW

SENSORS
Differential the flow rate is determined by calculating
the pressure differences (or pressure drop) as the fluid
flows through an obstruction such as orifice plate.
Velocity the flow rate is determined based on the
velocity of the fluid that passes through a turbine.
Displacement the flow rate is determined by
measuring all the fluid used.
Mass the flow rate is determined based on the total
volume of the fluid that passes through the sensor.

DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE FLOW SENSORS

The

flow rate is proportional to the square root of the

pressure difference and expressed as follows:
Q=k

Q is the flow rate

k is a constant specific to the type of restriction, in gallons

per minute (gpm)

P1 is the pressure in front of the orifice plate in pounds per

square inch (psi)

P2 is the pressure behind the orifice plate in pounds per

square inch (psi)

ORIFICE PLATE
Is a washer-shaped device that is installed in a piping
system, and the flow rate is determined from the
measurements of pressure in front of and behind the
plate.
The hole in the orifice plate is accurately drilled to a
specific size.
The flange plates are part of the mounting assembly
for the orifice plate and provide easy access to inspect
or install the plate.

VENTURI
Consists of a gradual contraction followed by a
gradual expansion within a fluid-carrying pipe.
Where the pipe is narrowed, the flow is slightly
restricted, thus creating a difference in pressure
between the flow entering the narrow area and the
flow leaving the narrow area.
In larger venture tubes, additional ports are used to
provide a way to determine an average pressure.
The venture has no installed parts and causes much
less disturbance in the fluid that the orifice plate.

PITOT TUBES
Consists of two tubes placed in the fluid flow to sense
two pressure impact pressure and static pressure.
The tubes are next to each other.
The tube which faces the fluid flow measures the
impact pressure, and the other tube which is away
from the fluid flow measure the static pressure.

FLOW NOZZLES
Is a narrowing spout installed inside a piping system to
obtain a pressure differential.
The nozzle in generally made of stainless steel but can
also be made from other corrosion-resistant material.
The flow nozzle is typically installed between pipe
flanges but is also available with a machined ring on
the outside diameter of the nozzle, thus allowing it to
be welded between two sections of piping with the
nozzle itself entirely within the pipe.

ELBOWS
An existing elbow in the piping system can be used to
obtain a differential pressure.
As the fluid flows through the elbow, it exhibits a slight
pressure differential.
Depending on the radius of the elbow, the distance
traveled by the fluid can be relatively farther on the
outer radius than the inner.
In that case, two ports on both sides of the elbow can
be used to obtain an average of each pressure,
resulting in a more accurate pressure reading.

VELOCITY FLOW SENSORS

Measure the fluid flow rate based on changes in flow
velocity.

PADDLEWHEEL FLOW SENSORS

This flow sensor is installed in a pipe so that the
flowing fluid causes its paddlewheel to rotate.
The paddlewheel flow sensor is mounted in a straight
run of piping where the flow is laminar.
A magnet is generally mounted to the paddles so that
as they spin, a magnetic sensor converts rotation of
spin to electronic pulses.
The sensors come with either blue or red cap, which
provides identification once the sensor is installed.

TURBINE FLOW SENSORS

If
a fluid moves through a pipe and strikes the vanes
of a turbine, the turbine starts to spin and rotate.
The rotation of the rotor is typically detected by a Hall
effect sensor and is converted to square-wave pulses.
The pulses are proportional to the velocity of the flow,
and the accuracy is approximately 0.1% which is more
accurate than the paddlewheel sensor.

TURBINE FLOW SENSORS

For the turbine flow sensor, the number of electronic
pulses is related to the volume of liquid passing
through the sensor and be expressed as follows
V = KN

V is the volume of liquid

K is the turbine constant in m3

N is the number of pulses

The flow rate Q is expressed as follows:

Q = V/T

T is the time interval when the pulses are counted

VORTEX FLOW SENSORS

Includes a non-streamlined object ( a bluff body)
placed in the fluid flow, which creates vortices in a
downstream flow.
Vortex shedding occurs when alternating low-pressure
zones are generated downstream.
As the vortex moves downstream, it grows in strength
and size, and eventually detaches itself.

ELECTROMAGNETIC FLOW SENSORS

Measures the electrical charges in flowing fluid, which
are proportional to the fluid velocity.
Its operation is based on Faradays Law.
A set of coils creates a magnetic field.
A set of electrodes detects and measures the electrical
charge.
This sensor has a small insertion depth
( approximately 0.2 in), thus creating no pressure
drop.

ULTRASONIC FLOW SENSORS

Is based on the motion of a sound source and its effect
on the frequency of the sound.
This phenomenon is known as the Doppler Effect,
whereby the frequency of the reflected signal is
modified by the velocity and direction of the fluid flow.
The frequency difference is equal to the reflected
frequency minus the original frequency; it is used to
calculate the fluid flow rate.

DISPLACEMENT FLOW SENSORS

Measures fluid flow by using precision-filled rotors as
flow measuring elements where known or fixed
volumes are displaced between the rotors.
The rotation of the rotors is proportional to the volume
of the fluid being displaced.

MASS FLOW SENSORS

Directly measure the flow rate of fluids especially
gases and tend to be highly accurate, with a margin
of error of less than 0.1 percent.
Two such sensors, the thermal mass flow and the
Coriolis mass flow sensor, are discussed in this
section.

THERMAL MASS FLOW SENSORS

Operates independently of density, pressure, and
viscosity.
These sensors use a heated sensing element that is
isolated from the fluid flow.
The temperature difference between the sensors is
directly proportional to the mass of the flow rate.

CORIOLIS MASS FLOW SENSORS

Uses a vibrating U-shaped tube to measure fluid flow
rate based on an internal force phenomenon named
Coriolis effect.
The fluid to be measured runs through the tube that is
made to vibrate in an angular harmonic oscillation.
The fluid flowing through the tube causes the tube to
deform in a twist, and the amount of twist is directly
proportional to the fluid flow.

VISUAL FLOW SENSORS

The visual flow sensor, also called a variable area flow
meter or a rotameter, consists of a vertically oriented
glass of a plastic tube with the larger end at the top,
and a metering float, which is free to move within the
tube.
Fluid flow causes the float to rise in the tube as the
upward pressure of the fluid overcomes the effect of
gravity.