Liquid flow meters are used in every sphere of our lives to gauge fluids and in every aspect of our liquid flow metering. From such info, many may be tempted to think that we have depleted the meters’ use. But now, we are barely scratching the surface of this amazing tech. The natural question that arises then is, “What are the suited uses for liquid flow sensors?”
You naturally start getting a tip of this enigma by first defining what strictly a liquid flow meter is used for so anyone can know it. A liquid flow meter is any of the tools that can gauge mass, volume, linear, or nonlinear rates of liquid flow rate. The flow rate is usually any of the units of a listed given over a defined time.
It is not easy to fix a liquid flow meter’s fitness without looking at its type or its technology to give its reading. You will learn many types of flow meters in this article and know what liquids are suitable for gauging.
Open Channel Flow Meters
Most of the water on the global surface that is moving is likely in an open channel. The most common open channels are rivers, streams, canals, etc. Such bodies are of interest to a large group of people on what amount of liquid passes at a given time.
Open channel flow meters are designed to gauge the flow of liquid on channels or exposed pipes. This type of meter typically makes use of a hydraulic structure like a flume or weir. The structures are placed on an open channel. Since the channel’s surface area is fixed, the channel’s depth is used to decide the flow rate of liquid quickly in liquid flow metering.
Mass Flow Meters
Mass is one of the fixed amounts of any matter. While the volume of a liquid is affected by heat or pressure, the same does not hold mass. Mass flow meters are; thus, it is used to give exact gauges of flow rate. When precision is the only goal of gauging, use a mass flow meter.
There are two most common types of mass flow meters: the Coriolis Effect flow meter and the thermal mass flow meter. This type of meter has a lot of uses and can be used on any liquid. In fact, mass flow meters are popular with more than just liquids but with gases and solids.
The Coriolis Effect meter relies on Newton’s second law of motion that states that if an external force acts on a body, it leads to an opposite but equal reaction force. In this case, the flow of the liquid in the meter causes an inverse reaction force. The thermal meters gauge the flow using the changes in a liquid’s heat either through chemical or heat transfer reactions. The mass flow meters have a large use in oil, drug-making, power creation, mining, and wastewater recycling. They also have a lot of in-home water use.
Velocity Flow Meters
That is a whole family of water meters whose basic purpose is to use the liquid’s speed in gauging the rate of flow. There are so many techs used in these meters that it’s just a disservice to group them. Most of the meters here are named after the law in which they operate.
We have the Ultrasonic, magnetic, vortex, Canada effect, transit time, among so many others. These meters record the liquid’s speed over one point using any of the techs they come with, then using it to assess flow rate over an entire setup.
The meters are used in oil plants to detect leaks. They work properly with cars, tankers to measure hydrocarbons. They are usually everywhere in fuel, water, chemicals, and energy plants.
Final word
As you have noted, liquid flow metering boils to picking the right meter for the right job to get the best results. Luckily there is a variety to pick from, and each meter has its inherent pros over another, so the next time you are at a point where you need to pick a liquid flow meter, you don’t have to scratch your head but pick any of the above.
