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by Adrian Fletcher

Flowmeters are used in many ways but their basic aim is to measure the flow of a particular substance passing through a tube, pipe or chamber. Why would you want to do this ?

Well, it’s basically an analysis device. It is used to check whether the machine is working correctly or is running efficiently, even if this machine is the human body. This article will cover the basic flowmeter types and show how they are used.

Peak flowmeters measure the flow of air running through a tube or pipe. These types of flow meters are often used to assess the fitness of a person. They can determine the lung capacity of an individual when he/she blows through the meter. Measuring the lung capacity of an individual tells a fitness instructor how capable they are and what level of exercise they should be set.

with this said, you will find that peak flowmeters are generally used to diagnose asthma. Once the condition is diagnosed, the meter is also used to manage it.

A peak flow meter works on the principal of displacement as a correlation of flow rate. Within the peak flow tube is a float. This is moved by the force of the air flowing past it. This movement is measured and gives an indication of the flow rate of the substance passing through the tube.

In many industries, like HVAC, food processing, water management, industrial and chemical manufacturing there are needs to measure the flow of various gases and liquids through large or small machinery.

To flesh this out, in the processed food industry much of the food is made by co-ordinating a number of machines and mixing various ingredients to come up with the favorite product. this is generally done by one human operator. This person needs to know exactly how much of a certain ingredient is gong into the machines and if the machines are working efficiently. The repercussions if this is not right is that the food may not taste right or that the machine may break down.

There are a variety of types of flowmeters that operate in these industries. Two common varieties are the thermal dispersion and ultrasonic flowmeters. They can work out the flow rate of both liquids and gases.

The ultrasonic flow meter uses the physics of waves to correlate the flow rate of a particular substance that the wave is passing through.

Wave theory is also used in the Doppler shift flowmeter. This type of flowmeter is used to measure the flow rate of liquids with matter in them. It is used in water and waster water management.

Thermal dispersion works in a similar way, except it uses heat to make this correlation. A fixed point is heated to a set temperature. As the gas or liquid being measure passes this point the heat is dispersed. The rate at which the heat is dispersed is equivalent to the flow rate of the substance passing it.

Other types of flowmeter include the turbine, magnetic and wheel flowmeters. Again, these devices have applications in many larger scale industrial complexes to ensure that a particular machine is working correctly or is getting the right quantity of a particular substance.

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One Comment to “Flowmeter Types And Uses”

  1. on 24 Oct 2008 at 11:28 amFrank

    In many industries, like HVAC, food processing, water management, industrial and chemical manufacturing there are needs to measure the flow of various gases and liquids through large or small machinery.

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