About Liquid Turbine Flow Meters
Proven, cost-effective technology that offers highly reliable, repeatable measurement with minimal maintenance required.
Proven, cost-effective technology that offers highly reliable, repeatable measurement with minimal maintenance required.
Turbine meters are simple to operate and maintain, and in service worldwide as a reliable, cost-effective method for achieving accurate flow measurement. Turbine flow meters are designed to maximize throughout and minimize pressure drop, maintain high flow rates over an extended flow range and offer pulse output that is linear to the flow rate. The turbine meters also minimize fiscal measurement uncertainty by delivering high-frequency pulse resolution to account for minute increments of the flow rate.
A liquid turbine meter is used for volumetric total flow and/or flow rate measurement and has a relatively simple theory of operation. As fluid flows through the meter, it impinges upon turbine blades that are free to rotate about an axis along the center line of the turbine housing. The angular (rotational) velocity of the turbine rotor is directly proportional to the fluid velocity flowing through the turbine. The resulting output is taken by an electrical pickoff(s) mounted on the meter body.
The output frequency of the pickoff is proportional to the flow rate. A major advantage of the turbine meter is that each electrical pulse is also proportional to a small incremental volume of flow. This incremental output is digital in form, and as such, can be totalized with a maximum error of one pulse regardless of the volume measured. The rimmed rotor improves pulse resolution, particularly in DN150 (6-in) and larger line size meters.
The turbine meter’s expanding blade hanger assembly holds the turbine rotor in alignment with the fluid flow. The angle of the turbine blades to the stream governs the angular velocity and the output frequency of the meter. Flow impinging upon the blade causes the rotor to spin at an angular velocity that is proportional to the flow rate. This design ensures linearity and repeatability, making the turbine meter an ideal device for fiscal flow measurement.
Liquid turbine meters serve a variety of hydrocarbon applications, including fiscal and custody transfer, check metering or blending/batching. The meters are often installed for measurement during crude oil production, tank farm/storage inventory control, floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) as well as refined product loading and offloading. The repeatability of the meters ensures quality measurement over a wide range of flow rates, temperatures, compositions and viscosities.
Download our informative tech guide to increase your liquid turbine meter IQ.
