A vortex flow meter is used for flow measurements where the introduction of moving parts experience problems. They’re mainly available in the industrial grade plastic construction.
Vortex flowmeters are one of the most versatile flowmeters that are used to measure the steam, liquid and gases quite easily. One primary reason why these are being widely used for steam flow measurement is that they can withstand the high temperatures of steam. Inevitably, steam is the most difficult fluids to measure due to high temperature, and pressure as the parameters of measurement vary according to the type of steam. The major types of steam are saturated steam, wet steam and superheated steam.
Typically, the steam is measured in process plants in order to generate power. In this process, the Vortex & differential pressure (DP) flowmeters used to measure steam. There are magnetic flowmeters as well, but they can’t measure steam flow. Besides, the experts are just started using the Coriolis and ultrasonic flowmeters for this purpose.
Why Vortex Flowmeters are Best Suited?
Alongside their ability to tolerate high temperatures & pressures, vortex meters are also known for their wide rangeability. This way, they can measure steam flow at different velocities. In process & power plants, steam is normally measured coming from a boiler.
Insertion Vortex Flowmeters
Insertion vortex flowmeters provide a viable option to enterprises willing to measure flow in larger pipes, especially the ones with an internal diameter over 12. When it comes to the common accuracy levels of insertion vortex flowmeters, it’s in the 1% range for liquids and 1.5% for steam & gases. Inevitably, gases & steam are way more difficult substances to measure as compared to the liquids for most flowmeter types. Therefore, the thermal flowmeters are also known to be the better-suited devices for gas measurements.
Sometimes, the insertion of vortex meters is used to check home security cameras that measure flow in pipes that just can’t be shut down. As the insertion meters can be hot tapped, it’s easier to swap out the meter or replace the parts without shutting down the line. Inline meters don’t have this advantage as the bypass line need to be installed. And even for that, you need to shut down the line to install the bypass line. This way, the insertion of vortex meters gets additional flexibility over an inline meter.
Inevitably, the insertion of vortex meters can’t achieve the same accuracy as some of the inline meters. It’s because they’re a single point measurement inside the pipe. Some inline meters make multiple measurements while creating a calculated average to determine the flow rate. Insertion vortex meters measure a point measurement and then compute the flow through the whole pipe, which is based upon flow profile considerations. With the passage of time & experience, the formula to make this calculation can be improved.
Vortex Flow Meter Styles
Smart Vortex Flow Meters give a digital output signal that contains more information than just a flow rate. What’s so amazing about this? It has the microprocessor integrated that automatically corrects the insufficient straight pipe conditions, for thermal expansion of bluff body, for the differences between bore diameter, and K-factor changes when the number drops below 10K.
Some of the vortex flowmeters can also detect the mass flow. One such design measures both the vortex frequency as well as the vortex pulse strength. From these readings, the density of process fluid can easily be determined, and the mass flow can also be calculated by 2% of span.