Low-flow gas applications benefit most from thermal mass flow meters. Directly measuring gas mass flow, the meters find widespread use in building management systems, environmental applications, control systems for industrial processes, and management systems for energy management.
These meters have come a long way since they were first introduced in the 1970s. They have gone from being analog into digital, from measuring low to high flows, and from being used mostly in laboratories to being used in industrial settings and potentially dangerous locations. In fact, in certain potentially dangerous locations, such as in the process of well plugging, the precise measurements provided by these meters can be crucial.
There is a thermal mass flow meter available to meet the requirements of almost any low-flow gas application. In the case of low-flow gas applications, other measuring methods include differential pressure measurements and Coriolis flow measurements.
Flowmeter Developments
There has been a significant improvement in the performance of flow meters as a result of the introduction of the first combination thermal flow rate meter. Then, the first user-friendly on-site calibration verification technique was developed, and the meter was eventually approved for use in reporting greenhouse gasses in accordance with EPA laws and measuring carbon credits in accordance with U.S. carbon credit procedures, opening up new markets. As a result of the calibration verification, customers no longer need to take the meter apart and send it back for yearly calibrations, which saves them both time and money.
10 Examples of Different Gasses That Can Be Measured
Thermal flow rates meters are put to use in a broad variety of applications (across many different sectors) to measure as well as monitor gasses include the following types of gasses:
- Air from aeration
- The measuring of biogas
- air used in combustion
- A kind of compressed air
- Flare gas
- Co2
- Argon (in steel manufacturing) (in steel production)
- Natural gas
- Nitrogen and oxygen
- Methane
- applications thermal meter applications thermal meter applications
Energy Management Systems
Sub-metering of compressed air and natural gas in an industrial building aids in tracking energy use and associated costs.
Control of the Industrial Process
In order to enhance the efficiency of the boiler and the furnace, measure the flow of combustion air. In addition, measure the flow of vent air and drying air.
Environmental ecological uses include measuring flare gas flow in the oil and gas sector; moreover, the meters are perfect for low biogas as well as aeration flow and help with reporting greenhouse emissions and global carbon verification in accordance with the law.
This constant temperature difference has to be maintained, despite the fact that there may be significant shifts in the temperature of the gas. Even if the gas temperature drops or the flow sensor is rapidly cooled by molecules, the differential is maintained by the sensor driving circuit.
The amount of electrical power that is necessary to maintain this overheating serves as the mass flow indication. As gas passes past a heated flow sensor, the gas’s molecules carry the heat away, causing the sensor to cool and the energy to be dissipated.
Which kind of fluids do thermal flow meters measure?
Gasses account for almost all of the usage of thermal mass flow meters. The meters, such as those at https://info.teledyne-hi.com/blog/characteristics-of-thermal-mass-flow, as their name suggests, make use of heat to measure flow. Specifically, they inject heat into a stream that is moving, and then they employ one or maybe more temperature sensors to determine how much heat is lost in the process.
The measurement of gas flow is where this approach shines the brightest. It may be difficult to get a reliable signal while working with liquids when utilizing thermal flow rate meters because of the phenomenon of heat absorption.
How can you quantify heat dissipation using any of the two methods?
There are two distinct approaches to determining how much heat is lost, despite the fact that thermal mass flowmeters all have a common characteristic of basing their readings on heat.
Differential thermometers that display a constant temperature
The differential thermal mass flowmeter for gasses at a constant temperature is one method. This technique makes use of a heated sensor in addition to a gas temperature sensor.
Continuously Variable Differential Current Meters
Current controlled thermal mass flow meters are less common leading to missed reactions. Meters that use this technique also feature a sensor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor) that is heated, in addition to another sensor that can detect the warmth of the flow stream. The amount of electricity or energy that is supplied to the sensor that is heated remains unchanged. Mass flow is a result of the distance in sensor and flow stream temperatures.
Both strategies depend on the idea that a greater amount of heat is dissipated from the warmed detector when the flow of air is accelerated to a higher velocity. Thermal flow meters are able to monitor the flow in pipes of a significant size.