Two mode flow meaurement
November 1st 2007 When engineers at British Nuclear Group were faced with a difficult flow measurement application, they chose the clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters and expertise available from Katronic Technologies to provide them with the solution
The decision made by British Nuclear Group to purchase a new flowmeter was a fairly straightforward one, as Chris Fairclough Senior Technical Adviser explains, "We have a series of systems on our test rig that require calibration. We needed to be sure what flow we were running at and certain areas do not contain a flow meter". The difficulty that the engineering team faced was finding a device that would cope with the varying measurement conditions that they have in the rigs.
From the nature of the application it was decided that the best tool to use would be a portable ultrasonic flowmeter.
This type of device avoided the need to make any pipe modifications and allowed them to move the equipment to different locations on site without difficulty.
The clamp on flowmeter was of particular interest to the engineers given the nature of the liquids that are flowing through the system - "measuring the nitric acid flow through an air sparged pipe and the recycled flow through the DSRV". As well as the advantages of portability and being able to avoid pipe modifications the ultrasonic flowmeter means that there is no risk of anyone, or part of the of the plant being, exposed to the hazardous chemicals.
When looking for a potential supplier, it was not the actual flowmeter that led Chris to choose Katronic but the customer service that he and his colleagues received. "Originally it (Katronic) was the first company that we tried but the service was quick, friendly and efficient". Although at first attracted by the service that they received it was not long before the technical benefits of selecting Katronic became apparent. One of the key features of the KATflow range of ultrasonic flowmeters is their ability to measure in both Transit time and Doppler mode.
By being able to offer two mode measurement, the KATflow 220 provided exactly the flexibility that the engineers at British Nuclear were looking for to cope with some of the more demanding locations that they needed to meter.
"The Doppler application allows measurement on areas with turbulent flow". In contrast to Transit Time ultrasonic measurement, Doppler principal flow meters necessitate the presence of particulate, gas bubbles or turbulences in the flow in order to take a reliable reading. Chris and his colleagues were aware that in some locations on the system the flow condition was not conducive to standard transit time measurement and therefore the flowmeter from Katronic was perfect for this application.
By using a portable flowmeter rather than a more conventional permanently installed inline device, the engineers at British Nuclear were also able to make considerable savings on the running of the system. "The flowmeter allows us to validate commissioning data and to calibrate the system without the need for expensive permanent systems. These are necessary sometimes but it saves time and money". The portable meter has an internal battery but will equally operate on mains power making it a viable alternative to a permanently installed device.
Once in operation the Katronic ultrasonic flowmeter proved highly successful on a variety of different applications. As Mr. Fairclough points out "…it is performing very well with accurate results once correctly configured". When asked about what he liked most about the flowmeters he added that the flowmeter is "easy to use, durable and accurate". It is the robustness of both the measurement accuracy and of the flowmeter itself that are the key features of all Katronic flowmeters.
This ongoing success and the results achieved at British Nuclear Group are not simply attributed to the technology that Katronic have on offer; it is the vital combination of good product and the best possible technical support that makes the difference. It is this that can often differentiate between a properly functioning instrument and a disappointed customer. More articles from Katronic Technologies Ltd: | 
