Water, Wastewater, Agricultural and Industrial users often find themselves with the challenge of getting flow meters and valves to get along with each other. Partially open or closed valves have a tendency to create poor flow profiles, which makes it harder to accurately measure the flow of water, steam, or other liquids. Because of this, many flow meters need to be used on straight pipe runs, but this is not always feasible.
Besides the irregular fluid flow dynamics in a pipe, many plants have layouts that are not opportune for flow measurement. To deal with this and the addition of pipeline valves and pumps that affect accuracy, flow meter manufacturers suggest a minimum of five to ten diameters of straight pipe run. In some cases, twenty to thirty pipe diameters are the ideal recommendation.
In a perfect world, workers would already know flow meters and straight pipe run requirements necessary for consistently accurate measurements. Realistically speaking, however, there are far too many factors to take into account. In many cases, problems are not spotted until the flow meter starts to return inaccurate flow measurements, which may require pipeline layout changes or costly moves of devices like the valves.
To avoid these application conditions, flow straighteners and conditioners are an effective solution, thanks to the many different types straightening vanes. To insure the best result, install them prior to the flow meter to ensure proper calibration and always test the application for accuracy before leaving the new installation. Flow meters that are designed to include flow conditioning are also a great option that requires less maintenance, like the McCrometer V-Cone or Propeller Flow Meters, for example.
The Avanti Company was founded in 1977 by Paul and Justine Devlin and is headquartered in Avon Park, FL. We provide water meters, metering systems, AMR support, testing, sewer flow monitoring, inspection and assessment services for the water, wastewater, agricultural, petroleum and industrial marketplaces. Avanti represents products from McCrometer, Itron, Hach Flow, RedZone, Honeywell/Elster, 64 seconds, Infosense, Nicor, DoMac, Aclara, and others. Please visit our website at www.avanticompany.com, email us at info@avanticompany.com or call us at 863-453-5336 for assistance with all of your flow meter and metering system needs.
