What is a Gas Ultrasonic Flow Meter ?

While it seems like a straightforward question, a gas ultrasonic flow meter is a complex piece of equipment. As the name suggests they are used to measure the mass flow of gases but ultrasonic meters can also be used to measure the flow rate of liquids too. They do this by measuring the flow rate through a pipe. Most meters are fixed or clamped  to the pipe or tube. This is generally a permanent installation but there is scope for an ultrasonic flow meter portable version. These units are great for getting a quick reading and can be as accurate as the fixed version.

Features and Functions of an Ultrasonic Flow Meter For Gas

The meter is non intrusive in that it is clamped to the exterior of the pipe. So it will not interfere with the flow of the gas that it is measuring and thus alter the potential reading. There are several different methods for measuring flow from transit time correlation to concurrent transit time, pulsed Doppler and continuous wave Doppler.

Not all applications are the same and it is important to be able to offer flow meters that suit the actual requirements. The use of non intrusive measuring devices has increased in popularity over the last few years saving valuable time and in addition preventing the contamination of surrounding areas. 

The ultrasonic gas flow measurement meter is an incredibly sensitive piece of equipment and a good one will be able to tell within a very fine area how much gas is flowing. These clamp on ultrasonic gas flow meters can measure erosive, corrosive, toxic, high purity sterile gases or any application where penetrating the pipe wall is undesirable. Theses meters generally will have a wide range and the meters will have no wetted or moving parts for virtually no maintenance.  A clamp on gas ultrasonic flow meter will not cause any drop in pressure, as it resides outside the pipe.

Depending on the type of meter, you may have an option to export the readings to a remote location. The readings can be sent directly to a computer where analysis can be performed on the readings. This can be done through any number of auxiliary inputs and is useful to monitor and compare data from multiple ultrasonic gas flow meters.

As you can see a gas flow meter is much more complicated than it would first appear.  They come in a variety of forms and can be used in a variety of applications.  It is up to you the user to decide what the best application for your gas ultrasonic flow meter is, and which one will best fit. 

One consideration is the type of gas you will be measuring. In many cases the device will come calibrated to a specific gas. You should notify the manufacturer of the gases you will be measuring so that it can be calibrated to your needs. In many cases, it is straightforward to recalibrate if you use different gases.
 
Whether it is a fixed or a portable device, whether it measures multiple values simultaneously or simply does one gas is up to you.  The important thing is that your gas ultrasonic flow meter no longer needs to be placed inside the pipe and you can safely and reliably measure the flow with no harm to the outlying areas. This is considered to be an advance over more traditional meters because they are easy to install and provide accurate measurements.

See a review of a popular portable gas ultrasonic flowmeter, the Panametrics ultrasonic flow meter.