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by: AdrianFletcher
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Liquids and gases passing through a tube or pipe often need to be measured to determine the rate at which they are moving. They are generally measured in terms of their volume or their mass. A volumetric flow rate reading is meters to the power of three divided by time. The mass flow rate is kg's divided by time.

There is a diverse range of uses for flow meters. They have applications for individuals, a common one being to help people with asthma. A peak flow meter measures the lung capacity when someone exhales. This can help to predict an imminent asthma attack.

However they are most commonly used in industry, notably in machines or processes that require precise amounts of a certain gas or liquid to be applied or added during the manufacturing of an item. This article will cover how some flow meters work.

Flow meters are generally classified by the principal that governs their operation or possibly by their applications. For instance, mass flow meters measure the flow rate of a medium in terms of it's mass.

The Coriolis flow meter in an example of the principle determining the name. The Coriolis effect is the force that a liquid experiences in a circular motion. In the flow meter, vibrating pipes cause the liquid to move in a circular motion. If the wave motion of the vibrating pipes is known before the liquid passes through the pipes then the flow rate of the liquid can be determined.

The ultrasonic flow meter and Doppler shift flow meter also use wave mechanics to determine the flow rate of the medium passing through a pipe or tube.

For an ultrasonic flow meter, flow rate is measured by contrasting the measurements of two ultrasonic waves. These two waves are set off at the same time as each other but from different directions.

The ultrasonic waves are recorded by receivers at opposite ends of the pipe. One wave is sent in the direction of the flow of the liquid to be measured. The other wave is sent in the opposite direction to the flow.

Provided some information is known about the type of pipe used and a few constants for the liquid or gas, then the flow rate can be determined from the time difference of each wave.

Doppler shift meters use a sound wave that bounces off matter in the medium passing through the pipe. Due to the Doppler effect, the frequency of the waves changes when it strikes a moving object. This change in the frequency can be used to determine the flow rate of the medium passing through the pipe.

A variable area flow meter is a more straightforward meter. It consists of a calibrated tube in which a liquid or gas passes through. In the tube is a float that is displaced by the substance.

The reading on the calibrated tube is a correlation of the flow rate of the substance. The peak flow meter uses this principle to measure the flow rate of the lungs when person exhales.

About the Author

Learn more about flow meters, specifically on portable flow meters at http://www.flowmetermatters.com.

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