SENSORS

(FLOW AND TEMPERATURE)

 Most Common industrial sensors:

Pressure
Flow
Temperature
Level

FLOW SENSORS

Flow
Engineering units of
volumetric flowrate: ft3/s, m3/hr, gpm
Mass flowrate: kg/hr, lb/min
Velocity: m/s, ft/s

Flow is usually measured indirectly by first

measuring a differential pressure or the
fluid velocity. This measurement is then
related to the volume rate electronically.

Flow sensor
Orifice meter

flat disk with a machined hole

The disk is inserted in the process line
perpendicular to the fluid motion with the intention
to produce a pressure drop, P

The tap upstream the orifice is called the high

pressure tap
- The tap downstream the orifice is called the low
pressure tap
- a differential pressure sensor is used to measure the
pressure drop across the orifice
- the output signal from the orifice is the pressure drop
not the flow

 - The pressure drop across the orifice is

a nonlinear function of the volumetric
flow
rate through the orifice

Where
f
= volumetric flow rate
po =pressure drop cross orifice
Ao =area of orifice
=orifice coefficient
Co

= fluid density

= dimensionless ratio of the diameter of the
orifice, d to the
diameter of the pipe, D

 The equation derives from the application and a

mechanical energy balance (Bernoulli).
The equation shows that the pressure drop is
related to the square of the volumetric flow rate
po
f2
Density constant

Density not constant

Install a square root extractors within the transmitter

to obtain linear relation between output signal and
volumetric flow rate.

 Most orifice diameter vary between 10 to 75% of

the pipe diameter 0.1 < < 0.75
the pressure drop cross the orifice is measured
with taps:
Flange taps
Radius taps
Corner taps

- line taps
- vena contracta taps

- Several condition may prevent use of orifice

sensor:
-

Not enough available pressure drop e.g gravity flow

Flow of corrosive fluid
Fluids with suspended solids plug the orifice
Fluid that close to their saturated vapor pressure
may flash when subjected to a drop in pressure

 Magnetic flow

Operating principle of this element is Faradays law

A conductive material (a fluid e.g water that
contains ion) moves at right angles through a
magnetic field and induces a voltage
The voltage created is proportional to the intensity
of the magnetic field and the velocity of the fluid.
If the intensity of the magnetic field is constant,
then the voltage is proportional to the velocity of
the fluid

 the velocity measured is the average velocity

this sensor can be used for turbulent and
laminar flow
This sensor is suitable to measure gravity flow,
slurry flow and flow of fluids close to their
vapor flow
However, the fluid must hav a minimum
required conductivity of about 10 ohm/cm2 .
Not suitable for gases and hydrocarbon liquids
(nonconductive).

 Turbine meter

most accurate and commercially available flowmeters.

- the working principle : consists of a rotor that the fluid

velocity causes to spin.
-the rotation of the blades is detected by a magnetic
pickup coil that emits pulses the frequency of which is
proportional to the volumetric flow rate.
- pulse is equally converted to a 4 to 20 mA
-problem: bearing require clean fluids with some
lubricating properties

Coriolis effect

- mass flowrate measurement of

liquids

 The Coriolis mass flow meter measurement principle is based

on Newton's Second Law of Motion: Force = Mass x
Acceleration (F = M x A).
Inside the meter, flow is diverted into two parallel tubes that
vibrate at high frequency via an electromagnetic drive coil.
The tube loops have varied shapes, sometimes forcing the
fluid through several 90 turns before rejoining the flow line.
Upward and downward forces are exerted when the fluid goes
through the turns, causing a tube deflection known as the
Coriolis Effect. This tube deflection is directly proportional to
mass flow.
Velocity detectors measure the time difference between the
upward and downward forces of the flow and the tube, to
indicate the mass flow rate.

 the measurement accuracy using this effect is

unaffected by changes in the fluids temperature,
density, pressure, viscosity or by changes in
velocity profile.
because the measurement based on mass flow,
once the calibration of the flowmeter has been
established with a conventional fluid as water, it
applied equally to other fluids.
maximum error of the reading 0.15%

TEMPERATURE SENSORS

Temperature sensor
one of the most frequent measured
variable in the process industries.
very few physical phenomena are not
affected by temperature
temperature is also often used to
infer other process variables.
Engineering units: oC, oF, K, R

Popular sensors for

temperature measurement
Expansion thermometer
Liquid-in-glass thermometer
Solid-expension thermometer (bimetallic strip)
Filled-system thermometers (pressure thermometers)
Gas-filled
Liquid-filled
Vapor-filled

Resistance-sensitive devices
Resistance thermometers
Thermistor elements

Thermocouples

 Liquid in glass termometer

- indicate temperature change caused by difference

between the temperature coefficient of expansion for
glass and the liquid employed.
- mercury and alcohol are the most widely used liquids
- mercury in glass thermometer made from ordinary
glass are useful between -35 and 600 oF
- lower limit :due to freezing point of mercury
- upper limit: due to boiling point of mercury
- upper limit can be extended by filling with inert gas

 For temperature below the freezing point

of mercury (-38 oF), another liquid must be
employed.
Alcohol is widely used for temperatures
down -80 oF
Pentane for temperatures down -200 oF
Toluene for temperatures down -230 oF

Bimetallic strip
thermometer
-the working principle based on facts
that:
the metal expand with temperature
the expansion coefficient are not the same
for all metals

The temperature sensitive element is a

composite of two different metals
fastened together into a strip.
One metal has a high thermal expansion
coefficient
One has low thermal expansion

common combination
Nickel-iron which has low coefficient and another
nikel-iron alloy with high coefficient
Usually the expansion with temperature is low.
The reason why the bimetallic in the form of spiral
The spiral is attached to a dial that indicates
temperature

Filled system thermometer

Temperature variations cause the
expansion or contraction of the fluid
in the system
The expansion and contraction is
sensed by Bourdon spring and
transmitted to an indicator

Resistance Temperature
Devices (RTD)
working principle : the electrical resistance
of pure metals increases with increase in
temperature.
T
R
The RTDs are characterized by a linear
change in resistance with respect to
temperature.
A wheatstone bridge is usually to measure
the resistance.
RTD: metal i.e Pt, Ni, Copper

 Relation between resistance with

temperature
Rt ()=Ro (1+t(oC)+t2)
Measurement:
Rt ()=Ro (1+t(oC))

Thermistor elements
Detect very sensitive temperature changes.
Made of sintered combination of
Ceramic material
Semiconducting metallic oxide e.g nickel, copper,
iron

The semiconductor resistivity is especially

sensitive to temperature
the resistance of a thermistor decreases with
increasing temperature
Main disadvantage lie in their nonlinear
temperature versus resistance relationship

Thermocouple
Discovered by T.J. Seedback
Seedback states that an electric current
flows in a circuit of two dissimilar metals
if the two junctions are at different
temperatures.
Principle of measurement: measure
thermocouple voltages, mV to get
temperature
V (Tp-Tr)
is seedback coefficient in V/oC or mV/oC

 Tr must be known and constant. Normally T r=0oC

Termocouple :
Chromel- alumel
Iron-constantan
Copper-constantan