Lecture 20

Flow Measurements
(Cont.)

Temperature Measurements
(Chapter 8)
 Mass Flow Meters
• Not all fluids have readily established equations of state to provide
a known value of density (e.g., petroleum products, polymers, and
cocoa butter), and many processes are subject to significant
changes in density.
• When volume flow methods are used, the uncertainty in the
density increases the overall uncertainty in mass flow rate above
the uncertainty in volume flow rate. For this reason, we need to
measure mass flow rate.

m! = rQ
2 2
Uncertainty: um! = (Qu ) + ( ρu )
ρ Q
> ρuQ

2 2
or um! ⎛u ⎞ ⎛u ⎞ u
= ⎜⎜ ρ ⎟⎟ + ⎜⎜ Q ⎟⎟ > Q
m! ⎝ρ ⎠ ⎝Q⎠ Q
 Thermal flow meter

• cp is fluid specific heat (assumed to be constant)

• Via measuring fluid temperature at the inlet and outlet with known
power supply (such as using electrical heating), we can get

E! In this method, measurement of

m! = mass flow rate does not involve in
c p DT
volume flow rate measurement.
The uncertainty statement in last
Ti slide does not hold here.
To
flow
Example 1
 Solution
• Assumptions:
– cp is constant through meter and known.
– DT measured must be the average mixed temperature across each
pipe cross section.
– Power supplied to meter is 100% dissipated in fluid,
 Coriolis flow meter
• The term "Coriolis flow meter" refers to the
family of insertion meters that meter mass flow
rate by inducing a Coriolis acceleration on the
flowing fluid and measuring the resulting
developed force. The developed force is directly
related to the mass flow rate independent of the
fluid properties.
• Coriolis meters pass a fluid through a rotating or
vibrating pipe system to develop the Coriolis
force.
• The meter tubes will twist about the y axis of the tube at an angle, d. If
we measure twist angle (could be the phase shift in the video) we can
measure the mass flow rate
! = K1 × d
m
 Calibration
• Primary calibration is usually carried out at a
constant flow rate by measuring the total flow
for a predetermined period of time. Primary
calibration in terms of mass is commonly
accomplished by means of a weigh tank, in
which the liquid is collected and weighed.
Setup for calibrating an orifice
• In this case, calibration consists of experimentally determine the
flow coefficient, K0, by collecting the flowing fluid (e.g., water) in a
weigh tank over a time period. During calibration, the flow rate is
held as constant as possible, and the pressure difference is
recorded. The flow rate, Q, is the measured weight, W, divided by
the liquid density and the elapsed time. The throat area depends on
the orifice diameter.

2Dp
Q = K 0 A0
r1

Q r1 W / r1t r1 4W 1
K0 = = =
A0 2Dp pd 02 2Dp pd 02t 2 r1Dp
4
Bell prover for gas flow calibration
• For gases, at moderate rates,
volume rate may be
determined through use of a
bell prover, which consists of
an inverted bell that creates a
gas chamber above a liquid;
the lower rim of the bell lies
beneath the liquid surface.
• Gas is pumped into the
chamber through a pipe
Provides leading to the flowmeter
air-tight being calibrated; as the has
seal flows in, the bell rises further
above the liquid, maintaining
a constant pressure within the
chamber. The bell’s
displacement provides the
measurement of volume.
 Standard flow rate
• When the range of pressures and temperatures for flow processes
vary in use, the measured “actual” volume flow rates can be
adjusted to a standard temperature and pressure for comparison.
This adjusted flow rate is called the standard flow rate.
• Standard flow rates are often reported in units such as standard
cubic meters per minute (SCMM) or standard cubic feet per minute
(SCFM).
• The mass flow rate remains the same regardless of conditions, so
using subscript s for the standard condition and a for the actual
conditions, we have
m! s = m! a
r
Qs = Qa a
rs
• For common gases (assuming ideal gas behavior), we may set the
standard to 760 mmHg absolute and 20 °C, then we have
p T
Qs = Qa a a
ps Ts P, T: absolute values
 Example 2

Gauge pressure

Gauge pressure
Solution:
pa Ta
Qs = Qa
ps Ts
Temperature Measurement (Ch. 8)
• Temperature is based on the zeroth law of
thermodynamics – two systems that are at
thermal equilibrium (no heat transfer between
systems) are at the same temperature
• Direct comparison of an unknown temperature to
a reference temperature is relatively difficult.
Instead, a scale is adopted.
• Modern engineering definition of the
temperature scale is provided by a standard
called the International Temperature Scale of
1990 (ITS-90)
 Temperature scale
• Temperature scale provides:
– Definition of the size of a degree
– Reference points for establishing known temperatures.
– A means of interpolating between known temperature points

• The absolute temperature scale is

– the Kelvin scale, for SI units

• Standard interpolating equations are also provided by ITS-

90. These are based on thermodynamic definitions of
absolute zero. For most engineering applications,
interpolation is based on the variation in resistance with
changing temperature for a platinum wire
Fixed (known) Temperature Points
• The calibration of a temperature
measurement device entails not only the
establishment of fixed temperature points,
but also the indication of any temperature
between fixed points.
Phase Diagram
 Physical Principles in Temperature
Measurements
• Temperature is usually measured by observing the change
in a temperature-dependent physical property, such as
Nonintrusive,
T check during
pandemic
 Use of Thermal Expansion
• Liquid-in-glass thermometer
• Example: a mercury thermometer (the most
common one)
ØSet ice-water mixture (at 1 atm) at 0°C (0.01°C for
triple point)
ØChoose a scale for the measurement of
temperatures between the freezing point of water and
the boiling point as 100 units (degrees).
ØTherefore, boiling point of water (at 1 atm) is 100°C.

Celsius scale: the scale of temperature in which water freezes at 0°

and boils at 100° under standard conditions.
 Interpolation for a liquid in glass
thermometer
• How can we
interpolate between
the known 100 Fixed point:
temperature points boiling point (1 atm)
(or marks) of 0°C
and 100 °C? L
50
• Dividing the distance Interpolated point

traveled by Mercury L
in a capillary tube 2
into 100 equal units 0 Fixed point:
(the simplest freezing point (1 atm)

scenario)
 Calibration at freezing point
• The procedure for calibrating a thermometer at a
freezing point is:
1) completely freeze the sample (an appropriate mass of
material) in a closed container
2) experimentally determine the energy required to melt
the sample
3) re-freeze the sample
4) add energy and record the thermometer output at 10, 20
40, 60, 70 and 80% melted. These readings should agree
to 0.1 mK .
• A sample which is 99.9999% pure will produce
measured temperatures at the 1 atm phase change
temperature within 0.1 mK.
Immersion during calibration

Note: For accurate

measurements, the
thermometer should be
immersed in the same manner
as during calibration. Otherwise
stem correction needs to be
applied
reading
 Note
• A particular thermometer will exhibit some
degree of nonlinearity. This may be caused by
nonlinear temperature-dimension characteristics
of liquid or glass or by the non-uniformity of the
bore of the column.
• For a more accurate scale, additional points –
sometimes as many as five – are used. Calibration
points for this purpose are obtained through use
of known phase-equilibrium temperatures.
 Ideal Properties
• Several desirable properties for the liquid in a glass thermometer are
1. The temperature-dimension relationship should be linear, permitting a linear
instrument scale.
2. The liquid should have as large a coefficient of expansion as possible. For this
reason, alcohol is better than mercury. Its larger expansion makes possible
large capillary bores and hence provides easier reading.
3. The liquid should accommodate a reasonable temperature range without
change of phase. Mercury is limited at the low-temperature end by its
freezing point, -37.97 °F (or -38.87 °C), and spirits are limited at the high-
temperature end by their boiling points.
4. The liquid should be clearly visible when drawn into a fine thread. Mercury is
obviously acceptable in this regard, where alcohol is usable only if dye is
added.
5. Preferably, the liquid should not adhere to the capillary walls. When rapid
temperature drops occur, any film remaining on the wall of the tube will cause
a reading that is too low. In this respect, mercury is better than alcohol.
• Within its temperature range, mercury is undoubtedly the best liquid for
liquid-in-glass thermometers and is generally used in the higher-grade
instruments. Alcohol is usually satisfactory. Other liquids are also used,
primarily for the purpose of extending the useful ranges of lower
temperatures.