Air/Gas Flow Meter Reduces Energy Consumption

Feb. 28, 2013
Flow meter handles demanding process industry and manufacturing assembly plant environments.

Fluid Components International (FCI) has released the ST75 flow meter for point-of-use gas compressor measurement. The flow meter has been designed to reduce the consumption of energy fuel gases, specialty gases and pneumatic air.

The flow meters are suitable for large process industry facilities and assembly plants with multiple gas compressors. The flow meters allow operators to compare compressor usage and adjust them for optimum efficiencies. In addition, the use of mass flow meters at the point of compressed gas output helps ensure peak performance at a given flow rate. 

Comparing the performance of multiple gas compressors also is useful in predictive-maintenance applications where higher flow rates may indicate leaking valves or seals in one unit versus other units operating under similar conditions. The ST75 flow meter has been designed for line sizes from 0.25 inches to 2.0 inches (6 to 51 mm), which is suitable for compressor gas line measurement and provides three outputs, including mass flow rate, totalized flow and media temperature. 

To ensure reliable performance under variable process and plant temperature conditions, the ST75 flow meter’s design includes media temperature compensation. It offers accuracy to ±1% of reading and ±0.5% repeatability. Its flow element has a no-moving parts design that employs platinum RTD sensors embedded in equal mass thermowells with microprocessor electronics that can be calibrated to laboratory standards for CO2 as well as many other gases.