Practical Tests of Pulsating Gas Flow Meter

Abstract

The pulsating gas flow meter proposed by one of the authors in a previous paper was developed into a commercial instrument and was practically tested under various experimental conditions. It is provided with a small orifice, through which clean dry air is made to flow by automatically applying to the orifice the same upstream and downstream pressures as those produced in a main orifice by a pulsating gas flow to be measured. Thus simulated air flow is read, after its pulsation is eliminated, by means of a capillary tube or an orifice with differential, pressure recorder. Practical tests were performed by comparing the two values, one read by this flow meter and another obtained by an ordinary orifice flow meter, with those determined by a gas holder method. Pulsation waveform oscillograms were taken at the same time. As a result, the readings of this flow meter were found to be in close coincidence with those determined by the gas holder method under moderate pulsating conditions, while errors of several percents of an ordinary flow meter were observed. By these tests, the instrument was proved to be quite useful for practical purposes. Here are given two actual cases in ammonia synthesis plants, where an instrument installed to measure the gas flow carrying severe pulsation caused by a compressor suction has been practically used for these one or two years without trouble.