Flow · Measurement
Turbine & Vortex Meters
Velocity meters. A turbine meter counts the turns of a rotor; a vortex meter counts the swirls shed behind a bluff body in the pipe.
What it does
Measure clean liquids and gas lines such as fuel gas, water transfer and injection. The vortex has no moving parts; the turbine is very repeatable on clean fluid.
Basics
| Turbine gas standard | AGA Report No. 7 |
| Vortex | No moving parts, needs a minimum flow velocity |
| Output | Pulses or 4 to 20 mA |
| Weak point | Sand and debris on turbines |
Common failures
- Turbine bearings worn by sand
- Vortex sized too large, low flows are not read
Troubleshooting
- Symptom
- Vortex reads zero at low rate
- Likely cause
- Below the minimum velocity
- What to check
- Size the meter for the real flow range, a line size smaller if needed