Saturated steam flow meter
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Dear experts: In our newly planned project, the steam used in the turbine is saturated steam that has been pressurized and cooled, and it is delivered to our workshop through DN500 pipes. At the entrance of the distillation workshop, a DN300 pipe branches off to supply the workshop. As shown in the diagram, the process requirements are to measure the temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the steam. What I would like to ask is regarding the selection of a steam flow meter for this application. The operating conditions involve saturated steam, with a steam pressure of 0.8 MPa gauge pressure (the turbine is operating under backpressure). The flow meters under consideration are orifice plates and vortex flow meters; I’m not sure which one is better – what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Please share your advice; those with experience in similar situations are especially welcome!
I believe that all process data should be submitted to the flow meter manufacturer for calculation and selection, with requests for temperature and pressure compensation. They will provide you with a detailed configuration plan, which you can then submit to your supervisor for decision-making.
Orifice plate flowmeters are preferable, as they are not easily affected by the condensate carried in saturated steam; if vortex flowmeters are used, a design for removing condensate must be implemented before the flowmeter
Using throttling devices (orifice plates, nozzles, balance flow meters, etc.) will provide greater stability
Thank you for your reply. I still need to choose models for several other field instruments, and could you also give me some advice on those in other posts? :lol
Thank you for your reply. I still need to choose models for several other field instruments, and could you also give me some advice on those in other posts?
If installation specifications are followed, orifice plates will perform better, as vortex flow meters are susceptible to pipeline vibrations and condensate present in the fluid
Nozzle orifice plates result in high pressure loss; vortex flow meters require larger diameters, are expensive, and need a necking section
Our final choice for the project: For these steam flow meters of ours, we ultimately decided to purchase orifice plates. Ultimately, based on the calculation instructions provided by the orifice plate manufacturer, we carried out simplified calculations and provided the final formula to the DCS team ； The software engineer helped us create a formula for calculating traffic in the program, and it displays the traffic on the screen.