Which is better, a balanced flow meter or an orifice plate flow meter? What’s the good in it?

The orifice plate is a classic throttling element that has been well developed, but its drawback is the high requirements it places on the straight pipe sections. The theory behind flow balance meters does not require straight pipe sections, yet there is a lack of time-based evidence regarding their practical effectiveness

The balanced flow meter has been on the market for too short a time and lacks sufficient performance data.

Hello, we no longer use this nowadays; an automatic recirculation valve has replaced it all. I hope you’ll leave me an email address so that I can send you the relevant information

Orifice plate flowmeters are classic and well-established, and are widely used. However, their disadvantages include throttling effects, a limited range ratio, numerous leakage points, and high maintenance requirements； And balance flowmeters are not yet widely used, so it’s hard to say for sure.

Orifice plate flowmeters have a long history, with comprehensive experimental data that has been standardized, including the international standard ISO5167 and the Chinese standard GB2624. The performance of orifice plate flowmeters is well understood; they are still suitable for use in process control applications where high precision is not required, and they are inexpensive. The balanced flow meter has been available in the Chinese market for 13 years and is widely used there. It represents an upgraded version of the orifice plate; it requires a shorter straight pipe section compared to orifice plates, and its accuracy can reach 0.5 per thousand. It can be used for trade transactions ； It has a wide measurement range, allowing for the measurement of bidirectional flow ； It has low pressure loss..... The performance of the A+Qmc balanced flow meter is far superior to that of orifice plate flow meters. Developed using American technology, it is manufactured in Shanghai, China, and is widely used across the country, having earned recognition from the market.

From the perspective of trade metering, orifice plates serve as standard throttling elements, and their calibration can be carried out using a dry calibration method (involving the verification of geometric dimensions along with that of the secondary instruments). In contrast, balanced orifice plates are not standard throttling elements; although they can also be used for trade metering, they must be calibrated as a whole, just like other flowmeters, and cannot be calibrated using the dry method. Flowmeters equipped with balanced orifice plates of large diameter are subject to the limitations imposed by the flow measurement range of standard devices.