Multi-parameters reading from your liquid
How direct and indirectly measured parameters tell what’s inside your tubes
Hygienic manufacturing focuses on safety and reliability.
Cleanliness is one of the external aspects to affect product quality.
Product-sampling is often performed to verift product-quality.
To reduce waste, the challenge is to quickly and accurately identify different fluids in the process pipework.
Reading multiple properties of the liquid can now be achieved while measuring the flowrate.
Cleaning in Place to prevent contamination
Flowmeters can come in all shapes and sizes and finding the most appropriate design for a particular application can be difficult.
However, for hygienic applications, models with open bore and no dead space inside will considerably shorten the start-up if your line.
The ease of cleaning and ability to withstand Clean in Place (CIP) procedures,saves time and adds value.
Cleaning processes have a significant impact on many aspects of the design when it comes to selecting the most suitable components.
CIP uses both heat and chemicals to remove scale, bacteria, and debris from process vessels and pipework, including your flowmeter.
Modern production facilities will be used to produce a range of products and manufacturers are faced with the challenge of ensuring that one product is not contaminated with another. In many cases this process is completed using a timer, so, when the first production run has finished, the lines and vessels are flushed and cleaned, with the output going to the drain.
The duration of the cleaning flush cycle (in the above example from 9..19) is a fixed period which guarantees that none of the previous product remains in the system.
A next batch of product then starts to flow, and this also continues to drain for a further period, until it is certain that none of the water or cleaning solutions are in the line.
Reduce waste, improve productivity
To be sure there is no contamination, safety factors are built-in to these processes, which inevitably means that cleaning fluid – and valuable product- is sent to the drain.
By using a method of accurately identifying the fluids and their flow volume in the pipework, considerable cost savings as well as improving productivity for manufacturers can be achieved.
How can a flowmeter recognize liquids?
An ultrasonic flowmeter uses acoustic waves to obtain a direct measurement of flow.
Flowmax measures the time that an acoustic signal needs to travel through the liquid.
The instrument also measures temperature.
As a result of the measuring process we know two more parameters: the actual speed of sound through the liquid and the acoustic transmission factor.
These directly and indirectly acquired parameters can be analyzed to provide a real-time indication of the contents of the pipework.
When these parameters are logged, an operator can verify and proove at all times which liquids have been running through the meter, at which temperatures and for how long.
Sanitairy design
For hygienic applications, the open bore housing without gaps or dead space is ideal.
The smooth wall pipe design means there is no direct contact of any sensor components with the fluid.
The body DN-size can be manufactured to the same diameter as the rest of the pipeline.
In terms of hygiene, cleaning and flow-conditions, there is nearly no difference to any other piece of straight pipe.
Reducing costs
Process-operators have found that they not only save product that would have otherwise been wasted, but the additional information saves a considerable amount of time. By reducing the total change-over-time, the productivity of the process greatly improves.
Each reduction in the volume of fluids being sent to the drain also delivers savings in water treatment costs.
It’s not magic
Let’s remember that the flowmeter got installed to measure flow.
All other information that it retrieves is a nice extra.
The direct readings are valuable, accurate and true (flow, temperature, actual speed of sound, bubbles yes/no).
Conclusions drawn towards density and viscosity may be close to accurate, but if absolute certainty on these properties is required, Flowmeister advises to use a Coriolis-meter.
(When cost and sensitivity matter, the Flowmax ultrasonic flowmeter portfolio is worth investigating.)
Find out more or request a test
Flowmeister can test your liquids and show how distinct the separate liquids behave inside the Flowmax device.
That remains the best way to get understanding of the reliability of liquid-recognition.
Feel free to leave your comment, request or questions in the form below.
This blog was inspired on Flowmax customer stories, a Bürkert-post and MIB GmbH test-results.