Abstract
Smart Sensing Solutions to Enhance Flowmeter Performance
Smart sensing technology's ability to broaden flowmeter applications by
providing greater process efficiency and accurate readings has led to increased
demand for intelligent flowmeters. Apart from being able to perform many
different types of operations simultaneously, it also has the potential to
reduce costs of raw materials and ultimately, flowmeters themselves. These small
and reliable devices extend operating ranges to handle more highly viscous
fluids or other conditions such as low flow rates. Smart sensors are also
expected to be the torchbearer to emerging solutions such as
microelectromechanical systems, which, in turn, are likely to usher in a new
class of inline, low-priced flowmeters.
This Frost & Sullivan research examines the North American Flowmeter
Markets. It offers revenue forecasts by market segment, covers key drivers and
restraints, as well as presents the major market challenges.
Huge Demand for Transit-time and Coriolis Flowmeters Maintains High Growth
Rates of the Overall Market
The high accuracy of transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters and Coriolis mass
flowmeter technologies has helped sustain the healthy growth rates of the total
flowmeter market. "These flowmeters neither have moving parts nor require
flow conditioning. Apart from excellent precision over long periods, their
overall life cycle costs are relatively low," observes the analyst.
Transit-time flowmeters, traditionally liquid measuring meters, have now
extended their use to gas applications due to advances in transducer and signal
processing technology. Coriolis flowmeters can measure a combination of liquid,
gas, and steam applications, although they are predominantly gas meters.
Besides providing exact mass measurements, Coriolis meters can also assess
volume, temperature, and density of liquid and gas flows. Their total cost of
ownership is low enough to keep end users interested. Microprocessors have
enabled both mass and ultrasonic flowmeters to cut costs and increase speed of
calculations. As conventional Doppler flowsensors phased out, transit-time
flowmeters took over the ultrasonic sector with their non-intrusive and portable
meters. Both ultrasonic and mass flowmeters provide advantages of low pressure
drop, ease of installation, and cleanability, which add impetus to the brisk
market growth.
Multivariable Capabilities of Flowmeters Stimulate Greater Market Growth
Multivariable flowmeters present several benefits to different applications and
help realize significant cost savings, positively impacting unit growth. They
have the ability to combine a temperature sensor and a pressure transducer
on-board with a vortex, magmeter, ultrasonic, and mass flowmeter along with
other additional components. The new technology can aid flowmeters determine
volumetric and mass flows, temperature, pressure, as well as fluid density.
The current low demand is no indicator of the potential this new technology
holds, especially in process control industries such as chemical and
petrochemical, oil and gas, as well as water and wastewater. This latent demand
is partly due to the products' cost-effective packaging. "These innovative
multivariable flowmeters have built-in flow computers that perform the mass flow
calculation; therefore, end users do not need to install a separate
computational capability," explains the analyst.
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