Non-Contact Flow Meters are flow meters that measure flow without contacting the fluid medium. No piping disruption is required. Easy to install and remove. This is a good choice for many pipelines with stringent sanitary requirements or for temporary measurements only.
Non-Contact Flow Meters are suitable for a wide range of pipe requirements: stainless steel, carbon steel, copper, plastic (PVC, PVDF, PPR, PPH, HDPE, etc.). They can also meet the measurement of different clean fluids: various acids, chemical solvents, alcohols, beverage water, Coca-Cola, etc.
Types of Non-Contact Flow Meters
Currently, the main types of Non-Contact Flow Meters on the market are ultrasonic flow meters and radar flow meters.
Non-Contact Ultrasonic Flow Meters account for 90% of Non-Contact measurement applications. They are mainly used for flow measurement of various pipeline fluids.
Non-contact radar flow meters are suitable for non-contact flow measurement in rivers, channels, pipelines and so on. External clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter adopts ultrasonic technology, which is easy and quick to install. It is suitable for various materials and different diameters of pipelines. Provides incredible measurement results even when compared to electromagnetic flow products.
Non-contact ultrasonic flowmeter only needs to install a very small ultrasonic sensor outside the pipe, which will not damage the pipe. It can provide completely reliable measurement results, while saving a lot of installation costs.
Transducer and converter connected through a dedicated signal transmission cable. In the case of fixed measurements, a junction box should be fitted at an appropriate place. Clamp-on transducers usually also require the installation of clamps and couplers.
Advantages of Non-Contact Flow Meters
(1) not easily affected by the medium: because there is no need for physical contact, non-contact flow meters have less impact on the medium, suitable for containing particles or corrosive media flow measurement.
(2) easy maintenance: do not need contact flow meter as frequent maintenance and cleaning, reducing operating costs and maintenance workload.
(3) easy to install: for large pipelines or special conditions, non-contact flow meter installation is relatively simple.
Non-contact flow meter limitations
(1) Measurement accuracy: relative to the contact flowmeter, some non-contact flow meter at low flow rates or the measurement accuracy of a particular medium may be affected.
(2) higher cost: some high-precision, high-performance non-contact flow meter is usually expensive.
(3) application restrictions: some special media or conditions may not be suitable for the use of non-contact flow meter for measurement.
Why Non-Contact Flow Meters are the first choice in clean environments?
The float of a rotameter can contaminate the measured medium; the fluid-lubricated sliding shaft of a turbine flow sensor can lead to mechanical wear; a thermal flow meter directly affects the temperature of the measured liquid when heated; a vortex flow sensor is unable to measure the flow rate of low-flow fluids; an electromagnetic flow meter relies on an electrically conductive medium to operate, and ultrapure water is extremely weakly conductive and does not provide a stable measurement result. The Coriolis mass flow meter has a high measurement accuracy and is not affected by the density and viscosity of the medium, but it is expensive.
In contrast, the non-contact ultrasonic flow sensor avoids direct contact with the fluid through the external clamp-on design, thus effectively reducing the risk of contamination. It uses ultrasonic waves to penetrate the pipe wall to measure the flow rate of the fluid, which ensures the accuracy of the measurement and maintains the purity of the medium. As a result, ultrasonic flow sensors stand out as ideal for these application scenarios that require a high degree of cleanliness and precise control.
