Liquid flow meter calibration capacity expanded for calibrations at lower flow rates

Since 1994, Titan Enterprises have used their positive displacement oil or water flow rigs to carry out all their calibration in-house. Every Titan flowmeter, apart from their small beverage meters, is calibrated against traceable standards, tested and then issued with a calibration certificate.

In 2021, the company decided to investment in a new calibration rig which would expand capacity whilst enhancing their calibration capabilities for liquid flow instruments. The new rig has arrived and is being commissioned, calibration software has been installed, and the unit will be ready for action by the end of September.

Operations Manager at Titan Enterprises, Jeremy Thorne, stated: “The new flow rig will increase our calibration capacity at the lower flow rates below 4 L/min. This will enable us to increase our production throughput as well as expanding Titan’s total range of flow calibration.”

Why should flow meters be calibrated?

The accuracy of a flow meter is critical to maintain or raise the financial viability, quality and safety of a product or process. Flow meters are ubiquitous to a wide range of variety of applications, such as beverage, energy and agro/petrochemical, where precise flow measurement is vital; regular calibration ensures these instruments operate within the set limit.

Mr Thorne added: “As well as calibrating our flow meters during production, we also offer a re-calibration service to our customers. The performance and accuracy of flowmeters, even the most rugged ones, will degrade over time. Mechanical meters will wear, and electronic ones can suffer minor degradation in the electronics or mechanical damage from impact or corrosion.”

Titan Enterprises utilise piston provers for flow meter calibration, their primary rigs are rated from 0.002-40 L/min and 0.05-160 L/min. Thanks to Titan’s newly acquired rig, their low-end flow calibration can be lowered to 0.05 ml/min. The calibrators feature a piston located within a smooth bore tube which acts as a moving barrier between the pressurising gas and the displaced test fluid. Titan flow calibrations are traceable to national standards; they include real time temperature compensation to allow for changes in the fluids’ properties. Titan’s piston prover systems are calibrated yearly against certified weigh scales and are pneumatically or hydraulically driven to guarantee a constant flow rate.

Like the main flow rigs, the volumetric throughput for Titan’s new calibration rig can be traced to national standards with a water draw test. This rig, with a repeatability value of ±0.02% and operating at an uncertainty of 0.03% will calibrate flows as low as 0.05 ml/min.