Flow measurement has a history of about 3000 years. It has been studied only in the last 200 years and in the last 30 years all the new techniques have evolved. There is now a wide variety of methods available to measure the flow of liquids, solids, gases and vapours.
Flow measurement Basics
There are three different flow quantities to be measured :-
- The actual velocity of the fluid at a given point (measured in metres per second).
- The volume rate of flow (measured in metres cubed per minute).
- The mass flow rate (measured in kilograms per second).
It is also possible to measure total flow which is the total volume or mass which has flowed in a set time period.