Positive Displacement Flow Meters

Positive Displacement flow meters, or PD flow meters, provide an excellent solution for applications involving viscous liquids. This flow measurement technology provides excellent accuracy, delivers readings that are unaffected by high viscosities and changing viscosities, and does not have any requirement for upstream / downstream straight pipe runs. This combination of features makes the PD flowmeter an ideal for situations with tight space constraints and high accuracy requirements. PD meters also provide excellent range-abilty / turndown ratio, making them an excellent choice for low flow measurement applications.

What are Positive Displacement flow meters and how are they used?

Positive displacement flowmeters, or PD meters, feature two precisely machined intermeshing gears which rotate within a measuring chamber to determine the volumetric liquid flow rate by counting the number of the gears’ rotations. Positive displacement flow meters function in much the same manner as a positive displacement pump with the exception being that in the Positive Displacement pump the gears drive the fluid media, whereas in the PD flowmeter the fluid media drives the gears. The positive displacement meter technique is one of the oldest flow measurement technologies in existence and has been in use for over one hundred years. During that time, many different varieties of the PD meter have been developed including versions that feature round gears, oval gears, lobe gears, helical gears and nutating disc rotating elements. These meters are all characterized by high accuracy (up to ±0.1% of reading), good repeatability (up to 0.05% of reading), wide turndown ratios of up to 100:1, and the ability to maintain this level of performance for both high viscosity and changing-viscosity fluid media.

Flow Meters Pd 2022

Positive Displacement Flow Meters Key Applications

Positive displacement flow meters flow meters from SmartMeasurement have been successfully installed in a wide variety of industries and applications including:

Why choose a PD flow meter?

Algpd Flow Meter

One common reason for using the positive displacement flow meter is that it can function without power. By outfitting the meter with a mechanical register, totalized flows may be accurately monitored in virtually any engineering unit desired by the end-user without the need to run power to the meter. This is ideal for applications where the meter must be installed in a remote location where power is not available. Positive displacement flow meters are available in sizes from ⅛” to 12 inches or more. Operation turndowns can be as high as 100:1, although ranges of 15:1 or lower are much more common. Slippage between the flowmeter components is reduced and metering accuracy is therefore increased as the viscosity of the process fluid flow increases.  Therefore, positive displacement flow meters are excellent for highly viscous fluids such as oils and fats.

Most flowmeters are sensitive to turbulence, which means that a certain amount of straight, rigid pipe must be installed both upstream and downstream of the meter in order to reduce turbulence and accurately measure flow (Download PDF). Positive Displacement meters do not have this requirement. If necessary, an elbow or reducer bushing may be placed directly at the meter inlet with no impact on the meter’s accuracy.

Special cases for application of PD flow meters

Dp Flow Meter

Positive displacement flow meters work without power. By outfitting the meter with a mechanical register, totalized flows may be accurately monitored in virtually any engineering unit desired by the end-user without the need to run power to the meter. This is ideal for applications where the meter must be installed in a remote location where power is not available. Positive displacement flow meters are available in sizes from ⅛” up to 12 inches or more. Operatiing turndowns can be as high as 100:1, although ranges of 15:1 or lower are much more common. Slippage between the flowmeter components is reduced and metering accuracy is therefore increased as the viscosity of the process fluid increases.  Therefore, Positive displacement flow meters are excellent for highly viscous fluids such as oils and fats. 

Positive displacement flow meters operate with small clearances between their precision-machined parts; wear rapidly destroys their accuracy. For this reason, positive displacement flow meters are generally not recommended for measuring slurries or abrasive fluids. However, for service involving clean fluid flows, their precision and wide rangeability make them ideal for custody transfer and batching applications. In industrial and petrochemical settings, flow meters are commonly used for batching and mixing control

Albrpd Flow Meter

ALBRPD

Alovpd Flow Meter

ALOVPD

Algpd Flow Meter

ALGPD

Almgpd Flow Meter

ALMGPD

Positive Displacement Flow meters being one of the oldest, if not the oldest flow meter technique, come in many different styles.  The most popular ones are described on our Positive Displacement Measuring Principle page.

SmartMeasurement offers a range of positive displacement meters including the most popular styles of PD flowmeters in service today which include oval/lobe gear type, bi-rotor or helix gear types, and oval gear pd meters.

Although slippage through the positive displacement flow meters decreases (that is, accuracy increases) as fluid flow viscosity increases, pressure drop through the meter also rises. Consequently, the maximum (and minimum) flow capacity of the flowmeter is decreased as viscosity increases. The higher the viscosity, the less slippage and the lower the measurable flow rate. As the viscosity decreases, the low-flow performance of the meter deteriorates. The maximum allowable pressure drop across the meter constrains the maximum operating flow in high-viscosity services.

Theories of Flow Meter Operation

Pd-Theory-Of-Flow-Meter-Operation

Installation Methods

Primary Application

Special Features

Main Markets

Installation Methods

Primary Application

Special Features

Main Markets

Installation Methods

Primary Application

Special Features

Main Markets

Installation Methods

Primary Application

Special Features

Main Markets