Ultrasonic Flowmeter for Testing Application at British Nuclear Group

When engineers at British Nuclear Group were faced with a difficult flow measurement application, they chose the clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters and expertise available from Katronic Technologies to provide them with the solution

The decision made by British Nuclear Group to purchase a new flowmeter was a fairly straightforward one, as Chris Fairclough Senior Technical Adviser explains, "We have a series of systems on our test rig that require calibration. We needed to be sure what flow we were running at and certain areas do not contain a flow meter". The difficulty that the engineering team faced was finding a device that would cope with the varying measurement conditions that they have on the rigs.

From the nature of the application it was decided that the best tool to use would be a portable ultrasonic flowmeter. This type of device avoided the need to make any pipe modifications and allowed them to move the equipment to different locations the rig without difficulty.

The clamp on flowmeter was of particular interest to the engineers given the nature of the liquids that are flowing through the system - "measuring the nitric acid flow through an air sparged pipe and the recycled flow through the rig". As well as the advantages of portability and being able to avoid pipe modifications the non-invasive nature of the ultrasonic flowmeter means that there is no risk to anyone, or part of the of the plant being, exposed to the hazardous chemicals through use of the instrument.

When looking for a potential supplier, it was not the actual flowmeter that led Chris to choose Katronic but the customer service that he and his colleagues received. "Originally Katronic was not the first company that we tried but the service was quick, friendly and efficient". Although at first attracted by the service that they received it was not long before the technical benefits of selecting Katronic became apparent. The key features of the KATflow range of ultrasonic flowmeters are their high accuracy, reliability, and user-friendliness. The intuitive instrument menu, Setup Wizard, and Audible Sensor Possitioning Assistant enable the user to setup the flowmeter and install the sensors correctly within a matter of minutes.

By using a portable flowmeter rather than a more conventional permanently installed inline device, the engineers at British Nuclear were also able to make considerable savings on the running of the system. "The flowmeter allows us to validate commissioning data in a wide variety of locations, where measurements are only required for a short period of time; and to calibrate the system without the need for a permanent meter. These are necessary sometimes but a portable meter saves time and money". Katronic do supply flowmeters for permanent installation, however for this project a battery and mains-driven portable device was seen as the best solution.

Once in operation the Katronic ultrasonic flowmeter proved highly successful on a variety of different applications. As Mr. Fairclough points out "...it is performing very well with accurate results once correctly configured". When asked about what he liked most about the flowmeters he added that the flowmeter is "easy to use, durable and accurate". It is the robustness of both the measurement accuracy and of the flowmeter itself that are the key features of all Katronic flowmeters.

This ongoing success and the results achieved at British Nuclear Group are not simply attributed to the technology that Katronic have on offer; it is the vital combination of good product and the best possible technical support that makes the difference. It is this that can often differentiate between a properly functioning instrument and a disappointed customer. This situation was summed up nicely by Mr. Fairclough who seemed very happy with the whole Katronic package and described the service he got as " 9/10, friendly staff, prompt service and eager to help with good technical advice". It is through assisting their customers that Katronic hope to maintain their reputation as one of the most reliable suppliers of flowmeters in the business.