Non-invasive flow measurements in hygienic applications

Katronics’ non-invasive clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters have been supplied to a major manufacturer of biomedical products. For this company, cleanliness in the manufacturing process is of the utmost importance; opening up process pipework would be problematic, if not impossible. The flowmeters installed on site played a key role in shortening project lead times and reducing costs.

There are many processes where clean operation is essential, for example in the food industry, fine chemicals and the life sciences. Cleaning and changeovers can be very time-consuming, as can the paperwork and approval procedures required to install new equipment. Katronic’s sales partner and measurement specialist, WE Instrumentation Ltd, found that one of its key customers was, in fact, having difficulty obtaining authorisation to install new flowmeters. It usually takes up to six months for a permit to install measuring instruments to be granted and for work to be carried out on the on-site pipework. It is not uncommon for the cost of purchasing the equipment to be dwarfed by the cost of the approval procedures, which usually made it difficult for on-site technicians to propose and implement process improvements in a timely manner.

The site had previously tested clamp-on equipment but found that it was not easy to set up and sometimes delivered poor results, meaning there was little confidence in this technology. However, the advantages of this non-contact technology were also recognised – no need to penetrate the pipework, and no time-consuming investigation or approval from head office. On site, there was a problem with numerous service water pipes running through the plant premises. None of these were fitted with an in-line flow meter, making it impossible to monitor flow consumption, identify any data trends or even gain an accurate picture of the plant’s actual performance.

Martin Adams from WE Instrumentation Ltd introduced Katronic’s clamp-on flowmeters to the on-site engineers. Matt Bird from Katronic visited the test measurement point and demonstrated the equipment by quickly achieving good measurement results using a KATflow 200 portable flowmeter. One of the main advantages of Katronic measurement systems is that the ultrasonic data acquisition is identical across all flowmeters in the KATflow range, meaning that a measurement taken with a portable flowmeter always replicates the performance of a permanently installed flowmeter. Installation is very straightforward thanks to Katronic’s unique Acoustic Sensor Positioning Assistant, which guarantees precise positioning of the sensors. Following the successful demonstration, an initial order for fixed ultrasonic flowmeters was placed, with further orders to follow – after the first batch proved to be just as successful as the unit used in the demonstration.

Martin Adams of WE Instrumentation Ltd commented: “We regard this as a successful outcome for both Katronic and WE Instrumentation Ltd, and it essentially proves that clamp-on flow measurement is the only technology that can be retrofitted and offers a solution where company policies make it virtually impossible to open up pipework, due to the potential introduction of contaminants and the risk of disrupting production processes.”