Non-Invasive Flow Measurements in Hygienic Applications

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

There are many processes where clean operation is essential, such as in the food industry, fine chemicals, and the life sciences. Cleaning and changeovers can be time-consuming, as can the paperwork and approval procedures required to install new equipment. Katronic’s distribution partner and flow meter specialist, WE Instrumentation Ltd, discovered that one of its key customers was effectively having trouble obtaining approval to install new flow meters. It typically takes up to six months for a permit to install measuring instruments to be granted and for work to begin on the on-site piping. It is not uncommon for the cost of purchasing the equipment to be dwarfed by the cost of the approval procedures, which often made it difficult for on-site technicians to propose and promptly implement process improvements.

The site had previously tested clamp-on equipment but found that it was not easy to set up and sometimes delivered poor results, leading to a lack of confidence in this technology. However, the advantages of this non-contact technology were also recognized—no need to penetrate the pipes, and no time-consuming investigation or approval from headquarters. On-site, there was an issue with numerous process water lines running through the plant grounds. None of these lines had an installed flow meter, making it impossible to monitor flow consumption, identify data trends, or even assess the actual plant performance.

Martin Adams of WE Instrumentation Ltd introduced Katronic’s clamp-on flow meters to the on-site engineers. Matt Bird of Katronic visited the test measurement site and demonstrated the devices by quickly achieving accurate measurement results using a KATflow 200 portable flow meter. One of the main advantages of Katronic measurement systems is that the ultrasonic data acquisition is identical across all flow meters in the KATflow series, so a measurement taken with a portable meter always replicates the performance of a permanently installed flow meter. Installation is very simple thanks to Katronic’s unique Acoustic Sensor Positioning Assistant, which ensures precise sensor placement. Following the successful demonstration, an initial order for stationary ultrasonic flow meters was placed, and further orders followed—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 view 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 nearly impossible to open pipes, due to the potential introduction of contaminants and the risk of interrupting production processes.”