Fundamental Principles of Gas Turbine Meters

The majority of all gas measurement used in the world today is performed by two basic types of meters, positive displacement and inferential. Positive displacement meters, consisting mainly of diaphragm and rotary style devices, generally account for lower volume measurement. Orifice, ultrasonic and turbine meters are the three main inferential class meters used for large volume measurement today. Turbines are typically considered to be a repeatable device used for accurate measurement over large and varying pressures and flow rates. They are found in a wide array of elevated pressure applications ranging from atmospheric conditions to 1440 psig. Turbine meters have also become established as master or reference meters used in secondary calibration systems such as transfer provers. A significant number of both mechanical and electrical outputs and configurations have become available over the past 50 years of production.