Abstract

This paper describes the results of an investigation into the performance of Coriolis, Electromagnetic, and clamp-on single-beam Ultrasonic flowmeters operating with non-Newtonian liquids. The flowmeters have been tested on Newtonian liquids (water and a glycerine/water solution) and non-Newtonian liquids (various polymer solutions and a synthetic clay) with flow rates that span the laminar and turbulent regions. It has been shown that the Coriolis flowmeter operates within the manufacturer's specification with non-Newtonian liquids. The Electromagnetic flowmeter showed a slight deviation during transition, typically 1. The Ultrasonic flowmeter showed very significant deviations during transition, typically 15. It has been clearly demonstrated that flowmeters which are sensitive to flow velocity profile are particularly unsuitable for use with non-Newtonian liquids. Not only do non-Newtonian liquids have different flow velocity profiles to Newtonian liquids, they also have different criteria for laminar/turbulent transition.