Flow Dynamics Inc., a provider of primary standard, NIST-traceable flowmeter calibration, has expanded its Scottsdale, Ariz. calibration facility, adding another positive-displacement liquid primary standard calibrator, PDCL 400 GPM, with production features intended to increase calibration capacity throughput, as well as a kinematic viscosity measurement system.
According to Flow Dynamics” Vice President of Marketing, Ron Madison, the new PDCL 400 is a production calibrator identical in design to units sold directly to customers. He says the machines are designed to provide 50-plus years of service with minimal maintenance and downtime. The systems employ an emersion heater and cold water temperature exchanger to control fluid viscosity while minimizing fluid blending.
According to Madison, Kinematic viscosity measurement is also a critical piece of an effective calibration process, particularly in the area of developing Universal Viscosity Curves (UVCs) for turbine flowmeters. Unlike traditional capillary viscometers that use time methods and temperature baths requiring hours of sampling, Flow Dynamics system employs the latest technology for measuring kinematic viscosity per ASTM D7042 equivalent to ISO 3104 and ASTM D445. Temperature is measured based upon the Peltier thermostat principle, enabling a repeatability of 0.1 percent of reading at a rate of 30 samples per hour. This compares with capillary systems of 1 percent of reading and torque methods of 1 percent full scale, according to Flow Dynamics.
