A Place for Positive Displacement

PD flowmeters quietly excel in low-flowrate, high-

viscosity, and liquid and gas metering applications
Jesse Yoder

November 08, 2002

Positive displacement (PD) flowmeters are the

workhorses of today's flowmeter world. They perform
many important flow measurements most people take
for granted. For example, they are widely used for
metering both water and gas in residential,
commercial, and industrial applications. Chances are
good the flowmeter that measures how much water
you use at your house is a PD meter.
PD flowmeters separate the fluid to be measured into distinct
compartments of known volume. As the liquid or gas passes
through the flowmeter, the compartments are repeatedly
filled and emptied. Flowrate is calculated from the number of
times these compartments are filled and emptied. PD meters
differ according to the shape and size of the compartments
involved, and according to whether they are designed for
liquid or gas.

Figure 1: Big Displacement

More positive displacement flowmeters were sold worldwide
in 2001 for commercial and industrial applications than
Coriolis, magnetic, ultrasonic, vortex, and multivariable DP
meters put together. Source: Flow Research

Positive displacement flowmeters excel where many other

flowmeters have difficulties: low flowrates and high-viscosity
liquids. In addition, they provide a very cost-effective solution
for utility applications requiring low-cost meters that last for
many years. While PD meters are losing out to Coriolis
meters for some hydrocarbon measurements, and to
magnetic flowmeters for some industrial liquid
measurements, they still occupy a niche where they are the
best solution. And with annual worldwide sales that exceed
$500 million (Figure 1), PD meters will be around for many
years to come.

Applications for PD Meters

The use of PD meters can best be understood by dividing
them into water utility, gas utility, oil, and industrial liquid
applications:

*Water utility applications mainly are for billing purposes.

Water utility companies buy these meters and put them in
industrial plants, commercial buildings, and homes to
measure how much water is used at those facilities.

Just as private homes need flowmeters to measure the

amount of water used, so do hotels, apartment complexes,
and other commercial buildings. These buildings are likely to
use PD, although they may use turbine meters instead for
higher volume flows.
Many smaller commercial buildings use PD flowmeters to
measure water use within the building. Most PD meters for
line sizes of 1 1/2 or 2 in. are for commercial applications.
These meters can handle flow in the 5-100 gpm range,
though some meters can go both lower and higher. The
American Water Works Assn. (AWWA) specifications for PD
water meters are for meters of size two inches and less.

PD meters are used to measure water use at industrial

plants as well as at commercial businesses. This is still a
utility measurement since it is generally the utility company
that buys and installs the meters. Some flowmeter suppliers
do not distinguish their commercial from their industrial
measurement water meters, since they are doing the same
type of measurement whether they are in a commercial or an
industrial building.

*Gas applications include billing meters to measure the

amount of gas used at houses, commercial buildings, and
industrial plants. The meters used for billing purposes in
industrial plants such as chemical, food processing, and
pharmaceutical plants are different from the meters used to
measure gas as part of the manufacturing process.

Many of the PD meters used for gas utility measurements

are diaphragm meters. However, these are being replaced
by rotary meters for some applications, since rotary meters
are smaller and lighter. Rotary meters are also used for non-
utility gas flow measurements in industrial environments.

*Oil, refined fuels, and hydrocarbon products are a very

large PD flowmeter market segment. Some PD meters are
used for loading and unloading trucks, tankers, airplanes,
and ships. Most of this measurement is for the purpose of
custody transfer. This measurement occurs both upstream
and downstream of refineries. Oil trucks that deliver oil to
people's houses use a flowmeter to measure the amount of
oil dispensed. Often this is a PD meter.

Some PD meters rely on the lubricating property of oil or

hydrocarbon liquid when the liquid is in contact with the
measuring chamber. These meters can measure gasoline,
diesel fuel, heavy fuel oil, and many other hydrocarbon-
based liquids.

Unlike turbine meters, PD flowmeters can easily handle

high-viscosity liquids. For this reason, they are often used to
measure petroleum at terminals, in production, and
downstream for delivery. PD meters can measure heavy
crude oil accurately, and they are not affected by variations
in velocity or viscosity of the measured product.

* Process liquid applications include industrial chemicals,

pharmaceutical chemicals, paints and varnishes, printing ink,
dairy products, cosmetics, and many other liquid products. In
many cases, PD meters provide a highly accurate
measurement for a lower price than meters such as
magnetic or Coriolis.

Positive Displacement vs. Turbine

Turbine meters are more complementary than competing
with PD meters. Turbine flowmeters are used when the line
sizes are larger and the flow volume is greater than can be
handled by PD meters. PD meters do better with low
flowrates and low flow volumes, while turbine meters excel
with medium to high flowrates and volumes. Therefore,
turbine meters are often used in the larger line sizes,
especially greater than 4 in.

The relationship between turbine and PD meters somewhat

mirrors the relationship between ultrasonic and Coriolis
meters, which differ based on line sizes. Ultrasonic meters
are most widely used on pipe sizes of 4 in. and larger, while
Coriolis meters are most widely used on pipe sizes smaller
than 4 in. So ultrasonic and Coriolis meters also are more
complementary than competing. However, turbine and
ultrasonic meters are competitors, since they are both used
on larger line sizes.

Change Is Evolutionary
Change in the positive displacement flowmeter market is
more evolutionary than revolutionary. Some PD meter
companies are not even currently investing in new product
research. However, there are some new developments in
PD meters. Some of these developments focus on improved
methods to increase component manufacturing precision.
For example, improved coordinate measuring machines
make it possible to create more perfectly round pistons and
other components. And as is the case with turbine
flowmeters, improved bearing technology is making ball
bearings more reliable and less prone to fail.

One difference between positive displacement flowmeters

and new-technology meters (Coriolis, magnetic, ultrasonic,
vortex, and multivariable differential pressure) is in the
displays. PD meters typically compute flow by counting
pulses. The pulsed output of PD meters is typically not a
flowrate but a pulse value. To compute flowrate, these need
to be related to time. This computation is often done not in
the flowmeter but in a separate totalizing device that may be
panel-mounted. One potential growth path for positive
displacement meters is integrating this computational
capability in the flowmeter instead of having it done in a
separate totalizing device, and some vendors are already
doing this.

One aspect of transmitter technology that has not yet had a

major impact on positive displacement meters is
communication protocols. While some magnetic flowmeter
and pressure transmitter suppliers have made HART a
default capability for their products, only Brooks Instrument
and Bopp & Reuther have so far introduced HART versions
of PD meters. It is likely that more "smart" PD meters will be
produced in the future as new technology meets old.

PD Prospects
Positive displacement flowmeters are a traditional-
technology flowmeter that will be around for many years to
come (Figure 2). Even though they face stiff competition
from new-technology meters in some segments, they still
remain the best solution for certain applications. This market
is so large that, like differential pressure flowmeters, they will
still be around 50 years from now.
Positive displacement meters are very effective at making
low-cost mechanical measurements for utility purposes.
These include residential, commercial, and industrial utility
applications. In these segments, the main competition for PD
meters is from single jet, multi-jet, compound, and Woltman
turbine meters rather than from new-technology meters. The
reason is that widespread industry approvals for new-
technology meters such as magnetic and Coriolis in utility
applications are at least several years away. This market
segment is growing.

Figure 2: Slow Decline

Though sales are not expected to rise, positive displacement
flowmeters will be around for many years to come. (Source:
Flow Research)

Positive displacement meters for gas applications also face

some competition from turbine flowmeters. However, PD
meters are mainly used for the smaller pipe sizes, and most
PD meters for gas applications have sizes somewhere
between 1 1/2 and 10 inches. Turbine meters, by contrast,
perform best with steady, high-volume flows. For this reason,
turbine meters are more likely to be used for pipe sizes
larger than 10 inches. This is also the range where ultrasonic
meters excel. While ultrasonic, turbine, and PD meters
overlap in the 4-10 in. size range, PD meters still have an
advantage in the smaller sizes. Low flowrates are not a
barrier to PD meters. For this reason, PD meters will
continue to be used in the smaller line sizes to measure gas
flow.

Technology improvements are also occurring within the PD

gas flow market. Rotary PD meters are replacing the older-
style diaphragm meters. These newer rotary meters are
smaller and lighter. In some cases, when customers take a
diaphragm PD meter out of service, they replace it with a
rotary PD meter. Rotary meters represent a newer
technology, and they allow end users to upgrade their
measurement capability while staying within the class of PD
meters.

In the area of oil flow measurement, PD meters face a stiff

challenge from new-technology meters. In this category the
main competition for PD meters comes from Coriolis meters.
Because oil is a high-value product, users are more willing to
pay the higher prices of Coriolis meters to measure its flow.
PD meters are widely used to measure the flow of
hydrocarbon products both upstream and downstream of
refineries at custody transfer points.

PD meters also face a challenge from new-technology

flowmeters in measurement for industrial applications. Both
Coriolis and magnetic flowmeters are making inroads here,
with some users seeking the high accuracy of Coriolis
meters, while others are looking for meters that have no
moving parts.

Jesse Yoder, Ph.D., is president of Flow Research,

Wakefield, Mass. He has 16 years experience as an analyst
and writer in process control, specializing in flowmeters and
other field devices. Prior to founding Flow Research, he
served as an analyst for several market research
companies. He recently completed a series of six studies on
new-technology flowmeters, including DP flowmeters. He is
currently working on six studies on traditional-technology
flowmeters. Contact him at 781/245-3200 or
jesse@flowresearch.com. Flow Research recently initiated
the Worldflow Monitoring Service, which publishes monthly
reports on flow-related topics. For more information, visit
www.flowresearch.com.