An Innovative and Unique Solution for Measuring Dry Gas Flow in Wet Gas Environments

The Problem - Reading Dry Gas Flow in a Wet Gas Environment

Irrespective of any single manufacturer's claim, daily and seasonal temperature changes in wet gas environments cause erratic high flow readings in standard thermal flow meters. With standard thermal flow meters, as the flow flow temperature decreases, more water condenses out of the gas causing the standard thermal flow meter to misread the water contacting the sensor as dense air. Within an active condensing gas flow, the low overheat (less than 50°C) of standard flow meter products make them incapable of accurately reading the dry gas flow within a wet gas environment.

Kurz Instruments Develops a Practical Implementation of the Leidenfrost Effect to Overcome the Problem

The Leidenfrost Effect, named after 18th Century scientist Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, is a phenomena that happens when liquid contacts a surface significantly hotter than the liquid’s boiling point.  A vapor layer is created between the liquid and the surface that keeps the liquid suspended, delaying the rate of evaporation. 

Kurz Instrument developed an innovative solution. By maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio and a high sensor overheat, mist particles vaporize on impact with the heated sensor. Thus, by employing the Leidenfrost Effect, the leading edge of larger droplets vaporize to steam, which diverts the remaining water around and away from the heated sensor. The unique design of the WGF allows it to accurately monitor the dry gas component in a wet gas flow regardless of changing condensation levels.

The Kurz WGF flow meter for condensing gas environments includes features that allow them to outperform all other currently available thermal mass flow meters. Kurz was the first thermal mass flow meter manufacturer offering accurate and reliable condensing gas flow measurements. Their unique design centers around a high 300°C sensor overheat capability. The design also provides sensor overheat protection at zero flow through the incorporation of a unique temperature control and power limiting design. As a result, the Kurz WGF is not affected by water droplets in the flow stream. This unique technology establishes Kurz flow meters with WGF technology as the only thermal flow devices suitable for biogas and condensing gas environments found in digesters, landfills, animal feeding operations, mining, and wet stacks.

To learn more about The Leidenfrost Effect and how it applies to Kurz flow meters, visit this page.

To learn more abount Kurz Instrument products, call PSI Controls (Piping Specialties, Inc.) at 800-223-1468, or visit their web site here - https://psi-team.com.