Product category:
Gauges, Indicators and Instruments
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Instrumentation + Automation)
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 26 January 2005
Flow rigs ready for Chinese calibration
ABB has completed two of three calibration rigs for its new instrumentation plant currently under construction in China.
ABB has completed two of three calibration rigs for its new instrumentation plant currently under construction in China Built at ABB's factory in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, the rigs are being exported to China to help meet the rising demand for flowmetering equipment brought by the country's rapid industrial growth
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 17 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The first unit is due to become operational in early 2005 and will be used to calibrate meters sized between 12 and 50mm, with a flow volume of 20 litre/s.
Although it was designed and built to calibrate primarily electromagnetic and vortex meters, it can actually be used to calibrate almost any type of flowmeter.
Built to the same ISO standards as ABB's existing flow calibration rigs, the rig features a "carousel" design and enables up to three flowmeters to be calibrated simultaneously.
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The SM1000 electronic recorder has eliminated the need for the company to sift through paper charts and has opened up new possibilities for interrogating and analysing recorded data.
The calibration process itself is fully automatic, with specially developed software used to run the process and collect the calibration data.
The new rig incorporates both a master meter and a weigh scale as reference devices.
These devices provide a known value against which to compare flowmeter measurement performance.
By calibrating the master meter against the weigh scale, it will also be possible for the rig operators to ensure the continued accuracy of the rig.
The second of the flow calibration rigs was also shipped at the end of 2004.
This will be able to calibrate flowmeters sized between 65 and 150mm and will handle flow rates up to 200 litre/s.
The third and final rig, for flowmeter sizes of 200 to 400mm will be largely assembled in China, although some key components are being manufactured in the UK.
"The construction of the flow rigs marks the continuing development of our flowmeter calibration service around the world", says Bryan Franklin, ABB.
"With the construction of these and other new rigs, we hope to be able to set a single standard for flow calibration at our sites worldwide".
ABB operates some of the world's most accurate flow calibration facilities.
A recent surveillance visit by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) of ABB's flow calibration facilities at its Stonehouse factory in Gloucestershire, for example, resulted in ABB being certified as the only company in the UK with a calibration rig accurate to within an expanded uncertainty of +/-0.027%.
"ABB spends considerable time and money constantly improving the accuracy of its flow equipment in order to keep up with customer demands", says Franklin.
"Even though our flow calibration rigs set a global standard for accuracy, we continue to strive for even better performance".
Further information on the factors involved in flowmeter calibration and the issues to beware of when it comes to the flowmeter accuracies being stated by some manufacturers can be found in an article entitled "Let the flowmeter buyer beware" on the ABB website.
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