Non-Intrusive Flow Measurement of Chilled Water

Diamond Light Source is the UK's synchrotron. It works like a giant microscope, harnessing the power of electrons to produce bright light that scientists can use to study anything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines.

Diamond Light Source considers the effective management of its environmental policy - including energy usage - to be an important corporate responsibility. As such, Diamond is committed to the ongoing improvement of its environmental performance and the minimisation of the synchrotron's environmental impact. Since its initial construction, Diamond has both enhanced the efficiency of existing equipment and limited the amount of equipment needed to run without affecting machine operations.

As part of a modernisation of the system, six chilled water pipes were fitted with flowmeters in order to ensure the cooling systems are operated as efficiently as possible. FLEXIM's non-inasive FLUXUS ultrasonic flowmeters proved to be the ideal solution for this measuring task. Since the clamp-on ultrasonic transducers are simply mounted on the outside of the pipeline, plant operation is not affected in any way during retrofitting.

Diamond Light Source's plant engineers previously hired a FLUXUS portable flow meter and performed control measurements with it in order to explore the potential for optimisation.
For the builidings structural engineers, FLEXIM's portable ultrasonic systems are now an indispensable working tool. At Diamond Light Source, the practical experience with the FLUXUS F601 proved so impressive that engineers even decided to fit permanent flow measuring points with FLEXIM's ultrasonic technology. In addition to the simple handling and unconditional reliability of FLEXIM's clamp-on ultrasonic technology, users particularly appreciate its exceptional measuring dynamics. This is why even low flow velocities can be detected reliably and accurately. Stationary FLUXUS ultrasonic systems which are specially designed for water applications are now used on the six chilled water pipes.