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High Temperature Mass Flow Meter Working Principles: Coriolis Operation in Extreme Polymer Fluids
Quick Answer: A high temperature Coriolis mass flow meter measures hot polymer melts directly by mass. Silver Instruments supplies these meters for temperatures up to 350 °C and pressures up to 100 bar for extreme polymer fluids. Send your temperature, pressure, pipe size in DN and flow range in kg/h for a quote.
Hot polymer fluids cause problems for volumetric flow meters. Polymer melts often have viscosity above 50,000 cP. Some filled compounds reach 2,000,000 cP at low shear. Gear meters and turbine meters fail because the fluid coats moving parts and wears bearings. A Coriolis mass flow meter has no moving internal parts. It reads mass flow through tube vibration.
Why High Temperature Polymer Service Is Difficult
We have seen this on customer sites many times. A polymer line at 280 °C runs for a few weeks with a positive displacement meter. The rotor then seizes. The maintenance team has to open a hot line. Opening a hot line is unsafe and costly.
Here is the thing. High temperature polymer fluids do not clean themselves from meter walls. They solidify when the line cools. A meter with narrow passages or a velocity dependent signal will drift. A Coriolis meter keeps the flow path as a continuous metal tube. The tube vibrates at a small amplitude. The fluid does not need to be conductive or clean.
How Coriolis Operation Works in High Temperature Polymer Fluids
One or two metal tubes vibrate at a controlled frequency. Without flow, the inlet and outlet sides move in phase. When hot polymer passes through the tube, the mass flow creates a phase shift. The meter electronics convert that phase shift into kg/h. There is no mechanical contact between the fluid and rotating parts.
High temperature Coriolis meters use wetted parts in 316L stainless steel, Hastelloy C22 or Duplex stainless steel. A PT100 sensor inside the meter body measures process temperature. The electronics use that temperature input to compensate for tube stiffness changes. At 300 °C the tube material softens slightly. Without compensation the mass flow reading would shift.
Most engineers skip this part. The sensor housing on high temperature models has an extended neck and thermal isolation flange. This design keeps the transmitter below 85 °C even when the process runs at 350 °C. Outputs include 4-20 mA HART, pulse and Modbus RTU.
Parameters That Matter for Extreme Polymer Fluids
Do not size a high temperature mass flow meter only by line size. Confirm normal and maximum flow rate in kg/h, operating temperature in °C, pressure in bar, viscosity in cP and wetted material compatibility.
A DN15 high temperature Coriolis meter covers about 0.5 kg/h to 1,500 kg/h. A DN25 covers up to 10,000 kg/h. A DN50 covers up to 50,000 kg/h. For high viscosity polymer melts a smaller DN often gives better accuracy because the tube stays full. A larger meter may allow polymer to build up.
Material selection changes with the polymer. A PE wax line at 180 °C and 12 bar works with 316L stainless steel. A fluoropolymer melt or acidic polyme
Customer Example from Southeast Asia
Last year a masterbatch producer in Vietnam asked us for a high temperature mass flow meter. The fluid was polypropylene melt at 240 °C and 18 bar. Flow range was 120 kg/h to 900 kg/h on a DN20 line. They had tried a positive displacement meter and it seized after three weeks. We supplied a DN15 high temperature Coriolis meter with Hastelloy C22 tubes and a remote transmitter. The meter measured mass flow, density and temperature. The 4-20 mA HART signal went to the pelletizer control system. The plant ran the meter for 11 months without removing the meter from the line.
Installation Notes for High Temperature Service
Mount the meter so the tubes stay full. Vertical mounting with upward flow often works best for hot polymer lines. When the line stops, the meter drains by gravity. That reduces the chance of solidified polymer blocking the tubes.
In practice, heat tracing is not always needed during operation. But the flanges and process connections may need heat tracing during shutdown. Silver Instruments offers a heating jacket option for DN15 to DN100 meters. Perform zero calibration at operating temperature. A cold zero at 25 °C will not equal a hot zero at 300 °C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the maximum temperature for a high temperature Coriolis mass flow meter?
Standard models from Silver Instruments operate up to 350 °C. Special versions handle 400 °C for short periods. The transmitter stays separate from the sensor on high temperature versions.
Q2: Can a Coriolis meter handle polymer melt with viscosity above 500,000 cP?
Yes. Coriolis meters measure mass flow and do not depend on viscosity for the flow signal. A high pressure drop may occur in very viscous service. Choose a larger DN size or a straight tube design to reduce pressure drop.
Q3: What wetted materials do you offer for extreme polymer fluids?
We offer 316L stainless steel, Hastelloy C22, Duplex stainless steel and Super Duplex. For most hot polymer applications, 316L is the starting point. For acidic or chlorinated polymer streams, Hastelloy C22 is safer.
Q4: What output signals are available on high temperature Coriolis meters?
The standard transmitter includes 4-20 mA HART for mass flow, pulse output for totalization and RS485 Modbus RTU. Optional signals include density and temperature over HART. ATEX Zone 1 versions are available.
Q5: How fast can Silver Instruments deliver a high temperature mass flow meter?
Standard DN15 to DN100 high temperature Coriolis meters ship in 2 to 4 weeks. Hastelloy C22 or special process connections need 5 to 7 weeks. Send your required delivery date with the flow data.
Contact Silver Automation Instruments for a high temperature mass flow meter quote. Send us your pressure in bar, temperature in °C, pipe size in DN and flow range in kg/h. Tel: +86-25-68650347. Whatsapp: +86-25-52155837. WeChat: +86 15365082610.
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