Understanding Coriolis Mass Flowmeters

By Ron DiGiacomo, ABB Measurement Products

Many industrial processes depend on the mass, rather than the volume, of the materials reacting together. Yet in the case of reacting liquids and gases, most flowmeters don’t measure mass flow rates. Only one kind of flowmeter directly measures mass flow rates of both liquids and gases--the Coriolis flowmeter.

Commercial Coriolis flowmeters are a relatively recent innovation, having emerged in the mid to late 1970s. Steady technical improvements since then have greatly increased their accuracy and acceptance in the process industries. Today direct mass flow measurements represent a substantial and fast-growing percentage of worldwide flowmeter applications--15 to 20%.