A Guide to Sizing Orifice Plate Flow Meters

The Orifice plate is a very robust flow measurement device. It is one device
that is very easy to use and can easily be adaptable to many flow
measurement applications. Its cost of operation is minimal and familiarity
with the device is near universal. All these pluses make the Orifice plate the
first choice measurement device in almost every flow application. It does
however have some limitations which makes the sizing process a little
tricky. Two key limitations include:

(a) Limited Turn Down

(b) Non-linear loss of accuracy at low flow rates as shown by the graph
below:

As can be observed from the above graph, large errors are introduced into
the measurement system by orifice plates at low flow rates. This is because
flow is proportional to the square root of differential pressure as shown by
the graph below:
ISO 5167-2:2003, Measurement of fluid flow by means of pressure
differential devices:Orifice plates
This square root relationship between flow and differential pressure for the
orifice plates makes compromise in either flow or differential pressure
inevitable in the sizing process. Mind you, there are other sources of errors
in orifice flow meter measurements. These include variations in pipe
diameter, orifice plate machining tolerances and errors introduced due to
flange taps. The errors introduced by these sources are however minimal.

Significant errors can be introduced in the measurement system due to

variation in temperature in liquid applications but are usually compensated
for in the measurement setup. In gas measurement systems with the orifice
plate, errors introduced by variation in temperature, static pressure and
specific gravity are even more pronounced such that online compensation
for these variables have proven to be the best strategy that has yielded the
best results.

Orifice Plate Sizing Factors:

Some sizing factors greatly impact the accuracy of the orifice plate
meter.They are:
(a) Differential Pressure across the orifice plate
(b) Maximum Flow Rate for the given application
(c) Beta Ratio

Differential Pressure (DP)

The differential pressure(DP) across the orifice plate meter is proportional
to flow. However the relationship is not linear. At low flow rates, the error
in DP measurement becomes large making the device less accurate at low
flow. Consequently, a low full-scale DP corresponding to maximum flow
introduces errors at low flow rates while a high full-scale DP may achieve
good accuracy but may come at a greater energy cost (pumping cost) and a
permanent pressure loss in the system which may far outweigh the gain in
accuracy. Standard ranges of DP in use are 50 inches, 100 inches and rarely
200 inches of water column. When sizing, consider using 100 inches instead
of 50 inches; 200inches instead of 100 inches but be careful!

Maximum Flow
The maximum flow is the highest flow that the flow measurement system
can handle and still maintain the right accuracy. Selecting an unnecessarily
high maximum flow will definitely introduce errors at low flow rates. The
right maximum flow should be selected based on actual conditions (arrived
at through a flow study of the system that requires the flow measurement).
When done, this will yield the right result in terms of accuracy.

Beta RatioAs discussed in flow instrumentation principles the beta ratio (β =

d/D) is the ratio of the orifice plate bore diameter (d) and the pipe internal
diameter (D). During sizing, keep your beta ratio in the range 0.3 to 0.7.
This is the range of beta ratio that gives the best performance from the
orifice plate. Anything outside this range introduces more errors and other
flow problems.

Keep in mind that these days, orifice plate sizing is done by software
provided in most cases by the orifice plate manufacturers themselves. So
when sizing in addition to other factors, ensure you select the right DP
range, maximum flow and an optimum beta ratio for best performance of
the orifice plate. Note that Beta ratio and DP for the orifice plate are
related. Altering one alters the other.

Source: http://www.instrumentationtoolbox.com/2013/10/a-guide-to-sizing-orifice-plate-
flow.html