This document specifies the geometry and method of use (installation and operating conditions) of wedge meters when they are inserted in a conduit running full to determine the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the conduit.
NOTE 1 As the uncertainty of an uncalibrated wedge meter can be too large for a particular application, it could be deemed essential to calibrate the flow meter according to Clause 7.
This document gives requirements for calibration which, if applied, are for use over the calibrated Reynolds number range. Clause 7 could also be useful guidance for calibration of meters of similar design but which fall outside the scope of this document.
It also provides background information for calculating the flow rate and is applicable in conjunction with the requirements given in ISO 5167-1.
This document is applicable only to wedge meters in which the flow remains subsonic throughout the measuring section and where the fluid can be considered as single-phase. Uncalibrated wedge meters can only be used within specified limits of pipe size, roughness, beta (or wedge ratio) and Reynolds number. It is not applicable to the measurement of pulsating flow. It does not cover the use of uncalibrated wedge meters in pipes whose internal diameter is less than 50 mm or more than 600 mm, or where the pipe Reynolds numbers are below 1 × 104.
NOTE 2 A wedge meter has a primary element which consists of a wedge-shaped restriction of a specific geometry. Alternative designs of wedge meters are available; however, at the time of writing there is insufficient data to fully characterize these devices, and therefore these meters are calibrated in accordance with Clause 7.