In recent years, energy meas-urement by ultrasonics has experienced explosive growth within the district heating indus-try. Ultrasonic measurement has aroused industry interest due to its three striking features;great accuracy, little or no main-tenance, and long-term meas-urement stability.

This unique combination of advantages positions ultrasonic fl owmeters as the most reliable and cost-effective energy meas-urement technology available for district heating, cooling and power plants, with performance far exceeding the demands of in-ternational standards in the fi eld.

SITRANS FUS/E380 - Innovation in ultrasonic energy metering for utilities

After more than 30 years as pioneer in the fi eld of ultrasonic energy measure-ment, Siemens continues to lead the market with the introduction of a unique battery-powered or mains powered ultrasonic fl owmeter.

The SITRANS FUS/E380 ultrasonic fl ow-meter with innovative low power technology sets a new industry bench-technology sets a new industry bench-mark for reliability and versatility, mark for reliability and versatility, especially for energy measurement in especially for energy measurement in remote sites, sub-stations and large remote sites, sub-stations and large building complexes - anywhere where independent power supply or back-up to mains power is desirable.

Ultrasonic fl ow sensors and transmitters market: Revenue Forecast (World), 2002-2012. Note all fi gures are rounded: the base year is 2005. Source: Frost & Sullivan.

The new meter features 6-year bat-tery life for stand-alone operation or as power back-up, as well as all the proven advantages of the ultrasonic measuring principle: superior accuracy with 2-track measurement, pipe free of obstruction, no pressure loss, and direct signal transmission which eliminates signal dampening by refl ection.

In addition, the fl owmeter transmitter In addition, the fl owmeter transmitter incorporates a unique patenteincorporates a unique patented front-d front-end detection circuit, which ensures end detection circuit, which ensures a greater reliability and stringency in precision measurement.

SITRANS FUS/E380 is available in a wide range of sizes from DN 100 to DN 800, and soon, also down to DN 50.

General Article

class facilities according to international standards and under regular control by independent metrology authorities.

Reliability pays dividendsThe proven reliability of ultrasonic fl ow metering translates into bottom line results for the user.

Not only does the SITRANS FUS/E380 fl owmeter require little or no mainte-nance, but a detailed diagnosis function warns of potential problems well before they become critical.

The 6-year battery life ensures no hitches in power supply either for bat-tery-only operation or as backup to a perhaps unreliable mains supply.

When necessary, change out of the transducer insert can be performed directly on pressurised pipe, so produc-tion can proceed unhindered.

A long service life spells economy in itself, but perhaps the most valuable reliability of all is the consistency of ultrasonic measurement accuracy in the long term.

The precision of SITRANS FUS is largely The precision of SITRANS FUS is largely Tattributable to its direct shot signal transmis-sion (DST) principle. The ultrasonic signal is transmitted directly through the pipe to the receiving transducer, without contact to the pipe walls, to ensure the clearest possible signal.

Other ultrasonic fl owmeters rely upon refl ec-tion of the signal within the pipe, but this leads to dampening of the signal and result-ant inaccuracies, especially if the internal surfaces suffer build-up of scale or rust.

VersatilityThe new fl owmeter measures all qualities of district water and all water conductivities with the same superior accuracy and reliability, regardless of additives, particles and scale on pipe walls. Performance is equally good for open and closed systems. The fl ow-meter can operate solely on battery power, or on mains power with battery back-up. Combined with the built-in real-time clock, the battery ensures long-term ongoing fl ow measurement of consistent accuracy, independent of mains power reliability.

Pinpoint accuracyLong-term accuracy is vital for precise billing, and the SITRANS FUS/E380 fl owmeter is therefore designed not only to meet but to vastly exceed international standards for precision in energy metering for custody transfer. The fl owmeter operates on the transit time principle, based solely on the time difference from sending to receiving the ultrasonic signal through the medium. The measurement is therefore totally independent of water temperature and signal speed.

A non-invasive geometry is a funda-mental cornerstone to superior accu-racy in ultrasonic fl ow measurement. The SITRANS FUS/E380 fl owmeter obtains the truest possible fl ow meas-urement, as it does not intrude into the fl uid fl ow or alter the fl ow characteris-tics whilst measuring them. No pres-sure drop arises across the SITRANS FUS/E380 fl owmeter, as for a me-chanical fl owmeter. The low mainte-nance level of an ultrasonic fl owmeter free of moving parts and wear parts is also a signifi cant benefi t in running a heating, cooling or power plant.

SITRANS FUS technology is suitable for all water conductivities, is unaf-fected by water additives, and per-forms equally well in open and closed systems. SITRANS FUS ultrasonic principle functions independently of the conductivity of water, pipe, or pipe lining and is therefore much more robust and precise than magnetic fl ow metering in the district heating, cooling and power generation businesses. The fi nal assurance of accuracy rests in the precision calibration of every in-dividual FUS/E380 fl owmeter in world

Due to the absence of wear parts in the fundamental design, SITRANS FUS ultrasonic fl owmeters have proven to measure just as accurately after many years in the fi eld, as on the fi rst day of operation.

Easy to install, simple to operateThe ultrasonic fl owmeter is easy to operate, using a single key and LCD display to view the most essential information: cumulative fl ow, forward fl ow, return fl ow, error information and battery charge indication.

Alerts indicate excessive or inadequate fl ow levels, the integrated data log-ger maintains fl ow records for up to 26 months. Using a Siemens PDM Tool and a built-in IrDA interface enables data transfer to any PC.

The SITRANS FUS/E380 also incor-porates two galvanically isolated pulse outputs for connection to an energy calculator and for alarm signals.

The compact installation version with-stands water temperatures of up to 120 °C, whereas the water temperature limit for the remote version is 200 °C.

Once the ultrasound signal is received by the transducer, the exact transmission time is pinpointed by correlation with a refer-ence signal. These correlations occur up to 20 times per second, resulting in a 0.5% measurement accuracy for a very broad range of pipe sizes and fl ow rates.

With the added dimension of independence from mains power supply, the new ultrasonic fl owmeter is vastly superior to the traditional mechanical alternative on more fronts than ever before; precision, reliability, lifetime and versatility.

A graphic display and key provides simple access to data on site and the built-in IrDA interface enables advanced data collection

SITRANS FUE950 is a multipurpose energy calcula-tor with a price level that is diffi cult to match.

Siemens Flow Instruments A/SDK-6430 NordborgDenmark

Energy meteringCombine the SITRANS FUE380 with the SITRANS FUE950 energy calcula-tor - or any other on the market - to create an energy metering system approved for custody transfer. A wide variety of add-on modules from pulse output to Meterbus communication for remote data collection makes SITRANS FUE950 the partner of choice for the SITRANS FUE380 fl owmeter.

International conformance - Custody transferSITRANS FUE380 is certifi ed under EN 1434 and OIML R75, Class 2, conform-ing to international requirements for custody transfer heat metering in a wide range of countries.

In practice, the fl owmeter performance signifi cantly exceeds the requirements of these standards, an extra security

for users dependent upon accurate and reliable measurements.

PerspectivesThe SITRANS FUE380 demonstrates the newest result of Siemens’ develop-ment, based on continuous research driven by ongoing dialog with custom-ers. Siemens ensures help is available every step of the way from product selection to documentation, installation and commissioning. Customers are guaranteed rapid and reliable after-sales service, solidly backed up by Siemens’ global service network and more than 30 years of know-how in the forefront of fl ow measurement technol-ogy.

Siemens continues to refi ne and in-novate its range of ultrasonic metering capabilities to meet the ever-more-de-manding requirements of industry.

Contact the Author:Mr Kim NyborgProduct Manager SITRANS FUSSiemens Flow Instruments A/SPhone: +45 7488 3136E-mail: kim.nyborg@siemens.com