If you're responsible for flow meter performance in critical processes or for plant safety or environmental compliance, then you will want to take this video tour of the flow calibration laboratory at FCI which explains the importance of flow meter calibration using actual gases to achieve superior accuracy over inferred air equivalency methods.

Backed by more than 55 years of flow instrumentation experience, FCI operates one of the leading flow analysis laboratories in the industry, providing customers with the highest level of calibration standards, accuracy and repeatability. The FCI laboratory features a world-class pedigree with more than 20 National Institute of Standards (NIST) traceable precision flow stands. All laboratory equipment is also ISO 9001 and AS9000 compliant and also meets MIL-STD-45662A and ANSI/NCSL-Z-540 requirements.

Testing flow meters at FCI’s Flow Calibration Laboratory ensures they meet published and custom-designed instrument specifications, which is fundamental to performance at the highest levels of accuracy and repeatability. The laboratory provides gas flow calibration flow stands, in various pipe diameters, that can flow air, pure inert gases, hydrocarbon gases, and precision mixed-gas compositions with as many as 20 actual gas constituents. All of these stands have the ability to flow the fluids and calibrate in actual temperatures up to 454° C [850° F] and in actual pressure ranges from ambient to 34 bar [500 psi].

FCI’s compressed-air test stand is designed for high-pressure and high-flow rate air applications reaching up to 1000 SFPS (300 MPS). This enables FCI’s flow technicians to calibrate meters at exact pressures/flow rates without needing to rely on extrapolations, resulting in improved performance.

The laboratory also features a Liquid Fuel Flow Stand Fuel Flow Stand that was developed primarily for FCI’s aerospace division to calibrate meters in liquid hydrocarbons, jet fuels and water/ethylene glycol blends. The stand uses two, NIST-Traceable Coriolis Flow Meters for extremely high accuracy and can calibrate in virtually any mixed liquid composition. FCI’s customers can experience the benefits of guaranteed higher accuracy when their meters are calibrated with their actual fluids.