Republic of Singapore Navy Saves Money With New Ultrasonic Flow Meter From Sierra Instruments

Sierra Instruments, Inc.: When a ship of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) deployed overseas recently, it did so with a Sierra Innova-Sonic® Model 206 In-Line Ultrasonic Flow Meter installed as a critical element of its refueling system. In these days of soaring fuel costs, getting what you pay for is crucial. Since the RSN deploys frequently to all parts of the world, the navy wanted to be assured that the quantity of the expensive fuel they are being billed for is in fact what is piped aboard.

Before choosing the Sierra Model 206 In-Line Ultrasonic, an exhaustive search was undertaken to identify the best meter to “double check” the fuel amounts received. Impressed with their high accuracy, the RSN first looked at coriolis meters but found the 2-3” sizes required prohibitively expensive. They then looked at positive displacement meters and, while more economical, the navy was concerned about potential fouling problems plugging up the sensor ports since marine bunkering fuel can sometimes be very dirty. Electromagnetic flow meters can get around this problem, but they do not work on fuel oil because it is non-conductive.

The RSN chose Sierra's Innova-Sonic® In-Line state-of- the-art Digital Correlation Transit-Time Ultrasonic flow meter because it provided the ideal combination of economy, accuracy (+/- 0.5% of reading) and installation (no sensing ports to plug). Designed to give the end-user high performance at an affordable price, the Innova-Sonic® Model 206 features advanced PicoFly™ measurement technology. PicoFly™ represents an order-of-magnitude improvement in transit-time measurement technology, allowing far superior response to changes in flow (with much greater resolution) and outstanding low flow detection. This is because PicoFly™ allows transit time-of-flight to be measured in picoseconds 10 -12 (one trillionth of a second) rather than the typical nanoseconds 10 -9 (one billionth of a second).

For these reasons, the Innova-Sonic® In-Line is becoming increasingly popular for maritime use, and is one of only a few flow meters assessed by the American Bureau of Shipping for shipboard use. Indeed, for most of the same reasons described above, Sierra’s Innova-Sonic® Model 205 Clamp-on Transit-Time Ultrasonic Flow Meter is being used by the United States Navy for both fuel oil and water measurement. It shares all of the same great features as the in-line meter, but with the added benefit of “clamp-on” sensors that can be affixed to the outside of fuel and water lines with no intrusion into the piping at all. This makes retrofitting existing systems very easy.

ABOUT SIERRA

Sierra is one of the most trusted manufacturers of high performance flow meters and controllers today. By combining superior product quality with a talented global support network of flow experts in 47 countries, Sierra consistently delivers quality flow measurement solutions for each customer.

Our Thermal Mass, Transit-Time Ultrasonic, Vortex Shedding and Multivariable instruments are available in both standard and customized versions for applications in laboratory, industrial and hazardous environments. Sierra’s flow measurement technologies precisely measure or control very low flows of gas down to less than 1 sccm full scale as well as extremely high flows of gas, liquid, and steam. With rugged product design, cutting-edge innovation, and a worldwide team of flow experts, experience why customers around the globe rely on Sierra.

Visit us at www.sierrainstruments.com or call us at 800-866-0200 to learn more.