Do you already benefit from Fluidat? Software to access the world of properties for mass flow meter or controller

What is FLUIDAT?

FLUIDAT is Bronkhorst’s online calculation software. It allows our end users to make many theoretical calculations for their instruments and also have access to over 1800 different fluid properties and corresponding data.

Working with fluids and ever changing process conditions can provide many challenges, especially when trying to understand the behaviour of the given fluid depending on the actual pressure and temperature of the process. Along with understanding the behaviour of your particular fluid or fluid mixture making sure that you select an instrument that is able to operate effectively to the level you expect and that meets your application’s demands. In this case the initial selection of the correct instrument is fundamental, understanding what is possible for the future of your instrument can however be just as important.

This is where FLUIDAT can assist by allowing our end users to fully understand their instruments capability. If it’s working at different pressure conditions or using a completely different fluid for example, FLUIDAT can allow you to make an informed decision about whether or not the instrument is up for the task at hand. Of course, sometimes we have to accept that returning the instrument for recalibration is the only option but with FLUIDAT at your fingertips you have the ability to make an informed choice.

Traditionally, fluid data has been stored in technical handbooks and manuals with graphs and tables of data in a listed format demonstrating fluid properties along with their coefficients. However, this is a very inflexible format and does not allow immediate access to changing fluid behaviour (due to external factors) without making what can sometimes be complex calculations.

Knowing that these challenges were sometimes a hindrance to our end users, Bronkhorst released this on-line fluid management programme to support our customers in a way we never had before. This on-line programme allows immediate data and calculations relating to the behaviour of thousands of fluids under different working conditions.

Vapour generation calculation tool

One example of this is our Controlled Evaporation Mixing (CEM) vapour generation calculation tool. To calculate the output vapour to the process you need to calculate the combination and vaporisation properties of both a liquid and gas at differing temperatures and flow rates. Our CEM calculation tool can make this task easy, at just a click of a button.

The newly added interactive Vapour-Pressure line allows users to simply glide the cursor over the chosen fluid graph to establish the phase at the given temperature and pressure. Added value comes from the ability to create and save your own fluid mixtures, which alone can remove hours of calculations and research from a single project.

OK, so let’s have a look in more detail at some of the calculation tools available in FLUIDAT.

Gas Conversion Factor

Here, the end user can choose a pure gas or create a gas mixture to find the conversion factor for a different gas to which an instrument can be sized on. As with most thermal mass flow controllers the output signal from the flow controller is determined by which gas it has been calibrated for. With the gas conversion factor tool you simply choose the ‘Fluid from’ and ‘Fluid to’ to find out the conversion / correction factor. You can also select your exact model to improve the accuracy of the conversion. This function also allows you to add the specific pressure and temperature conditions you are converting from and to, for even more accuracy. The conversion factor can then be applied to the output measurement of the flow controller to know the actual flow of the new gas.

Example of a gas conversion made in FLUIDAT

Example of a CEM calculation in FLUIDAT

Controlled Evaporation Mixing (CEM) Calculation Tool

A CEM system (Controlled Evaporation and Mixing system) can be an extremely versatile addition to any vapour generation requirement. FLUIDAT allows the end user to make various calculations to not only enable the correct CEM heater temperature setting , the flow rates required for both the liquid and gas instruments and the relative humidity of the generated vapour. It is also possible to back calculate the flow rates needed to achieve the required relative humidity of your vapour. All of the fluid data is stored within the FLUIDAT software, the heat capacity, thermal conductivity and heat of vaporisation to name a few. This data can also be accessed by the user under the ‘Fluid Properties’ calculation.

The possibilities of the CEM calculation tool are endless, from knowing the pressures needed to supply the liquid and gas mass flow controllers to calculating the vapour temperature on the outlet, or knowing the flow of the vapour output and having the ability to choose between thousands of different fluids to make your calculations. This makes FLUIDAT a ‘must-have’ for any Bronkhorst customer using our CEM vapour delivery systems.

Example of a Pressure Drop Calculation in FLUIDAT

Pressure Drop Calculations

For most applications it is important for the end user to understand the pressure drop across the instrument. It is not only important to understand the pressure loss across a device but sometimes it can also be critical to know the required pressure for the instrument to function correctly, especially when using control valves.

In FLUIDAT it is possible to calculate the pressure drop for both our gas instruments and our mini-Coriolis Series. Calculating the pressure drop using FLUIDAT is easy, all you need to do is select the correct pressure drop calculation tool. You have the choice of selecting our MASS-STREAM instruments, EL-FLOW or IN-FLOW devices or Coriolis Instruments.

The calculation tool for the Coriolis Instruments is called ‘CoriCalc’ and for the other instruments are referred to as ‘Pressure Difference D-6300’ or ‘Pressure Difference LOW-dP-FLOW and EL-FLOW'. Once you have selected the correct tool and instrument type you can then select the fluid and flow rate and simply hit the calculate button. You can choose to readout the pressure drop in many different units from mbar to psi for example. For meters this is pretty straight forward, the pressure drop will be displayed across the sensor and fittings and yes, you can also choose the fitting size and type in many situations.

This calculation tool can also demonstrate the minimum required inlet pressure to flow the fluid you want at the required flow rate. Without the complication of the control valve calculating for meters is relatively straight forward. When making calculations involving both a meter and control valve (e.g. in a controller), it is important to make sure your calculation includes the correct selected orifice for your given controller, the easiest way to do this is using the inlet and outlet pressures to be used.

FLUIDAT is an extremely useful and powerful tool for those using Bronkhorst instruments. It allows an end user access to additional information which can be used to not only enhance the potential of our instruments but also allows our customers to gain an advantage over competitors and gain an understanding of mass flow. The above examples are just a snippet of some of the tools available.

Please register at www.fluidat.com to take full advantage of this free online software.