Calibration and verification of liquid flowmeters

Today, the metrology of flowing liquids plays an essential role for a large number of manufacturers who are keen to control their measuring devices in the light of the challenges and requirements linked to quality, safety, process efficiency and environmental protection.

Reference measurement procedures (more commonly referred to as "calibration methods") in liquid flowmetering must enable calibrations and verifications to be carried out that are representative of conditions of use and metrologically traceable to national standards, in order to guarantee that specified requirements are met.

The selection of a calibration and verification method for liquid flowmetering is based on the suitability of the measurement principle for the quantity to be measured, and on the need expressed in terms of calibration uncertainty.

Thus, the range of current methods described in this article, combined with good implementation practices and knowledge of the parameters influencing the measurement result, are all available tools guaranteeing confidence in the measurement results obtained by using flowmeters or liquid meters. This confidence, embodied by calibration, its associated uncertainties and, where applicable, compliance with a specified requirement (whether normative or not) for verification, will ensure the quality of the measurement and the systems or processes that depend on it.