On-site comparison of flowmeters installed in a parabolic-trough solar collector test facility

Abstract

This article presents a comparison of flow measurements taken by three different types of flowmeters in a parabolic-through solar collector testbed working with a high-temperature silicone heat transfer fluid. Two of them were vortex volumetric flowmeters and the third one was a Coriolis mass flowmeter. They were tested at mass flow rates from 1.5 kg/s to 5 kg/s, and at heat transfer fluid temperatures of 140–340 °C. The Coriolis mass flowmeter was used as the reference to check the performance of the two vortex flowmeters. Relative errors and En numbers calculated were compared. The maximum relative error between vortex flowmeters measurements and Coriolis mass flow measurements was 2.5%. Correction factors were calculated to correct the vortex flowmeters readings.