Selection by application

Flow

There is no single best flowmeter. Selection depends on the fluid, phase, conductivity, accuracy, pressure loss, nominal size, available straight runs and measurement objective. Start with the process requirements to find the most suitable technology.

Quick selection

Which technology should you consider first?

Typical application	First technology to consider	Why	Points to check
Water, wastewater and conductive slurries	Electromagnetic	Economical, with no moving parts or significant pipe restriction.	Requires sufficient conductivity and a full pipe.
Saturated or superheated steam, wet gases	Vortex / Swirl	Robust, without moving parts, and well suited to utilities and energy applications.	Size for the actual range. Vortex requires longer straight runs; Swirl needs much less space.
Dry gases, compressed air and industrial gases	Thermal mass	Direct mass flow and excellent low-flow sensitivity.	Gas composition, deposits, condensation and flow profile affect measurement.
High accuracy, batching, density or concentration	Coriolis	Direct mass flow, density and temperature, with high repeatability.	Cost and pressure loss may be higher, especially at large diameters.
Retrofits without cutting the pipe / meter checks	Clamp-on ultrasonic	No fluid contact and no shutdown required for installation.	Pipe condition, liners, bubbles, solids and acoustic coupling are critical.
Large diameters / DP project specifications	Orifice / TORBAR / Pitot	Standardised technology, readily integrated with DP transmitters.	Orifice: pressure loss. Pitot: installation and alignment are critical.
Simple local indication and low flow rates	Variable area	No power supply, low cost and an immediate reading.	The scale depends on the fluid and reference pressure and temperature, especially for gases.

Electromagnetic

ProcessMaster, WaterMaster, AquaMaster4, HygienicMaster and AquaProbe.

Explore electromagnetic meters

Vortex and Swirl

Liquids, gases and especially steam; Swirl for compact installations.

Explore Vortex / Swirl

Coriolis

Direct mass flow, density and temperature when accuracy and repeatability are priorities.

Explore Coriolis meters

Thermal mass

Dry gases, compressed air, utilities and low flow rates.

Explore thermal mass meters

Ultrasonic

Multibrand inline or clamp-on meters for retrofits and non-invasive checks.

Explore ultrasonic meters

DP primary elements

Orifices, TORBAR, Pitot probes, nozzles and Venturi tubes with differential pressure transmitters.

Explore DP primary elements

Variable area

Rotameters and purge meters for local indication and low flow rates.

Explore variable area meters

Do not start with the pipe diameter

For many technologies, selecting solely by existing pipe size leads to oversized instruments and poor low-flow resolution. Send minimum, normal and maximum flow rates: we assess the operating range before selecting the meter size.