TP18-23 Comparative Evaluation of Pitot Tube Designs for Water Flow Measurement

The Simplex pitot tube has long been used for water flow rate determinations. However, the accuracy of Simplex based flow measurements is known to be negatively impacted affected by a number of commonly occurring flow conditions including high flow velocity, Reynolds number sensitivity, and disturbed flow profiles.  CleanAir Engineering was contracted by the Cooling Technology Institute to conduct research regarding the suitability of two new candidate pitot designs for water flow rate measurements. These alternate tube designs were analyzed under a variety of flow conditions in controlled settings, and their responses were compared to that of the Simplex design. This paper documents work conducted by CleanAir and the associated findings.