Many difficulties arise in the process industries when attempting to measure flow. There are many variables that can become 'gotchas' and may spoil your day - or month - or quarter - or beyond. To name a few of the variances, there's viscosity, pressure drop, and density, noise, and more. These are just a few of the many considerations that are present and need to be considered for successful flow measurement. Is flow measurement an exact science? No, not exactly. Is flow measurement an art? No, but let's not rule out being creative. Successful flow measurement involves making informed decisions and not all of these are textbook and not all are quantifiable. Experience helps by enabling one to rule out certain technologies for applications and by focusing on technologies that work reliably and predictably most of the time. Here are a handful of ideals to help determine success in flow measurement: Works right the first time; Minimize problems down the road; Lower cost of ownership; Minimize obsolescence due to process changes. Expanding on those concepts, there is universal agreement that for every application, one should aim to maximize investment. When measuring flow, one must look beyond the simple concept of "Will-it-Work?" From a purist's perspective, "Will-it-Work?" is the minimum requirement and the concept is so basic that if that is the lone criteria for selection, it implies laziness and some borders on relying on luck when specifying an instrument and providing a successful solution. To achieve success, "Smart Selection" is an essential element.
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