A body for improved shedding of vortices within a flowing fluid has a very short downstream length, e.g. 1/8 inch, yet is capable of excellent flow metering performance. The body includes an upstream elongate thin plate spanning the inner diameter of a conduit, and one or more sections projecting downstream of the plate. Generally, these sections are in the form of cylindrical rods having circular, rectangular, or oval cross-sections, with their longitudinal axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate. Although these sections may be separated from the plate, in certain embodiments they are rigidly attached to the downstream side thereof. By simultaneously maintaining the ratio of the width (i.e., transverse to the flow direction) of the thin plate to the overall width of the downstream sections within the range from 1.0 to 2.2, and the ratio of the width of the thin plate to the diameter of the conduit within the range from 0.1 to 0.3, enhanced linearity of signal is achieved without the need for any appreciable downstream length. This results in a narrow profile flowmeter assembly which occupies the same amount of space as a conventional orifice plate. An ultrasonic detector and associated circuitry, or similar detecting scheme, sense the periodic passage of the vortices through the fluid and relate its periodicity to the rate of flow.
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