Great technical heights
March 1st 2005

When Airbus UK at Filton, Bristol needed a special flow measurement solution for its landing gear test rigs, it chose Katronic Technologies to provide it for them.

The problem was to find a flowmeter capable of meeting the demands of the application while being easily installed on pipework in close proximity to existing instrumentation. In order to be suitable the flowmeter had to be capable of measuring flow in pipework ranging from 9.5 to 38mm, in pipe materials including steel, aluminium and titanium.

It was essential the flowmeter perform well in greatly varying process conditions, such as a pressure range of 5 to 350bar g.

Furthermore, all readings had to be taken in a short period of time as the measurement window was only two minutes.

The solution was supplied in the form of the new KATflow 140 ultrasonic flowmeter from Katronic Technologies. The flowmeter takes measurements non-invasively and is thus independent of the varying process conditions.

Dave McDonald, Airbus test controller for A380 landing gear systems commented: “The use of the KATflow 140 also led to greater measurement flexibility, zero down time on the test rig and no requirement for regular recalibration.

In order to make commissioning of the transmitter more straightforward for the Airbus engineers, the flowmeter was supplied in a practical 19” housing suitable for insertion into existing instrument panels.

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