Mass flow meter
The mass flow meter does not measure the volume per unit time (e.g., cubic meters per second) passing through the device; it measures the mass per unit time (e.g., kilograms per second) flowing through the device. Volumetric flow rate is the mass flow rate divided by the fluid density. If the density is constant, then the relationship is simple. If the fluid has varying density, then the relationship is not simple. The density of the fluid may change with temperature, pressure, or composition, for example. The fluid may also be a combination of phases such as a fluid with entrained bubbles.
Actual density can be determined due to dependency of sound velocity on the controlled liquid concentration.
Viscosity models for mixtures
where formula_29 is the area of the moving plate and the stagnant plate, formula_30 is the spatial coordinate normal to the plates. In this experimental setup, value for the force formula_31 is first selected. Then a maximum velocity formula_32 is measured, and finally both values are entered in the equation to calculate viscosity. This gives one value for the viscosity of the selected fluid. If another value of the force is selected, another maximum velocity will be measured. This will result in another viscosity value if the fluid is a non-Newtonian fluid such as paint, but it will give the same viscosity value for a Newtonian fluid such as water, petroleum oil or gas. If another parameter like temperature, formula_33, is changed, and the experiment is repeated with the same force, a new value for viscosity will be the calculated, for both non-Newtonian and Newtonian fluids. The great majority of material properties varies as a function of temperature, and this goes for viscosity also. The viscosity is also a function of pressure and, of course, the material itself. For a fluid mixture, this means that the shear viscosity will also vary according to the fluid composition. To map the viscosity as a function of all these variables require a large sequence of experiments that generates an even larger set of numbers called measured data, observed data or observations. Prior to, or at the same time as, the experiments is a material property model (or short material model) proposed to describe or explain the observations. This mathematical model is called the constitutive equation for shear viscosity. It is usually an explicit function that contains some empirical parameters that is adjusted in order to match the observations as good as the mathematical function is capable to do.