What happens when a company talks to its customers? In FCI's case, the company had "countless" hours of discussions with a wide range of instrument, process and plant engineers about what they wanted in gas mass flow measurement. Out of all the discussions, Randy Brown, marketing director at Fluid Components International, said the company found that engineers wanted products that were ready for their future needs. So when FCI engineers designed the new ST100 Mass Flow Series, they kept the need for it to be "future-ready" in mind. According to Brown, the ST100 Series is the first thermal mass gas flowmeter designed with a migration path to tomorrow.
The ST100 Series can be calibrated to measure virtually any process gas, including wet, mixed and dirty gases. In addition to FCI's standard, precision, gas-matched calibration, optionally available with ST100 is a new patent-pending gas-equivalency calibration alternative called SpectraCal that permits users to select and switch between 10 common gases. The ST100 is also equipped with an on-board data logger with a 2-GB micro-SD card capable of storing 21 million readings. The series stores up to five unique calibration groups, accommodating broad flow ranges, differing mixtures of the same gas and multiple gases, and obtains up to 1000:1 turndown. For users requiring cyclical in-situ calibration verification, such as those impacted by environmental regulations or ISO-9000 QA procedures, models of ST100 are available outfitted with FCI's patented VeriCal design.
The ST100 is available with three different types of flow sensors. The FPC-style is a fast-response type with an integral and patent-pending flow conditioner and protective shroud. The FP-style is also fast-response, as a general purpose design with a protective shroud, and is the sensor used with the VeriCal in-situ calibration option. For applications with wet or dirty gases, or erratic flows, the unshrouded S-style is designed for easy cleaning and a smoothed response.
ST100 meters are available in a range of installation designs, including insertion designs, one of which is a hot tap design that can be installed and removed under pressure. Inline flowmeters are available with male NPT, female NPT, ANSI or DIN flanges, or butt-weld prepared process connections. Four models in the series are dual-element systems that can be applied in an averaging mode or as two discrete and independent sensors operating through a single transmitter—providing significant cost and space savings.
But what about "future-ready?" The ST100 Series can be supplied with a very wide offering of field-interchangeable outputs for compatibility with the process control system now and in the future. Analog outputs include triple 4-20 mADC, 0-1/0-10 kHz frequency or pulse, and relay contact closures, while digital bus outputs include HART (v7), Modbus RS485, Profibus PA and Foundation fieldbus H1. Bus communications are integrated, full two-way that comply with the standards organizations' most current revisions. HART is v7-compliant, and the ST100 Series is a certified and registered device with Foundation fieldbus. The ST100 Series also comes with USB and 10/100 Ethernet ports to facilitate remote access and diagnostics. Many of these features can be deployed via a plug-in card replacement that can be changed out by plant technicians in the field. "This is what we mean by ‘future-ready,' " Brown said.
The ST100 Series has a multivariable, graphical backlit LCD display that continuously displays all process measurements, alarm status, calibration group, a user writeable descriptor field and provides the ability to interrogate for service diagnostics.
The ST100 Series' submitted and pending full instrument agency approvals include FM, FMc Class I Division 1, Groups BCDEFG and ATEX and IECEx Zone 1, II 2 GD Ex d IIC T4, as well as CPA, NEPSI, GOST, CE and CRN approvals.
Each FCI ST100 Series flowmeter is tested and calibrated in the company's NIST-traceable flow calibration laboratory, certified to MIL-STD 45662A and ANSI/NCSL Z-540. Meters are calibrated using precision flow stands with actual gases and at user's operating conditions.
For more information, visit www.fluidcomponents.com or call 800-854-1993.
