AN ABSOLUTE MASS RATE FLOW-METER

A true mass flow rate device has been developed that is absolute in the sense that it requires no calibration. The flow measurement is made by adding a known amount of energy to a gas and finding its resulting temperature increase. The flowmeter is essentially pressure independent and is capable of 0.1% reproducibility. It is suggested that other versions of this flowmeter should be practical over wide ranges of pressure and temperature and should be usable with a variety of gases and liquids. (auth)