FCI expands compact thermal flowmeter line with HART bus communication

Fluid Components International (FCI) has expanded its compact thermal flowmeter line with a new electronics design that features the addition of HART, Version 7, digital bus communication.

The new models ST51A, ST75A, and ST75AV provide users with an economical yet rugged solution to measuring gases or air in demanding industrial process and plant applications.

The meters combine all new surface-mount, lead-free RoHS-compliant electronics with highly accurate, repeatable all-welded, equal-mass flow sensors.   

The added HART digital bus communication and its associated device driver (DD) have been tested and certified by the Fieldcomm (HART) Group to meet the latest Version 7 standards.

With over 30 million supported field instruments installed worldwide, HART technology offers a reliable solution for leveraging benefits of intelligent flowmeters and other devices through standardised digital communication.

In addition to HART bus communications, standard ST51A, ST75A, and ST75AV outputs are dual 4-20mA that meets the NAMUR NE43 standard and features a 500Hz pulse.

The electronics are housed in a rugged IP67-rated, dual-cable port transmitter enclosure available in aluminium or a new stainless steel version.

The transmitter can be mounted directly to the flow sensor or remotely mounted up to 30m away.

The flowmeters have obtained the CE mark, and Div.1/Zone 1 Ex agency approvals of FM, FMc, ATEX, and IECEx.

Additionally, they have also been independently verified to meet International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) standard IEC 61508 for Safety Integrity Level (SIL-1) rating.

FCI’s thermal dispersion sensor technology applied in the meters relies on the relationship between flow rate and cooling effect for direct measurement of mass flow.

Their flow sensing elements feature precision, platinum RTDs in small diameter, all-welded thermowells made of 316L stainless steel and Hastelloy-C tips.

The flowmeters are direct mass flow measuring and require no additional temperature or pressure sensors or flow computer to infer the mass flow rate of the process media, which reduces the total cost of process flow measurement.