Measures to Improve Metrological and Technical Characteristics of the Film Gas Flowmeter

The problems of low flow rate measurement (in particular, increasing the accuracy and expanding the measurement range) are relevant both in modern technologies and in experimental studies. The error of a film flowmeter depends on its design, the quality of calibration, as well as the properties of the gas under study and the film-forming liquid. The paper considers the issues of optimizing the composition of the film-forming liquid of a film flowmeter in order to improve the accuracy of measuring the gas microflow rates. The possibility of increasing the lifetime of films by introducing a stabilizer, i.e. a high-molecular-weight impurity (polymer) polyacrylamide (PAM), into the film forming liquid has been studied. The properties of films formed from various solutions have been studied, the optimal composition of a film-forming agent have been obtained using PAM and it has been proposed to use it in film flowmeters in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of measuring the gas microflow rates. The paper also focuses on the mechanism of gas transfusion through the film and assesses its impact on the accuracy of flow measurement, as well as provides recommendations for reducing (eliminating) the error due to the effect of transfusion. The influence of a filmformer layer inside the measuring tube and the conditions of its existence have been studied, and the properties of the inner surface of the measuring tube have been considered, in particular, the matte finish of the inner surface of the tube.

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