Laboratory Calibration

We provide a comprehensive range of flow meter calibrations for liquid and gas flow meters. Our commonly used facilities are Alden Research Lab and Utah Water Research Lab.

Primary Flow Signal offers water flow calibrations in line sizes up to 8” NPS in our in house Primary Flow Signal calibration laboratory. PFS calibration lab uses master meters and Rosemount transmitters traceable to NIST with flow rates up to 500 GPM. Our facilities and expertise allow us to provide flow calibrations for differential producers as well as the vast majority of other meter types. Having an in house calibration laboratory also allows PFS to test and prove new designs and difficult and unique applications without having to depend on outside labs that can create delays and increase costs.

PFS also partners with other calibration labs to offer CFD (Computational Fluid dynamics) analysis where the application may either be too large for a full scale calibration or to improve the accuracy of an existing flow application without having to remove or build a model of the meter and piping for an actual flow calibration.

Alden Research Lab achieves a high Reynolds number and a low level of uncertainty. 

Water to the Allen facility is supplied from a 200,000 gallon sump that is typically heated to 105°F, but can reach temperatures up to 120°F when needed. Since kinematic viscosity is a strong function of water temperature, they can achieve a high Reynolds number simply by reducing the water’s viscosity by heating the water.

Depending on meter style and pipe size, the facility’s maximum flow is about 20,000 GPM, with a minimum flow of 0.05 GPM. The accredited uncertainty of the Allen facility is less than 0.10% for flows from 1 to 20,000 GPM.

The Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL)

The Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) at Utah State University has been a leader in water and environmental research for over 50 years. It is the oldest and one of the largest university-based water research facilities in the United States and is considered one of the most respected facilities of its kind.

Flow meter testing capabilities include flow meter sizes from 1/8-inch to 78-inches in diameter. Weight tanks can receive flows up to 22,000 gpm. Maximum flow rate through our largest master Venturi flow meter exceeds 100,000 gpm with handling capabilities up to 40,000 lbs.

Flow meter calibrations at the UWRL use National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable instrumentation and have met stringent nuclear safety testing requirements. The size of the UWRL hydraulics laboratory gives us the capability to simulate actual metering installations to ensure the most accurate calibration possible.