The Panametrics DigitalFlow GS868 ultrasonic flowmeter is designed to measure the mass flow rate of saturated or superheated steam. It offers a unique combination of no pressure drop, wide rangeability, ease of installation, low maintenance and high accuracy in a full-feature flowmeter package. The flowmeter system consists of one or two pairs of transducers, preamplifiers and an electronics console. The compact ultrasonic transducers are installed in the pipe or duct, one upstream of the other and up to 500 feet from the console. The transducers send and receive ultrasonic pulses through the steam. The meter measures the difference between the upstream and downstream transit times, and uses digital signal processing, advanced signal processing and correlation detection to calculate velocity and volumetric flow rate. Mass flow is calculated from the input of temperature and pressure and the built-in steam tables.

Since the DigitalFlow GS868's transducers do not obstruct the flow, they generally do not cause any pressure drop. The DigitalFlow GS868 has no parts that foul or collect debris, and no moving parts to wear out. As a result, it requires no lubrication, cleaning or other routine maintenance. With its broad range of measurement velocities and its ability to measure flow in any pipe from small to very large, one DigitalFlow GS868 meter does the job of several conventional meters. It handles pipes from 2 to 48 inches in diameter and velocities from 0.1 to 150 ft/s―in either direction―in saturated or superheated steam.

In addition to the standard single-channel model, an optional two-channel model provides enhanced accuracy when measuring two paths on a single pipe. It can also be used to measure a single path on two pipes. In addition to velocity, volumetric and mass flow data, the DigitalFlow GS868 also provides diagnostic parameters such as transit times and sound speed, to aid in setup and troubleshooting. Any of this data can be easily printed, logged, sent to an analog or digital output, or read in numeric or graphic format on the dual window display.