A pre-release preview of an emerging technology: The Accuflow Key

Industry advancements often arise out of new ways to apply well known principles rather than on the invention of new technologies. A recent case in point is the arrival in New Zealand of the computerised AccuflowTM Key which uses a sluice valve to determine the flow rate in a pipeline.

Because of the close ties existing between Detection Services and the development company in the UK, New Zealand and Australia are privileged to have the first preproduction prototypes available for longer term trialling over a wide range of flow rates, pressures, valve types and pipe materials. Experience gained using an earlier version has led to a number of upgrades to the current model, thereby vastly enhancing results.

Expectations are that the new device will be a very useful, efficient and cost-effective alternative to flow testing under certain conditions. Although the AccuflowTM Key is an important breakthrough in its own right, it is certainly not envisaged that the new device will be responsible for all existing technologies being consigned to the recycle bin.

This paper describes development work on a new portable sluice-valve flow meter that enables a conventional sluice-valve to be converted into a temporary metering point. The AccuflowTM valve flow meter has opened up new concepts in step-testing techniques. With a sluice valve on nearly every corner, metering flows across the network has at last become a realistic option for demand management engineers.