Three tips for maximizing your vortex shedding meter’s efficiency. As far as steam flow measurement goes, vortex mass flow meters have become the flow technology of choice for most facilities and plants looking to incur significant savings on energy, maintenance, and processing costs. Vortex flow meters are perfect for measuring saturated and supersaturated steam in […]

From facilities management to district heating applications, accurate steam flow energy measurement is a critical flow measurement needed to incur substantial savings on energy and maintenance costs. However,  steam flow energy measurement is also the most difficult flow measurement to make due to the unknown factors of what type of steam is being produced, various […]

Vortex flow meters are increasingly becoming the flow technology of choice for gas, liquid, and steam flow measurement. Vortex flow meters are ideal for measuring saturated and supersaturated steam in large facilities to improve steam production efficiency and allocation. Volumetric water flow and high flow gas measurements are also strong applications for vortex flow meters. […]

The spirit of ACHEMA 2018 can be summed up in three words: reimagine, capitalize, and prepare for the future. ACHEMA was all about seizing the potential opportunities that Industry 4.0  or IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) can bring to the chemical and process industries. Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in […]

More and more, buzz words like “flow energy” or “flow energy management” have become prevalent as companies grapple to control costs, reduce energy use, and comply with government regulations—all while trying to increase profitability. But what are flow energy and flow energy management? Why should you care? In this three-part series, we will: Explore what […]

Many of us have heard the sound of pipes banging as we turn a faucet on or off. This sound is the water in the pipe being forced to stop or suddenly change direction and is called “water hammer.” Did you know that water hammer is not just limited to water pipes? In fact, water […]

Another year has come and gone, and it certainly was a big one for Sierra and our customers! Let’s look back at the news and top content that we shared with you in 2017. Most Popular Blog Posts from 2017 We love sharing our news and providing useful flow meter information with you through our Let’s Talk […]

Since the early twentieth century, geothermal energy has been used to produce electricity. In the 1980’s and 90’s, rapid expansion in the demand for geothermal energy put pressure on suppliers to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Now geothermal energy production is becoming a common practice around the globe. One of the largest energy companies in […]

Vortex flow meter technology is an ideal technology for many applications particularly saturated and supersaturated steam, volumetric water applications as well as flow energy management (natural gas, compressed air, steam, water) in facilities and large campuses. In some of these applications, vortex installations can be tricky and take flow expertise for the most successful installations. Kam Bansal, […]

Facilities managers at large facilities often have the challenging task of managing all the flow energy in their facility with the mandate from upper management to save money on energy costs. To accomplish this goal, it’s critical to get accurate flow measurement data of the flow energy in your facility such as: natural gas, compressed air, steam, chilled […]

2017 is here and this year will bring many new exciting developments at Sierra, but before launching completely into the new year, let’s take a look back at our top stories of 2016. New at Sierra in 2016 We’re always looking for new ways to communicate and interact with our customers and industry. Find out about three […]

Accurately measuring fluid flows like steam in large ducts or pipes is a challenging application. Large ducts and pipes often have swirl or turbulent flow which makes accurate flow measurement difficult. Not to mention, installation of steam flow meters can be extremely challenging since in many cases you will need to shut off the steam flow to install […]

Thank you to the readers of industry publication, Flow Control Magazine, who voted for Sierra’s InnovaMass 240i/241i iSeries multivariable and volumetric vortex flow meters in Flow Control’s 2016 Innovation Awards. Sierra was awarded an honorable mention. Sierra’s tradition and spirit of innovation spanning over 40 years drives everything we do, we are happy that the readers of Flow Control […]

Traditionally, steam flow has been measured with a differential pressure device. This is typically an orifice plate. However, such devices are inherently volumetric flow measurements. As we have discussed in previous blog posts, changes in pressure and temperature will change the mass flow rate of steam. Even a “small” change of 10% in steam pressure […]

The EPA’s Boiler MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) regulations are heating up. Boiler MACT is an EPA rule to limit hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from commercial and industrial boilers and process heaters. Originally published in 2011 as a mandate driven by the Clean Air Act,  the rules are Area Source Boiler MACT 40 CFR 63, subpart JJJJJJ for smaller […]

Learn more about the product featured in this video:  InnovaMass 241i Insertion Vortex Flow Meter Need more information on measuring steam? Learn more about maximizing steam productivity and reducing the overall cost of ownership for additional energy savings when measuring steam. A new “Minute Flow Tip” will be posted to our YouTube channel every month. […]

At Sierra, we get very excited about flow measurement and control as you can imagine, and sometimes we want to spread the information we have quickly without a whole lot of fuss. That’s the spirit behind our video series called “Minute Flow Tips.”  In just a minute or so, we discuss a specific flow application […]

The heat is on. Most facilities managers are in the hot seat to account for all of the flow energy, going in and out of their facility which is no easy task. This mandate is no different for steam flowmeter measurement. Vortex flow meters continue to be the industry standard selection for accurate steam flow […]

Sierra’s next generation InnovaMass “iSeries” features a new hyper-fast microprocessor, robust software apps, and an automated state-of-the-art manufacturing and flow calibration facility to assure the highest level of quality and delivery. It Has Apps! The InnovaMass iSeries features flow management apps driven by our new Raptor II OS that will empower your process and save you time and money. ValidCal […]

InnovaMass. Reinvented. I am proud to announce on behalf of our entire development team, our completely re-designed, next generation InnovaMass 240i and 241i vortex volumetric flow and multivariable mass flow meter product line. Learn more… The all new iSeries InnovaMass 240i inline and 241i insertion vortex flow meters are manufactured at our brand new assembly and calibration facility in […]

A few weeks back  Glen Coblentz, Vice President of North American sales, spent three days in New York City. Unfortunately, he was not able to enjoy the sites of NYC. Instead, he was working 45-feet underground in 120 F degree heat in New York City’s steam tunnels.  For over five hours, Glen worked with Sierra Representative, North East Technical, commissioning […]

The buzz around biogas continues to grow and with good reason. Efforts to find renewable sources of energy are in full swing, and harnessing energy from landfill gas or digester gas into biogas is a promising solution to the problem of high oil prices. In the July 2013 issue of Biomass Products & Technology, Sierra’s […]

Cryogenic fluids are key in a variety of industries with very low temperature applications, including medical, large-scale frozen food processing and electric power transmission. However, these fluids must be handled – and measured – with great care, which can be a challenge if you’re using a traditional turbine meter or other tools to assess various fluid […]

In my last post, I outlined problems you may be facing if you need to measure superheated steam accurately, and I promised to share a success story about our Innova-Mass multivariable vortex flow meter. A district energy provider for a Midwest city had hot air problems. Their old shunt meters were wearing out and leading […]

If you’re a provider of superheated steam – commonly used to heat water and buildings in large cities in the northeastern United States – then you may be watching your revenue go up in smoke. As you know, steam is not free. Normally, it’s produced at a central facility and piped to customers. Like all other forms […]

In my last post, I discussed the problem of density errors creeping into steam flow measurements. When steam is superheated, you can determine density by the steam tables. But, as the vapor cools in a pipe, things aren’t so simple. I said the answer to the conundrum is actually “blowing in the wind” – that a […]

I want to discuss a special form of gas flow measurement – water vapor – otherwise known as steam flow. Traditionally, steam has been measured with orifice plates. The steam was typically saturated or had a known superheat, so the density could be obtained from the steam tables. However, steam naturally cools as it goes down the […]

When the operations staff at a large food processing plant wanted to reduce utility costs and better analyze boiler performance, they chose to retrofit their 35-year-old boilers with new electronic controls, as well as several of our Innova-Mass® Model 241 immersible multivariable mass vortex flow meters to accurately measure steam discharge. Previously run by old pneumatic […]