Fuel cost is one of the biggest factors for operating ships and represents 50-70 % of the total operating cost of the vessel. As the prices of fuel reach a new high every day and the environmental policies on ships’ emission become more stringent, it becomes very important for the shipping companies to keep a check on fuel consumption and utilization and develop ways to correctly measure the quantity of the fuel used on board ship.
The fuel flow metering technology – Coriolis Technology has been developed which might help greatly in fuel measuring on board ships.
The Coriolis Technology – The New Fluid Monitoring Technology
The Coriolis flow meters measure directly the accurate mass flow rate of the fluid and eliminates the need of further mathematical calculations since marine bunker billing are mass based.
It does not have any moving parts but consists of transducers and temperature sensorswhich provide a very accurate output.
The flow meter works on thermodynamic heat conduction principle and is only minutely dependent on the density, pressure, and viscosity of the liquid, which makes it feasible to measure the flow rate even if there is entrained gas along with the fluid to be measured.
Application of Coriolis Technology
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Bunker measurement: Bunker fuel measurement disputes are very common as accurate measurement of the marine fuel is not often possible with conventional flow meter system. Hence the Coriolis system can play an important role in bunkering operation.
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Efficiency and power calculation: Fuel Efficiency of the ships’ plant and power can be measured more authentically if an accurate and correct flow measurement is available.
Advantages of Coriolis Technology
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They are free from rotating parts hence less chances of breakdowns.
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No need of further mathematical calculations.
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Elimination of human error factor.
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Best suited for HFO applications as not affected by density and viscosity of the fluid.
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Can tolerate portion of air in the liquid & still delivers acceptable performance.
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In addition to mass measurement, density and temperature are also measured.
