Fuel Flow Meters
Fuel flow meters are an essential part of any engine used in
transportation, although they are often essential in stationary pumps
as well. Capable of metering diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, mineral
spirits, stoddard solvent and heptane, fuel flow meters measure the
rate of fuel flow into an engine, consequently calculating the engine's
current rate of fuel consumption and the remaining amount of fuel left
in the tank. Modern fuel flow meters are computerized, sending data on
fuel rate, RPM and the amount of fuel left in a tank to a display
screen. Some more complicated transportation devices, such as cars,
airplanes and spaceships, use the information collected by the fuel
flow meter to communicate information to other parts of the machine
(e.g. RPM is communicated to a car's automatic transmission to trigger
shifting into a higher or lower gear).
Marine vessels and boats often display fuel flow meter screens on
the dashboard so the captain can keep track of how much fuel is being
used and is remaining. Fuel flow meters are also used in stationary
pumping fuel dispensers, passenger cars, heavy trucks, ship engines and
aerospace applications. Up until recently fuel flow meters used
mechanical measurement tools such as turbine or positive displacement
(PD); today, most fuel flow meters use ultrasonic sensors to
communicate flow rate data to computerized receptors.