AMS Instrumentation ST80 thermal flow meter

The ST80 thermal flow meter range from AMS Instrumentation has been expanded to include a Profibus-DP solution, along with its existing Profibus-PA capability. The added Profibus-DP expands communication between a plant-wide Profibus communications system for air and gas flow metering measurement and control. The thermal mass flow meter can be configured as a field instrument PA device or a system RS-485-based DP device.

The device provides air/gas flow rate, totalised flow, temperature and instrument health diagnostics over the Profibus digital bus. It has also been evaluated and certified by the Profibus organisation to ensure its integration with Profibus control systems. The ST80 flow meter also includes standard output options of dual 4–20 mA analog outputs (NAMUR NE 43 compliant), HART (Version 7) I/O and Modbus RTU. The flow meter is designed to combine reliable electronics with a selection of application-matched flow sensors and calibration, for use in a range of gas flow meter applications.

With its no-moving parts thermal dispersion flow sensor, sturdy transmitter enclosure and selection of process connections, the ST80 provides application compatibility with ease of installation and limited maintenance. Designed with an optional backlit information LCD, the flow meter provides digital and bar graph readouts of process flow rate and temperature, totalised flow, alarm conditions, diagnostics feedback and a user-defined label field. The flow meter is suitable for pipe diameters from 25 to 2500 mm and air/gas temperatures up to 454°C. The flow meter features an accuracy of ±1% of reading, ±0.5% of full scale and repeatability of ±0.5% of reading with flow rates up to 305 NMPS and 100:1 turndown. The flow meter is also available for powering by either 85–265 AC or 24 DC.