Flow measurement is the process of measuring the movement of a liquid or gas. In the earliest days of flow measurement the need was to ensure fair distribution of water to farms or of navigators to discern the rate of wind flow in order to travel on the seas. Today our world is much more complex and the need to measure flow of liquids and gasses have become more important.

From metering out water to farms to accurately reading the amount of gasoline you put in your gas tank flow measurement is one of the most critical parts of business, manufacturing and other aspects of modern society. Performing a search for flow meters, flow measurement or any other similar terms in your favorite search engine will reveal literally hundreds of thousands of websites selling tens of thousands of different type of flow measuring devices.

Typical applications for flow measurement devices that most people are familiar with include your gas meter, water meter and gasoline pumps. These devices measure the amount of liquid or gas that flows through the meter and the data they record is used in billing you for water, natural gas or gasoline.

These flow meters can work alone to report the volume of product flow through them or they can work in conjunction with other devices similar to the gas pump that measures the amount of gasoline and then performs calculations to determine the amount of money you must pay for that product. It is also possible to adjust flow rate automatically such as the gas pumps that stop the flow of gas when the amount you have prepaid for is reached.

Other applications or uses for flow measurement involve measuring water flow through a canal to ensure farmers receive the correct amount of water for their farming operations. Measuring river flow or other the flow of other channels can be important to environmental concerns and such devices are also used in hydroelectric plants to ensure they can operate throughout the full year with consideration to rainfall and other concerns.

Flow measurement can be important also to manufacturing processes. For instance a milling tool will require a certain amount of coolant is delivered to the milling bit so that the bit does not suffer from heat damage. Other areas that flow measurement is used in manufacturing are to deliver lubricants to the tools moving parts as well as coolants to various components of the tools and equipment used.

Some of the most common flow meters types are discussed in part two - Mechanical Flow Meters.