Titan Enterprises has announced it will use a Victrex Peek polymer for its unique, high-accuracy and low-cost ultrasonic Atrato flow meter.

The new flow meter is predicted to be a breakthrough product in small-bore flow metering, said Titan.

Titan, a UK-based manufacturer of flow meter devices and solutions, developed the new product in conjunction with one of the UK’s respected fluid engineering establishments, Cranfield University. Titan also worked closely with Victrex Polymer Solutions, a division of Victrex plc, a leading manufacturer of high-performance polyaryletherketones, on material selection, looking closely at chemical resistance, moulding sources and processing requirements.

Trevor Forster, founder and managing director of Titan, said, “After designing flow meters for more than 40 years, I am delighted to bring The Atrato to market. I believe it is truly a global contender in the challenging world of conventional flow metering!” He added, “Material choice has been critical in enabling us to develop this new generation of flow meters. We worked closely with UK-headquartered Victrex Polymer Solutions who provided invaluable advice and supplied materials that met and even exceeded the stringent requirements of the Atrato.”

Accurate and cost-effective flow measurement is increasingly important to many industries such as pharmaceuticals, industrial engineering and food and beverages. The Atrato flow meter leverages Titan’s patented technology enabling the direct-through meter to handle flows from laminar to turbulent. The device deploys the ‘time of flight’ measurement system where a signal is passed along the pipe with the flow and back up the pipe against the flow, the difference in these signals produces the flow rate. Until now, this technology has been considered expensive and not always accurate. However, Titan believes that the Atrato flow meter’s fully symmetrical, concentric signals coupled with the ability to achieve desired timing accuracies make it a new market leader.

For the development of the Atrato, Titan required a high-performance polymer that would enable the thread forms which attach the flow meter to the flow pipes to be moulded. This was not possible to achieve using traditional metal thread forms. The polymer also needed to be chemically resistant and have the capability to operate at high temperature up to 130º C. Due to its deployment in beverage dispensing applications the material needed to be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliant. Additionally, low moisture absorption was a prerequisite for medical and pharmaceutical applications.

Victrex Peek fits the bill
The Atrato’s unique clean bore construction makes it ideal for hygienic applications. The smooth finish achieved in the bore of the Victrex Peek polymer-based components aids the flow of liquids. In addition, the polymer’s high resistance to cleaning fluids and solvents enhanced the cleaning process.The technology developed for the Atrato has the flexibility to provide the basis of a family of flow meters suitable for an even wider range of flows and applications.

Dave Adkin, Victrex Polymer Solutions market development manager for UK and Ireland, concluded: “The excellent inherent physical and chemical properties of Victrex Peek polymer made it an ideal material of choice for Titan’s innovative Atrato flow meter application.” Working with companies such as Titan to help accelerate application development and thoroughly understanding their engineering requirements from the end user point of view is at the core of everything we do”.

The vast majority of Victrex Peek grades are safe for repeated use in food contact applications and conform to government statutory directives such as those stipulated by the FDA and the European Commission as well as initiatives introduced by industry bodies such as Reach (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) and RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances).