​Coriolis meters are being used in the shipping industry to give true volume of fuel being delivered and to avoid bunker disputes due to aeration of fuel, known as the ‘Cappuccino’ effect

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Fuel suppliers sometimes introduce air intentionally into marine fuel during the pumping of bunkers to the ship, meaning that the quantity of fuel being delivered for a given volume of supply is less than stated. This practice is referred to as the ‘cappuccino’ effect due to the fuel aeration and, in large bunker deliveries, such practice could result in considerable financial loss and a potential bunker dispute.
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Standard volumetric type fuel flow meters will not detect a shortfall as they measure the volume of throughput including entrapped air. To counter this practice, Coriolis mass flow meters are increasingly being used for fuel bunkering; unlike volumetric flow meters, Coriolis meters will directly measure mass, density and temperature, using these factors to calculate the true volume and batch totals of the fuel being delivered.

OVAL Corporation of Japan manufactures a range of Coriolis mass meters which offer outstanding performance with respect to accuracy, reproducibility, flow range, pressure loss and safety; they are being widely used in marine fuel management and fuel bunkering applications to provide accurate fuel delivery data and prevent fuel suppliers adding air to fuel.

​CORIOLIS METER FEATURES

• Measures mass flow rate directly
• High accuracy, low pressure loss flow sensor for both liquid and gas
• Measures density and temperature in addition to mass flow rate
• No moving parts or obstructions in contact with the fluid being measured
• Little maintenance, flow conditioning or straight pipe runs
• ATEX rated option

​TYPICAL CORIOLIS METER APPLICATIONS

• Fuel & oil monitoring
• Custody transfer
• Fuel bunkering
• Flow metering natural-gas consumption
• Suitable for flow applications where temperature and pressures fluctuate

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