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Asphalt Flow Meter 50 m3/h: Fast and Safe Offloading from Bulk Tanker Trucks
Quick Answer: Silver Instruments oval gear flow meter with an integrated heating jacket accurately measures hot bitumen at 50 m3/h during truck offloading. The meter delivers ±0.5% accuracy, withstands 200°C, meets ATEX Zone 1 requirements, and outputs 4-20 mA HART for custody transfer and site auditing. This design cuts offloading time, eliminates measurement drift caused by temperature change, and removes guesswork from bulk bitumen receiving.
Why Reliable Bitumen Metering Changes Your Receiving Bay
Asphalt trucks in markets such as Indonesia, Kenya, or Peru often run on tight delivery windows. A batch may be 28 tonnes, pumped at 50 m3/h through a DN100 hose. Without an inline flow meter, the terminal relies on a weighbridge or manual tank dipping. Both methods are slow and sensitive to foam, wind, or operator error. An asphalt flow meter installed on the offloading line gives a live volume total, a 4-20 mA signal to the control room, and a printout from a paperless recorder. You know exactly how much bitumen entered the tank before the truck leaves. This stops disputes before they start.
Why an Oval Gear Meter Works Where Others Fail
Hot bitumen is difficult to measure. Viscosity can swing from 300 cP at 180°C to over 3000 cP if temperature drops. Turbine meters slow down. Electromagnetic meters cannot handle non-conductive hydrocarbons. Coriolis meters work but the pressure drop on a 50 m3/h line is often too high for a standard truck pump. Oval gear meters solve this. Two oval rotors inside the measuring chamber rotate with the liquid. Each pocket of bitumen moves a fixed volume, giving a direct volumetric reading. Accuracy stays within ±0.5% across the viscosity range. No straight pipe runs are needed. The flow meter mounts right after the offloading valve.
Heating Jacket, PT100, and the Right Startup Sequence
Here is the thing: bitumen turns solid inside a cold meter. Gears jam. Operators then over-pressurize the line and damage the rotors. Silver Instruments ships every asphalt oval gear meter with a pre-mounted heating jacket. You can run steam or thermal oil at 180°C through the jacket, or use an electric heater with a PID controller. A PT100 sensor built into the meter body sends metal temperature back to the controller. Before the first drop of bitumen, the jacket preheats the meter to 160°C. This step takes 20 minutes and prevents cold-start seizure. Most engineers skip it exactly once before they learn.
50 m3/h Offloading Without Pressure Spikes or Spills
In practice, a 50 m3/h flow rate through a DN100 oval gear meter keeps the pressure drop under 0.8 bar at 500 cP. The Sweet spot. The pump does not strain, the hose does not whip, and the gear rotation stays smooth. The flow meter body is rated PN16 with ANSI 150 or DIN flanges. An optional built-in pressure transmitter monitors inlet pressure and sends a HART signal. If the pressure suddenly climbs above a set point, the control system closes the shutoff valve. This guards against clogged strainers and blocked hoses. Because offloading happens in busy yards, the meter housing and junction box are ATEX Zone 1 certified (Ex db IIB T3). No exposed sparks. No vapour ignition risk.
What a Typical Installation Looks Like
Picture a receiving station in a Southeast Asian bitumen terminal. A tanker truck connects its 4-inch hose to a manifold. Immediately downstream, a strainer with a 3 mm mesh catches carbonized lumps. Next comes the oval gear flow meter, model OG-A-AL100, with a steam-heated jacket. A PT100 sensor is plugged into the meter head. Signal cables, protected in rigid conduit, run to a local bat
Configuration for Custody Transfer and Remote Monitoring
Silver Instruments configures the oval gear meter with a pulse output and a 4-20 mA HART signal. The pulse output feeds a batch controller for local custody transfer. The 4-20 mA HART loop connects to a PLC or SCADA. HART lets you read flow rate, total, temperature from the PT100, and diagnostic alarms on one pair of wires. You can also log all data on a paperless recorder with a 7-inch touchscreen and a USB export. For sites planning future upgrades, the meter electronics allow retrofitting a wireless adapter. The factory in China assembles each meter, calibrates it with hot oil at 50 m3/h, and ships it with a 5-point calibration certificate.
Customer Experience: A Bitumen Distributor in the Philippines
Last year a customer in Cebu replaced three aging turbine meters with Silver oval gear meters for their truck offloading bays. Their main goal: reach 50 m3/h without the meter cover leaking hot oil and without daily cleaning of the turbine rotor. We supplied OG-A-AL100 units with electric heating jackets and integrated PT100 sensors. The installation took one day per line. Since commissioning, the customer has recorded zero mechanical failures and zero billing corrections across 800 batch deliveries. The site supervisor told us the biggest gain was time: unloading a 30-tonne truck dropped from 45 minutes to under 25 minutes, simply because the meter no longer forced them to throttle the pump.
Get a Specific Quote for Your Asphalt Offloading Line
Send us your operating pressure (bar), bitumen temperature (°C), pipe size (DN), and maximum flow rate (m3/h). Our application engineers will propose the correct oval gear meter size, heating jacket type, and connection standard. We serve terminals and bitumen processors across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. See our oval gear flow meter for hot bitumen on flow-meter.com.au and request a SIL verification or an ATEX certificate package if needed.
FAQ: Asphalt Flow Meter 50 m3/h Offloading
What pipe diameter is needed for 50 m3/h asphalt offloading?
A DN100 (4-inch) oval gear meter handles 50 m3/h with low pressure loss. Short DN80 sections can work but will increase backpressure and slow the pump. The truck hose and valve must also be 4 inches.
Can the oval gear meter work without a heating jacket?
Not reliably. Cold bitumen inside the chamber will solidify and lock the rotors. A steam or electric heating jacket that preheats the meter body to 160°C before flow is standard practice.
Do I need ATEX certification for a bitumen offloading meter?
In most regions, yes. Bitumen vapour can form flammable atmospheres. Silver Instruments supplies oval gear meters with ATEX Zone 1, Ex db IIB T3 certification for the sensor and housing.
Can the meter output be used for legal custody transfer?
Yes, when calibrated to OIML R117 or similar standards. Our meters ship with a 5-point calibration at operating viscosity. Pulse output feeds a certified batch controller for fiscal records.
How do I confirm the meter does not drift over time?
Verify the pulse count with a master meter or a weighbridge every six months. The oval gear design has no slip compensation tables that drift. Wear is gradual and detectable through a pulse integrity check.