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The World Market for Coriolis Flowmeters, 5th Edition

This 2016 study reveals the size of the worldwide Coriolis flowmeter market, including the market shares
of all major suppliers, and forecasts the market through 2020. The study presents:
• Worldwide supplier market size and shares for Coriolis flowmeters in 2015
• Market growth forecast  through 2020 
• Industries and applications where Coriolis flowmeters are used, including market growth sectors
• Strategies to manufacturers for selling into the Coriolis flowmeter market
• Company profiles and product analysis for  the main Coriolis suppliers 
• Product descriptions and average selling prices in the market
• Factors contributing to and limiting market growth
 

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It's no surprise that the Coriolis flowmeter market is one of the fastest growing flowmeter markets. The popular Coriolis flowmeter requires little maintenance and is highly accurate --  many Coriolis flowmeters achieve 0.1% accuracy. In addition, Coriolis flowmeters can measure mass flow, which is useful for products sold by weight rather than by volume and for chemical reactions that are based on mass rather than volume. Process plants are increasingly selecting Coriolis meters to replace differential-pressure (DP) devices.  Mass flow is especially appropriate for measuring gases, which are more readily affected by temperature and pressure than are liquids, and their use is growing in the oil & gas industry.  

Companies that need flowmeters for custody transfer, or want highly accurate measurement of mass, have a good reason to select Coriolis flow meters.  They find that despite a relatively high price tag, Coriolis flowmeters can provide a good return on investment.

The World Market for Coriolis Flowmeters, 5th Edition builds on studies Flow Research published in 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2013.  The latest edition includes the segmentation included in earlier versions, and also introduces brand new segmentation. 

Why the Coriolis market is growing fast

A number of factors are contributing to the growth in the Coriolis flowmeter market:

Custody transfer.  Custody transfer of natural gas is a fast-growing market, especially with the increased popularity of natural gas as an energy source, and Coriolis flowmeters are feeling the effects. Natural gas changes hands, or ownership, at a number of transfer points between the producer and the end user. These custody transfer points are tightly regulated by standards groups such as the American Gas Association (AGA), which approved a report on the use of Coriolis flowmeters for custody transfer of natural gas in 2003. This report, AGA-11,  has provided a significant boost to the use of Coriolis flowmeters for natural gas flow measurement. The majority of Coriolis suppliers now have meters that can measure gas flow.

In addition, suppliers have made a number of improvements in Coriolis technology, and Coriolis meters are now much better able to measure gases.  

Technological improvements. Suppliers continue to make technological improvements in Coriolis flowmeters. Straight tube meters have become more accurate and reliable, thereby addressing some of the drawbacks of bent tube meters, including pressure drop, the in ability to measure high-speed fluids, and the tendency of bent tubes to cause fluid build-up. 

Other improvements include the use of titanium and other construction materials that make the meters stronger and longer lasting, as well as a trend toward flowmeters that can effectively handle larger line sizes. More than any other meter, Coriolis meters have line-size limitations. Due to the nature of the technology, Coriolis meters get large and unwieldy once they reach the six-inch size. Even two-inch, three-inch, and four-inch meters are quite large.  Rheonik, now a part of GE Sensing, has combined two six-inch Coriolis meters to create a meter that can handle larger line sizes. While it has sold a very limited number of these meters, it does represent an interesting and creative way to deal with the line-size issue. Other companies that have introduced Coriolis flowmeters for line sizes above six inches include Endress+Hauser, KROHNE, and Micro Motion. 

Low maintenance. Even though Coriolis meters have a higher purchase cost than many other flowmeters, they may cost less over the lifetime of the meter due to reduced maintenance costs. Unlike turbine and positive displacement meters, Coriolis meters do not have any moving parts, apart from the vibrating tube. They are not subject to wear in the way that orifice plates are. With many companies reducing their engineering and maintenance staffs, having a meter that does not require a great deal of maintenance can be a major advantage.

Less sticker shock. Both Micro Motion and Endress+Hauser have broken the price barrier, by offering lower-cost Coriolis meters in the $3,000 range rather than the typical $5,000 and $6,000 range. The  lower price also means lower accuracy -- published accuracies are in the 0.5% range -- but initial reports indicate that these meters are selling extremely well.

How they work

The French mathematician Gustave Coriolis formulated the principle that underlies Coriolis flowmeters in 1835. He showed  that an inertial force needs to be taken into account when the motion of bodies in a rotating frame of reference is described. For example, aA hypothetical object thrown from the North Pole to the equator appears to vary from its intended path due to the earth’s rotation.

Coriolis flowmeters contain one or more vibrating tubes. These tubes are usually bent, although straight-tube meters are also available now. The fluid to be measured passes through the vibrating tubes, accelerating as it flows toward the maximum vibration point, and slowing down as it leaves that point. This causes the tubes to twist, and position sensors detect tube positions.. The amount of twisting is directly proportional to mass flow. 

While the roots of today’s Coriolis flowmeters can be traced back to the 1950s, it was not until 1977 that Micro Motion introduced a commercially viable Coriolis flowmeter for industrial applications. Since that time, a number of other suppliers have entered the market, including Endress+Hauser and KROHNE, and have introduced a wide variety of models and types of Coriolis flowmeters.

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