The Coriolis measurement principle
Conventional Coriolis meters measure mass flow and density directly using the Coriolis effect. One or more vibrating flow tubes interact with moving fluid; the resulting inertial forces cause a slight differential deformation between upstream and downstream sections. Sensors read this as a phase/time delay that is proportional to mass flow rate. The tubes’ resonant frequency shifts with fluid density, enabling simultaneous density measurement. Unlike volumetric devices, Coriolis meters report mass flow without external pressure/temperature compensation.
Cignus mass flowmeters
Cignus applies the Coriolis principle without vibrating the flow tube: a torsionally oscillating, decoupled internal structure performs the measurement while the pressure-bearing pipe provides strength. Pipe wall thickness and diameter can be increased to meet high pressure classes without suppressing sensor sensitivity or degrading accuracy, so the pressure boundary is sized for strength and the sensor is tuned for metrology. This novel architecture challenges conventional Coriolis offerings on the market, closing gaps in size scalability, pressure capability, and pressure loss, while retaining the proven benefits of direct mass-flow and density measurement.
Performance and capacity at high operational pressures
Traditional Coriolis meters are rated for high pressures only for smaller pipe sizes, and is limited in pressure capacity at larger sizes as it affects the measurement. When traditional Coriolis flowmeters grow larger in capacity or pressure the flow-tube wall thickness must be increased affecting the measurement properties. A decoupled sensor structure allows Cignus mass flowmeters to work around this limitation and maintain accuracy at very large pipe sizes and thick walled piping.
Performance at low massflows
For the same volumetric flow, hydrogen’s mass flow and therefore a Coriolis signal is much lower than for liquids or heavier gases. Increasing pressure raises H₂ density, but it still remains far below liquids. In traditional Coriolis meters, thick, high-pressure tubes become stiff, further reducing sensitivity at low massflow. Cignus uses a decoupled sensing structure that stays tuned and sensitive while the pipe wall bears the pressure, delivering reliable low-mass-flow measurement for low-density gases within the validated operating envelope.
Minimal pressure loss
Conventional Coriolis flowmeters often restricts the flow into its flowtubes and bends the flowpath creating pressure loss. Cignus flowmeters can be made to flush fit standard piping inner diameters, retaining >90% full pipe bore with a straight-through flow path. This results in a negligible pressure loss notably lower than conventional meters.
Compact installation footprint
Conventional Coriolis flowmeters typically uses bent flow tubes to reduce the stiffness. This requires a large protrusion outside the piping envelope. By isolating the sensor structure Cignus mass flowmeters can keep the meter body within the envelope between the piping connections.
One meter, Any line size
One single Cignus flowmeter scales to very large bores, eliminating multi-run manifolds of smaller meters, without the pressure/accuracy trade-offs of traditional Coriolis designs. The design is adaptable to sizes beyond that of traditional Coriolis flowmeters > 16in Nominal Pipe Size.
Contact us for more information on how our technology can be applied in you applications and qualification test data.