U.S. Navy Adopts V-Cone Flow Meter For EMALS Duty on Next-Generation Carriers Case Study NAVAIR Public Release 2012-947. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Page 1 of 4 McCrometer, Inc.. 3255 W. Stetson Ave., Hemet, CA 92545 PH 951-652-6811 FAX 951-652-3078 2012 by McCrometer, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. 30120-33 Rev. 1.0/08-12

Case Study By Nick Voss Product Manager McCrometer, Inc. U.S. Navy Adopts V-Cone Flow Meter For EMALS Duty on Next-Generation Carrier Defense contractor General Atomics (GA) is developing the next gener ation of aircraft catapult launch systems for United States Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, utilize s a breakthrough linear motor technology instead of conventional steam pistons. A technological advance, EMAL S provides a controlled acceleration of aircraft to takeoff speed. Other advanta ges of EMALS in comparison to conventional...

After evaluating and testing various flow meter technolog ies, GA’s e ngineers contacted McCrometer to discuss the problem of finding a flo w meter technology that is h ighly resistant to flow swirl and cavitation. The McCrometer applications team recommended the V-Cone® flow meter. Sa mple V-Cone flow mete rs were purchased for evalu ation and rigorous testing. The Solution McCrometer’s rugged differential pressure (dP) V-Cone flow meter is wel l suited for the EMALS coolant monitoring system. With its bu ilt-in flow con ditioning technology, the V-Cone flow meter eliminates the need fo r long...

while another pressure-sensing tap measures the low pressure create d by the cone on th e downstream face of the cone itself. This pressure dif ference is incorporated into a derivation of the Bernoulli equation to determine fluid flow. As the fluid moves past the cone, very short vortices are formed that result in a lowamplitude, high-frequency signal optimal for excellent signal stability. The V-Cone flow meter maintains ±0.5 percent accu racy and ±0.1 percent repeatability over a 1 0 to 1 turndown, and the cone conditions the fluid such that th ere is relatively low pe rmanent head loss. The...