US Patent 7610818 Flow meter for bitumen froth pipelines

A method and apparatus for measuring the flow rate of bitumen froth through a pipeline is provided. A flow meter device is provided including a conduit comprising an approach section having a diameter less than the diameter of the pipeline and a venturi section having in series a converging section, a throat section and, optionally, a diverging section, the converging section of the venturi section being disposed relative to the approach section, and a means for measuring the pressure difference ΔP between two points that are separate from one another in the flow direction, one point being on the approach section and the other point being on the throat section. In one embodiment, a heating means for heating the conduit is provided.