Abstract

Rotameters can be used to determine the flow of ambient air pumps for supplied air respiratory protection systems. They can be added at the end of an air supply network or between its components. If a rotameter is inserted in the network and used under conditions different from those specified by the manufacturer, the flow displayed will have to be corrected to correspond to the actual flow. The authors evaluated two rotameters used by hygienists in order to establish the precision of the measurements, validate the flow correction equations to be applied, and specify the methodological framework to be applied during field measurements. The results reveal the need to consider pressure and temperature parameters in determining the actual flow.