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A flowmeter for use in a wellbore that has vane assemblies that deploy from a rotating segment. The vane assemblies project a variable distance away from the rotating segment, so that the flowmeter adjust to varying flow conditions. The variable distance of the vane assemblies also allows use of the

A flowmeter for use in a wellbore that has vane assemblies that deploy from a rotating segment. The vane assemblies project a variable distance away from the rotating segment, so that the flowmeter adjust to varying flow conditions. The variable distance of the vane assemblies also allows use of the flowmeter in different sized wellbores. An example flowmeter includes vane assemblies of varying length that are selectively deployed depending on operating conditions. Other vane assemblies have vane elements with a pitch that varies in response to wellbore and fluid flow operating parameters.

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1. A flowmeter for use in a wellbore comprising: a body comprising an upper housing and a lower housing that is rotatable with respect to the upper housing;vane assemblies that couple to the lower housing and that selectively pivot radially outward into a path of fluid flowing through the wellbore,

1. A flowmeter for use in a wellbore comprising: a body comprising an upper housing and a lower housing that is rotatable with respect to the upper housing;vane assemblies that couple to the lower housing and that selectively pivot radially outward into a path of fluid flowing through the wellbore, each of the vane assemblies comprises a plurality of planar vane members, and a plurality of elongate vane posts each having ends coupled with a one of the planar vane members and distal ends pivotingly coupled to the lower housing, at least two of the vane posts having different lengths so that when the at least two vane posts are pivoted away from the lower housing the corresponding vane elements are disposed at differing radial distances from an axis of the flowmeter; anda pivoting actuator coupled to the vane assemblies, and that is axially moveable within the body from a retracted position with the vane assemblies retracted adjacent the body, to a series of extended positions. 2. The flowmeter of claim 1, further comprising coils in the lower housing that communicate with coils in the upper housing. 3. The flowmeter of claim 1, further comprising a controller for controlling operation of the pivoting actuator. 4. The flowmeter of claim 1, wherein the planar vane elements are selectively moved to within a plane disposed at an angle oblique to the path of fluid flowing through the wellbore. 5. The flowmeter of claim 4, wherein a first vane post extends radially outward so that a first vane element on the end of the first vane post is proximate an inner surface of the wellbore, and wherein a second vane post extends radially outward so that a second vane element on the end of the second vane post is proximate an outer circumference of the housing, and wherein a third vane post extends radially outward so that a third vane element on the end of the third vane post is disposed radially between the first and second vane elements. 6. The flowmeter of claim 4, wherein the pivoting actuator comprises a deployment mandrel having teeth on an axially oriented surface of the mandrel that couple with teeth on a curved surface of one of the vane assemblies, so that axially moving the mandrel in one direction pivots the vane element towards the body, and axially moving the mandrel in another direction pivots the vane element away from the body. 7. The flowmeter of claim 6, further comprising a motor driven shaft in the body for axially moving the deployment mandrel. 8. The flowmeter of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of deployment mandrels, wherein each of the deployment mandrels are axially moveable by the shaft, and wherein each deployment mandrel has teeth on an axially oriented surface of the mandrel that couple with teeth on a curved surface of one of the vane assemblies, so that axially moving the mandrel in one direction pivots the vane element towards the body, and axially moving the mandrel in another direction pivots the vane element away from the body. 9. The flowmeter of claim 1, wherein the vane assemblies are selected from the group consisting of planar vane elements that are in a plane disposed at an angle oblique to the path of fluid flowing through the wellbore, and an elongate vane post having an end pivotingly mounted to the body, vane elements rotatably on the post, and a linkage rod that connects to ends of the vane elements, so that when the vane post is moved into an extended position, the vane elements rotate into an orientation that is substantially perpendicular with the vane post. 10. The flowmeter of claim 9, wherein a pinned connection extends through a middle section of each of the vane elements and into the vane post, so that each of the vane elements are rotatable about the pinned connections. 11. The flowmeter of claim 1, wherein the vane assemblies are selected from the group consisting of planar vane elements that are in a plane disposed at an angle oblique to the path of fluid flowing through the wellbore, and an elongate vane post having an end pivotingly mounted to the body, planar vane elements on the post, wherein the planar vane elements each have a lateral edge, and pivot about the vane post along the lateral edge so that an enlarged surface of the planar vane element is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the path of fluid flowing through the wellbore. 12. A flowmeter for use in a wellbore comprising: an upper body, a lower body coupled with the upper body and rotatable with respect to the upper body;vane elements coupled to the lower body and that are pivotable from a retracted position adjacent with the lower body, to an extended position that is radially outward from the lower body and that are oriented at an angle oblique to a path of a flow of fluid through the wellbore, so that when the fluid flows past the lower body, the flow of fluid imparts a force onto the vane elements that rotates the lower body;a deployment assembly coupled with the vane elements and that is retracted when the vane elements are in the retracted position and that is extended with the vane elements are in the extended position;anda controller in communication with the lower body and the deployment assembly, and that selectively commands the deployment assembly to deploy the vane elements to designated locations in response to an amount of fluid flow in the wellbore. 13. The flowmeter of claim 12, wherein the controller provides command signals to the deployment assembly based on a signal received from the lower body. 14. The flowmeter of claim 12, wherein at least some of the vane elements are mounted on devices that are selected from the group consisting of planar vane elements that are in a plane disposed at an angle oblique to the path of fluid flowing through the wellbore, and vane posts that are pivotingly coupled to the lower body, and wherein the deployment assembly comprises an elongate connector arm that is selectively urged axially within the lower body and has an end connected to a scissor arm linkage, wherein ends of the scissor arm linkage distal from the connector arm are pinned to the vane posts. 15. A method of measuring flow in a wellbore comprising: providing a flowmeter that comprises an upper body, a lower body rotatingly coupled with the upper body, and vane elements coupled with the lower body;disposing the flowmeter in the wellbore and in a path of a flow of fluid;pivoting the vane elements from a stowed position adjacent the lower body to a deployed position radially outward from the body, and along a path that extends oblique to an axis of the flowmeter, so that the flow of fluid impinges on the vane elements and generates a force that rotates the lower body;adjusting the exposure of the vane elements in response to changes in a flowrate of the flow of fluid; andsensing the rotation of the lower body. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising estimating a flowrate of the flow of fluid in the wellbore based on the sensed rotation of the lower body. 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising controlling a distance of the vane elements away from the lower body based on an estimate of the flowrate of the flow of fluid. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the path comprises a first path, the method further comprising moving the flowmeter to another wellbore having a different sized diameter, and pivoting the vane elements to a second path that is oblique to the first path. 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the deployed position is based on an inner diameter of the wellbore.