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Ultrasonic Gas Flow Meter for Custody Transfer and Process

Applications

FLOWSIC600

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 A new Series of compact, 3D Custody Transfer Meters

Operating Principle and Components

2 inch (2 Paths)

3 inch through 24 (48) inch (4 Paths)

2" 4" 16"

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 24 inch (4 Paths) Meter

High Pressure Calibration in Westerbork

(NL)
High Precision dry Calibration - no
Adjustment Factor necessary!

Calibration Curve
2.00
1.50
Error (%)

1.00
0.50
0.00
-0.50
-1.00
-1.50
-2.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Flow Rate (%)
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 Absolute Digital Travel Time Method

vm 0
L
L
t D tU t0 di
Vm=0
C

tD = Travel Time from A to B tU = Travel Time from B to A

L = Measuring Line Length = Measuring Line Angle

C = Velocity-of-Sound di = Inside diameter
vm = mean, uncorrected Gas Velocity

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 Example Transit Time at zero Flow
For: L = 0.4 m and C=400 m/s

L 0.4
t0 10 3 s
C 400

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 Absolute Digital Travel Time Method
L
tD =
C + v m cos( )

L L
tU =
C - v m cos( ) di vm0

L 1 1

vm = -
2 cos( ) t D t U

tD = Travel Time from A to B tU = Travel Time from B to A

L = Measuring Line Length = Measuring Line Angle
C = Velocity-of-Sound di = Inside Diameter
vm = mean, uncorrected Gas Velocity
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Ultrasonic Flow meter - Transit time measurement

Mean path velocity of gas

L 1 1
vp
2 cos t AB t BA

Volume flow (multi-path)

Qia R 2 wi v pi
i

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 Path Layout

Target: Precise measurement of gas volume

Method: Determination of the median area

velocity (weighted average) as precise
as possible. Combine velocity with
precise geometrical metrics of meter
inner body.
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 Density vs. Velocity-of-Sound
10

1
Density [kg/m3]

0.1

0.01

100 1000 10000

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Velocity-of-Sound [m/s]
 Influence of Temperature
(variation of Velocity-of-Sound with Temperature)
420
415
Velocity-of-Sound [m/s]

410
405

400
395
390
385
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Pressure [bar]

20 deg C 25 deg C 30 deg C

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 Pressure Dependency
Calibration PIGSAR 22.10.2002
FLOWSIC 600 16, ANSI #600, 4 Paths
Pressure: 17 and 50 bar (a)

1,5

0,5
Percent Error [%]

-0,5

-1

-1,5
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Q [m/h]
50 bar 17 bar

2 different operating Pressures - no Influence

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 Influence of Composition
430

420
Velocity-of-Sound [m/s]

410

400

390

380

370
78 83 88 93

% Methane
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 Velocity Profile Distortion
Other Sources
Pipe Diameter Changes (Reducers, Extenders)
Valves, Regulators
Elbows, Bends
Tee Sections
Spiral welded Pipe

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 Velocity Profile Distortion
What to do?
Well selected Measurement Point
Straight Length upstream of Meter
Flow Conditioner/Straightener
Flow Profile Determination/Identification
Swirl Detection
Swirl Compensation

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 Installation and Setup
Recommended FC: PTB-Flow Straightener

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 4 Paths, no Reflection

No Reflection: Reflector Surface becomes

superfluous
No Reflection: increases Signal - Noise
Ratio
Compensates well for non axial Flow
Components from Swirl
Numerous practical Installations show
highly accurate Results

Q vA A vA D2
4
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 Meter Result FLOWSIC600
"dry calibrated" @ 20C, pamb
3,0%

2,5%
DN80
Expanded Uncertainty

DN100
2,0%
DN150

1,5% DN200

DN250
1,0%
DN300

DN400
0,5%

0,0%
0 5 10 15 20

Flow Velocity [ms-1]

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 FLOWSIC600 - Components
Temperature Sensor: Outside the Meter

SPU (Signal Processing Unit) Pressure Tap

Marking for Direction of Flow, defined

positively

Hoisting Eye Meter Body

Flange

Cover Cap

Position of the ultrasonic

Transducers
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 Components
Meter Body

8" Meter

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 Components

(Inside Look 4 Paths - 8" Meter)

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 Transducer Technology

Advanced full metal transducer design I

Miniaturization to:

Increase operation frequency (improve

time measurement, reduce noise
sensitivity)

Reduce protrusion (more deterministic

operation)

Allow compact meter design even for

small diameters

Transducer protrusion

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Components
Transducer - Size

New Type of Titanium Transducers: hermetically sealed

Hermetically sealed, only noble Metals long lasting, no Drift

No matching Layer but internal acoustic

Transformation high Efficiency, can
work with Ambient Pressure or high CO2
Content

Theoretical Model Design -

Influence of Pressure and
Temperature minimized
excellent Accuracy
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 Details

Transducer Size compared with traditional

Transducer

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 Simplicity of use
Low power design
Compact electronics

Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Transducers

Europe: II 2G EEx de ib [ia] IIA or
IIC T4 to ATEX;

USA/Canada: Class I, Division 1/2, Groups B, C, D;

Temp. Code T4

Compatibility = 3D footprint

Manufacturing technology to reduce cost and increase reproducibility

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Components
2 Options: LED or LCD Display

LED - Front Panel LCD - Front Panel

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Components
Signal Processing Unit - internal Functions

4 Non-volatile Counters [m]

Main Counters

Counter #1: Volume forward

Counter #2: Volume reverse

Error Counters

When Status is Error all Volumes are counted to the Error Counters:

Counter #3: Error Volume forward

Counter #4: Error Volume reverse

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 Main technical Data
Accuracy

Reproducibility < 0.2 % of measured Value

Typical Error 1 path 2.0% dry calibrated

2 paths 1.0% dry calibrated

4 paths 0.5% dry calibrated

0.2% high Pressure calibrated

In general: Linearity 0.2% over TDR = 10:1

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Self Diagnosis
Self Diagnosis provides Reliability, Trustworthiness of the Results
Ultrasonics is the only Technology with self-diagnostic Capabilities
Many different Data provide a comprehensive Picture of the Meter

Can be obtained:
Remote Access via MODBUS directly or via Modem
With MEPAFLOW Software
As Status via digital Output

Additional Information about the Gas Flow can be obtained (Profile Information)

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 Self Diagnosis
Speed-of-Sound Measurement

Can be measured with Precision of 0.1 %

Comparison with the Speed-of-Sound calculated from Gas Composition

according AGA #10 or commercial Software

Comparison of the 4 Speed-of-Sound Values of all 4 Paths

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 Management of (unlikely) Path Failure
What happens if one Transducer fails?

(Consideration for 4 Paths Meter only)

Meter learns actual Flow Profile calculates replacement weighing Factors

for every possible Path Failure

Needs 20,000 Measurements (approx. 2,000 s or 0.5 h) of Operation until

learning is ready

Path Failure: continues with Replacement weighing Factors

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 Management of (unlikely) Path Failure
What happens if one Transducer fails?

Possible Cases:
One Path Failure: System continues with full Accuracy (PTB-approved), Values
in standard Counters

System Status Check required

More than one Failure: System continues, Values with reduced Accuracy in Error
Counters

System Status Failure

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 Installation and Systems Integration

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 Ultrasonic Technology Applications
Ultrasonic Gas Flow Meter

Distribution Exploration / Production Transmission

City Gate Metering Gas Gathering Fields Custody Transfer Metering

Gas Power Plants Allocation Metering Bi-Directional Metering at
Pipeline Nodes
Industrial and Gas Processing Plants
Commercial Users Border Stations
Offshore & Onshore
Line Sizes: Platforms Gas Terminal and Mixing
Stations
3, 4 and 6 Line Sizes:
Compressor Stations
Pressure Rating: 2 Through 10
Line Sizes:
ANSI Cl. 150 & 300 Pressure Rating:
4 through 24 & larger
Through ANSI Cl.
1500 Pressure Rating
ANSI Cl. 600

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 Recommendation for FLOWSIC600
Installation
Standard (conservative) Installation:

20 D 1.5 D

Characteristics:

20D Inlet after - Tee, Elbow, double Elbow in Plane and out of Plane, Diffuser, Reducer,
Header
1.5D Outlet between Meter and Thermowell

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 Installation and Setup

Minimum straight Length 10 D upstream (without Flow Conditioner)

Installation Configuration at unidirectional Use ( ) Required Length = 16 DN

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 Installation and Setup
Minimum straight Length 5 D upstream and downstream
(with Flow Conditioner)

Installation Configuration at bi-directional use ( )

Required length = 13 DN

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 4
The Most Productive Generation
 The Most Productive Generation
Adequate Resources
Hardware & Software Adaptability

Distributed
Control
Reliability
Deterministic Performance Engineering Tools
Accurate Sensors
Audit Trail

Custody
Measurement XSeries G4 Connectivity

Integrated Intelligent Field Devices

Remote LAN and WAN capability
Protocol capability
Cost Effective
Scalability

Low End
Upward Scalability
Software Reusability
 The Most Productive Generation
Deterministic Performance
Accurate Sensors
Audit Trail
Programmable Logic
Engineering Tools
Connectivity

XSeries G4
2nd Tier Distributed Control
Engineering Tools
Connectivity

Remote IO
Data Logging
Alarming
 The Most Productive Generation

Distributed
Control
XSeries G4
Custody Connectivity
Measurement
Scalability
 The Most Productive Generation

Multi-well PAD Controller

2 to 20 Wells
Significant comms
100+ IO Points
Data Concentrator
Well(s) Optimization
Liquids Storage
Truck Liquid Loading
Gas Measurement
Flare Monitoring
Reservoir Data Logging
Alarming
Shutdown Logic
The Most Productive Generation

Multi-well PAD Controller

Shown: 22 IO Modules (4 to 8 pts per)
 The Most Productive Generation

G4 Controller Card
 Hardware and software infrastructure
32 bit digital controller and 32 bit analog signal processor
24 bit A/D for each bead (no gain ranging)
Optimized detector bead operation
Digital pressure and temperature control
Triple level temperature control
- - Beads - Heater plate - Feed through (optional preheater)
Pressure control per column train
Pressure sensors in oven (no temperature compensation required)
Enhanced insensitivity to power supply variations
 Analysis Results
Precision
+/- 0.125 Btu at ambient temp
+/- 0.25 Btu from -180 C 550 C
5 ppm minimum detection on NC5 and CO2
Compact Modular Design
 NGC 8200 Specifications
Analysis time-5 minutes
Classification Class 1, Div. 1, Groups C and D, ATEX Zone
1
Operation Temp Range: 0-125 Deg F
Power consumption-6 watts nominal, 25 watts startup-can
be solar powered
Lithium battery-backed RAM
 NGC 8200 Specifications
C6+ analysis for up to three streams
1 or 2 auto calibration streams
Communications:
Two software configurable (RS232, RS422, or RS485)
USB Host and Client (optional)
Ethernet (optional)
Protocols: Local MMI, Modbus ASCII and RTU, HCIA,
DSFG and PTB Printout
 NGC 8200- Features and Benefits

Reduced capitol, installation,training and maintenance costs

Compact design-less room on pipeline
Newly designed modular sample conditioning
Compatible with variety of sample probes: A+, Welker,YZ,
etc.
10 port valves-no moving metal parts
Fully custody transfer capable
 NGC 8200 Versatility

NGC can:
function as flow computer with process inputs
Interface with flow computers/RTUs to send up-to-date energy
data upstream
Maintain audit trail for re-editing data in case of malfunction
DATA STORAGE
Operator configurable data period and
items

Stream analyses averages results for last

(default storage values) :
480 cycles
840 hours
35 days
1 month
Audit logs for last 128 alarms and last 128
events

Data collected via a remote

communications link or laptop interface
software
 DATA STORAGE
Configurable length and content
diagnostic files, such as:
Peak times, peak areas

Ideal Btu/CV

Carrier regulator pressure

Oven temperature

Ambient temperature

Sample pressure

Detector noise values

Detector balance values

 Operator Interface - Entry Level

Versatile field operator interface screen on MMI provides broad

functionality
Powerful Entry level in PCCU can turn on numerous applications
running through NGC
 Operator Interface - Advanced Level

This level of interface is accessed by clicking the buttons on the top

of the operator Interface Screen
The left is the basic set up for calibration
On the right is the remote communication set up
 Operator Interface - Advanced Level

The screen on the left shows how collections are done

The screen on the right shows how the peak set up is accomplished
in this unit
 Operator Interface Expert Level

Engineering level
interface
Very powerful, Allows
nearly any item to be
changed
Can be protected by a
Level 3 security
 NGC 8200

VGA Front Panel Display Screens

NGC Display Top Level Menu
NGC Display Analyzer Menu Screen
Select the Stream
Chrom 1 Screen Explore Mode
NGC Results Display
NGC Display Cal Log
NGC Display Alarm Log Mode
NGC APPLICATIONS
Custody Transfer Measurement
Multi Tube Custody Transfer Measurement
Gas Sampler Replacement
City Gate Measurement and Control
Feed Forward Plant Balance
Ultrasonic Gas Metering
Plant Process Analysis and Control
LNG Re-gasification
Blending Applications
 Ultrasonic Gas Metering
Provides component analysis used in calculation of speed of sound (SOS)
On the fly troubleshooting of meter with SOS calculation
Onboard processor could be used for linearity curve fit routine for ultrasonic output
Processing capability could be used to calculate difference between primary and check
meter
 Plant Process Analysis and Control
Monitor quality of gas from different suppliers
Provide important information for control of plant processes
 Blending Applications
Provide continuous Btu and energy monitoring for blending or peak shaving
applications
Can monitor all gas streams, before and after blending interface
Provide control output to blend for desired energy level
Reduce maintenance by efficiently automating blending process