Theory of Ultrasonic Flow Measurement -Gases & Liquids

Class 3175
Don Augenstein, Vice President Engineering,
Caldon Inc. 1070 Banksville Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15216
I nt roduct i on
Ultrasonic transit-time flow meter technology is now
over 50 years old. Early versions of these meters
were at times disappointing in accuracy and reliability.
While the basic principle remains unchanged, the
technology has evolved substantially. The major
improvements have been in transducer design, signal
processing and, even more importantly, in
understanding the factors that influence the
performance of these meters. Recent designs of
multi-path transit time ultrasonic flow meters now
routinely achieve an accuracy and reliability
comparable to or better than older mechanical
technologies (i.e., turbine, positive displacement
meters and orifice plates).
Ultrasonic flow meters (UFMs) are now beginning to
displace those traditional flow meters in hydrocarbon
measurement applications. This transition is being
driven by a number of UFM attributes including:
High Accuracy and turndown ratio
Availability of large size meters
Non-intrusiveness
Low maintenance costs
Excellent on-line diagnostics
Unlike the mechanical technology, ultrasonic flow
meters can provide information about flow
characteristics within the pipe and the properties of the
liquid (or gas). It is this information, along with the
possibilities of low uncertainty, low maintenance, and
extensive diagnostics, that make these meters
attractive. These features have even extended the use
of ultrasonic meters to f i scal / cust ody transfer
applications.
This paper's objective is to provide potential UFM
users with the relevant information necessary to
understand how UFMs operate and what should be
considered in their application. This paper reviews the
types of UFMs used in high accuracy applications and
the UFM operation principles, reliability, accuracy 1 and
repeatability (proving meters with provers).
Di scussi on
All UFMs being applied in high accuracy hydrocarbon
applications are transit time (also called time-of-flight)
systems, which are the subject of this paper. These
systems calculate flow using the times of flight of
ultrasonic energy pulses traveling with and against the
direction of flow. Transit time meters can generally be
classified into two groups: "wetted" meters and
externally mounted meters.
Wetted Meters: '%~/etted" meters get their name from
the fact that the transducers are built into the meter.
These meters require that a meter body with multiple
transducer wells (see Figures 1 and 4). These wells
are similar to thermo wells used with RTDs except that
they are angled with respect to the flow and house an
ultrasonic transducer. In some wetted meters, the
transducers operate from behind a wi ndow in the well
allowing the transducers to be replaced during
operation without special hardware.
Transducers are arranged in pairs or sets that form
acoustic paths. There are normally two or more
acoustic paths in a wetted meter. The paths are
spaced such that they can be used to numerically
integrate the flow. Wetted meters are often called
"chordal" meters because the acoustic paths are often
arranged in parallel chords.
Fi gure 1 Cal don 2400 Chordal UFM
It is noted that the term accuracy as used in this paper refers to the
ability of the meter to measure flow with limited error.
381
External Meters: Externally mounted meters are fixed
to the outsi de of the pipe and are compl etel y non-
intrusive and non-i nvasi ve. External meter
transducers are normal l y arranged in pairs as well.
However, practical acousti c path arrangements are
much more limited than wetted meters because the
physics of transmi tti ng through the pipe wall requires
that acousti c paths travel through the center of the
pipe (diametral).
External meters that have two paths are not general l y
referred to as multi-path because their paths are
diametral. In this paper, the term multi-path meters
refers to UFMs with two or more paths that travel
through different chords of the pipe cross section (e.g.,
wetted meters).
Vari ati ons of external meters do exist. For exampl e,
some external meters include a pipe section to reduce
di mensi onal uncertainties.
Generally, multi-path wetted meters achieve much
hi gher accuraci es than external meters because they
measure a greater fraction of the pipe cross section
than external meters.
Ul trasound Basi cs
There are several general principles of sound
propagati on that are useful in understandi ng the
operation of UFMs.
Sound Velocity: A materi al ' s sound vel oci ty is the
rate at whi ch sound travels through it. Sound
velocities encountered in typical hydrocarbon
appl i cati ons vary from as low of 0.4 km/sec for natural
gas to 1.6 km/sec for some crude oils. Not onl y does
sound vel oci ty vary si gni fi cantl y between materials, but
it also vari es significantly in any given liquid due to
t emperat ure and pressure changes. This is
parti cul arl y true for gases.
Acous ti c Impedance: A materi al ' s acoustic
i mpedance is the product of its sound vel oci ty and its
density. Acousti c i mpedance is important when sound
travels from one medi um to another. Transmi ssi on
effi ci ency is a function of the acousti c i mpedance of
the two media; the greater the difference, the worse
the efficiency. The most notabl e compari son of
acousti c i mpedances is between oil and natural gas.
The acousti c i mpedance of oil is over 3000 ti mes
greater than natural gas.
Sound transmi ssi on efficiency is important because
poor signal strength is a common cause of
degradati on of UFM performance, particularly in gas
UFMs. Consi der sound traveling from steel into oil. In
this case, 5% of the energy actual l y is transmi tted into
the oil because of the difference in acousti c
i mpedances. Whi l e this is not great efficiency, onl y
0.001% of the energy is transmitted from steel into
natural gas. Because of acoustic i mpedance, until j ust
recently, there were no external gas UFMs on the
market as these losses made their operati on
unreliable.
Ultrasonic Beam Width: Transducers are desi gned
so that the acousti c beam is fairly focused. Like a
flashlight beam, the acousti c beam has a finite width.
Obj ects wi thi n the beam are illuminated by acousti c
energy and those outsi de are not. The beam width is
i mportant when the beam itself gets swept
downst ream by high vel oci ty flow.
Ultrasonic signal attenuation" Sound energy gets
attenuated by di stance (proportional to di stance
squared), vi scosi ty (proportional to the f requency
squared), scatteri ng (due suspensi ons) and turbul ence
(for exampl e, turbul ence or cavitation).
Principles of Operation
Using the previ ous ultrasonic basics, we can now
discuss the principles of operation for external and
wetted transi t ti me UFMs. A transit ti me UFM system
transmi ts acousti c energy along one or more paths
through the pipe in whi ch fl ow is to be measured (see
Figure 2). In the figure, a pair of transducers is
mounted to form a diagonal path through flowing
liquid. Whi l e this figure is typical of external meters,
the principles descri bed in the following paragraphs
appl y to wetted meters as well.
Figure 2 Transi t Ti me Acousti c Path Geometry
TRANSDUCER A '~'~",. I . ~ " ~
k' " TERN" " I I ""', \ I I / ~ ~ &
-
O____J___J_:l . . . . . . . )
1 ~ TRANSDUCER B
= PATH ANGLE
When the upstream transducer A is excited by a burst
of electrical energy, it will transmi t a packet or pulse of
acousti c energy. The transducer is usually desi gned to
be directional, and therefore, the acousti c energy will
travel in a strai ght line from transducer A to transducer
B, where it will produce electrical energy whi ch is used
to stop a ti mer. In this manner the elapsed ti me tAB,
from the ti me of transmi ssi on to the time of detection,
is measured.
3 8 2
When downst ream or t ransducer B is excited and the
arrival of acousti c energy at t ransducer A is detected,
the transi t ti me tBA is si mi l arl y measured. The
measured ti mes are related to the di mensi ons,
properti es and vel oci ty of the fluid as follows:
1 ) t A B - - [ L p a t h / ( C p a t h -I- V p a t h ) ] 4 - ~ n o n f l u i d d e l a y
2) t B A ---- [ L p a t h / ( C p a t h - V p a t h ) ] -I- " [ ' n o n f l u i d d e l a y ,
Where
L p a t h is acousti c path length in the fluid,
C p a t h is the sound vel oci ty along the acousti c path
with fluid at rest,
V p a t h is the fluid vel oci ty proj ected onto the acousti c
path, and
"['non f l ui d delay is total el ectroni c and acousti c del ays
exteri or to the fluid.
Ti me in fluid, t f A B and tfeA, can be calculated as follows:
3A) tfAB = tAB - Xnon fluid delay
3B) tfBA = t B A - " [ ' n o n f l u i d d e l a y
For a gi ven application, non-fluid delay, Tnon f l ui d delay,
may be cal cul ated or measured (or both).
Defining, the di fference in the ti mes of flight, At, as:
4) At =tBA-tAB
- - [ L p a t h / ( C p a t h " V p a t h ) ] - [ L p a t h / ( C p a t h + V p a t h ) ]
and sol vi ng for V p a t h L p a t h yields
5 ) V p a t h L p a t h = [At L p a t h 2 1 ( 2 t f A B t f B A ) ]
This relationship is fundamental to the operation transi t
ti me UFMs. It says that the product of path length and
mean vel oci ty along that path can be determi ned by
transit ti me measurement s with an absol ute accuracy
limited onl y by:
The accuracy of transit ti me measurement s
The accuracy of measurement (or cal cul ati on) of
the non-fluid ti me delay, and
The accuracy of path length measurement
It is from this basic equati on that transit ti me UFMs
cal cul ate velocities along thei r paths. Path velocities
are used to calculate the vol umetri c flow rate. For
external UFMs, the vol umetri c fl ow equati on is2:
6) Q = [~ ID2/4] (PFE) A t C F 2 / ( 2 ID tan ~F )
Where:
ID - pipe inside di amet er
PFE- external UFM profile factor
~ F - angl e the acousti c path takes in the fluid
2 H . E s t r a d a , T h e o r y o f U l t r a s o n i c F l o w M e a s u r e m e n t - G a s e s a n d
L i q u i d s , ISHM Class 3175, F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 1 .
A t - path ti me differential, see Equation 4
The external met er profile factor, PFE, relates the pipe
centerl i ne vel oci ty measured by the external UFM to
the average vel oci ty over the pipe cross section and
can range from 0.90 to over 1.00 (as low as 0.75 for
l ami nar flow). (I)F is a functi on of the speeds of sound
and di mensi ons of all materials in the acousti c path. In
an external met er there are usual l y at least three
materials: the transducer wavegui de or wedge, the
pipe wall and the fluid. In order to calculate (l)F, the
sound vel oci ti es and di mensi ons of these materials
must be known precisely. This can be challenging if
the t emperat ure of the pipe vari es significantly. As a
practical matter, (l)F is physi cal l y limited to less than 20
in most appl i cati ons (l ower sound velocities have
smal l er val ues).
The wetted UFM vol umetri c fl ow equation is:
ID ~ WiLpa~_iAti
7) Q = PF w - ~ - i=l t a n( ~i ) t f ~ t ~A
Where the vari abl es are as defined above and:
i - path number
w - numeri c integration wei ghti ng factor
PFw- wetted UFM profile factor
The wetted profile factor, PFw, corrects for limitations
in the accuracy of the numeri c integration of the
hydraul i c profile. For Cal don multi-path wetted meters,
this will range from 0.995 to 1.005 over a broad range
of hydraul i c geometri es. Thi s is a +/-0.5% range as
compared with the +/-5% range for external UFMs (for
typical appl i cati ons but may vary by as much as +/-
10% for all condi ti ons including l ami nar conditions).
Compari ng this correction factor of less than +0.005 of
unity, reflects the di fference between wetted UFM
vel oci ty profile integration and the external meter
diametral measurement. The actual performance of
the wetted UFM cl osel y resembl es the performance
predicted by si mpl e physical principles, with little
correction.
(I) for wetted UFMs is typi cal l y around 45 to maxi mi ze
the At whi l e limiting the length of the spool and can be
directly measured (note: manufacturers may vary this
angle). The result is that the At is usually larger for a
wetted met er than an external met er for a given pipe
di ameter and met er length. Thi s leads to smal l er
timing errors because, the l arger the At, the smal l er
the timing errors.
Both external and wetted UFMs directly measure a
variable, At, that has a l i near dependence on fl ow
velocity. This results in the wi de range of accurate
performance (turn-down ratio) of UFMs as compared
3 8 3
with differential producers that directly measure
pressures that i ncrease with the square of the fl ow
velocity.
The pri mary di fferences between external and wetted
UFMs are:
1 .External UFMs are sensi ti ve to more vari abl es
than wetted UFMs because the acousti c path
travels through more medi a whose properti es
must be preci sel y known and its path is not
straight (see Figures 3 and 4 for external and
wetted UFMs respectively).
2.External UFMs need preci se field measurement s
of di mensi ons, parti cul arl y wall thi ckness and
diameter.
3.Mul ti -path wetted UFMs measure the vel oci ty over
a greater fraction of the pipe.
4. The Ats for external meters are general l y smal l er
than for wetted meters because their path angles,
( I D F , are shal l ower, leading to higher uncertainty.
The result of these di fferences is that wetted UFMs
generally have much better accuracy and repeatabi l i ty
than external UFMs in the same application. Typi cal l y
external UFMs have absol ute accuracies of
approxi matel y 1%-5% whi l e wetted UFMs have
absolute accuraci es from 0.25%-0.5% (assumi ng no in
service calibration).
Fi gure 3 Ext er nal l y Mount ed UFM Acoust i c Path
( A N S 0 U C E . A
7 ( , ,
TRANSDUCERB
~F= FLUIDPATHANGLE
~p= PIPEANGLE
~,~,= WEDGEANGLE
Fi gure 4 Wet t ed UFM Acoust i c Pat h
F 'L o ~ v
: , . . : , - . : , . - ~ - . . ,.-.~,,--:,--..~.-.-~.---,.- . . . . . r ; , - . - 7 - , ~,, , , ~ . ; . . . . . . . . ~ : ~ - " z
.......................................................................................... ~ : ~ ; 7 ~ T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
' ~ & ~
" ~ , ~
Factors Affecting UFM P erformance
Three aspects of UFM performance meri t discussion:
reliability, accuracy and repeatability. These factors
are interrelated in that acousti c degradati on can lead
to degradati on in accuracy and repeatability.
Rel i abi l i t y- Acoust i c Per f or mance
One of the pri mary benefits that can be achi eved with
the application of UFMs is reduced mai ntenance costs.
UFMs have no movi ng parts and are not prone to fl ow
induced wear. Further, they do not requi re frequent
calibration. The reliability of the electronics is
comparabl e to that of other meters.
Question: So what does go wrong (aside from
electronics)? Most commonl y it's a poor application
where the acousti c energy is too weak (due to signal
attenuation). The attenuation of acousti c energy in
fluids encountered in typical hydrocarbon UFM
applications is a function of the fluid viscosity, fluid
type and fluid homogenei ty. The greater the
attenuation, the l ower the signal to noise ratio will be
and this results in greater data scatter and errors in
timing.
Viscosity Attenuation: The attenuati on in a given
fluid increases with viscosity. Generally, for viscosities
less than 5cS, vi scous losses are not significant.
However, hi gher viscosities attenuate si gni fi cantl y
higher (by orders of magni tude). It is therefore
i mportant that the range of viscosities be provided to
the UFM vendor to assure the best performance of the
meter. UFMs can be desi gned to operate in fluids with
viscosities over 1000cS.
Gas Attenuation: In gases, the attenuati on of the
acousti c energy is a function of mol ecul ar absorpti on
and relaxation, as well as viscosity. As a result, the
acousti c losses in gases are usual l y much hi gher than
in liquids and, unlike liquids, the acousti c losses are a
strong function of the fluid t emperat ure and pressure.
Consequentl y, it is even more i mportant for gas
applications to inform UFM manufacturers of the range
of temperatures and pressures for an application.
Non-homogenous Fluids~Gases: Signal attenuation
will occur when reflections off discontinuities/reflectors
exists in the fluid (e.g., scattering). The more
scattering that occurs (for exampl e, due to gas
bubbles in the liquid or liquid in the gas), the greater
the losses will be. A particularly bad combi nati on is
entrained gas in liquid systems. Even a few percent
by vol ume of entrained gas can render most UFMs
inoperable. Therefore, it is critical that UFM vendors
know if there is going to be entrai ned gas in an
application.
3 8 4
Waxing: Anot her case is the accumul ati on of waxes
along the pipe wall and in the transducers wells of
wetted UFMs. Once again, the UFM vendor should be
alerted to the potential for significant wax buildup as
design parameters can be opti mi zed to mi ni mi ze the
effect of these accumul at i ons (e.g., heat tracing).
Coupl i ng: For the most part, transducers are very
reliable, however, the coupl i ng of the transducer to the
pipe and fluid has been a common failure mode for
some earl y systems. The source of this problem is the
material used to coupl e the transducer. Greases,
rubbers and other materi al s are commonl y used.
Failures have occurred due to the instability of these
coupl ants over ti me at the installation conditions. High
temperature appl i cati ons general l y have more
probl ems with loss of coupl i ng than low temperature
applications, and external syst ems generally have
more probl ems with loss of coupling because they
general l y have less signal strength margin and a more
difficult geometry.
Accur acy- Profile Factor
The following revi ews the bi ggest factor affecting
UFM' s accuracy; profile factor. Other important factors
such as pipe di mensi ons (parti cul arl y for external
meters) and transit ti me/At measurement, while not
discussed, are i mportant 3.
The single most significant source of error is the profile
factor. As discussed, the profile factor is used to
correct the average vel oci ty measurement made by
the UFM to a true spati al l y averaged velocity. This
correction must be made because flow velocities vary
in both magni tude and direction over the pipe cross
section.
The vel oci ty profile within a pipe is a function of two
sets of forces: inertial forces and viscous/friction
forces. For exampl e, at the outlet of a bend, tee or
si mi l ar piping component that changes the direction of
the flow, the inertial forces domi nat e often resulting in
grossl y distorted vel oci ty profile. The viscous/friction
forces then become more domi nant as the distance
from the el bow/di sturbance increases. It is the
viscous/friction forces along the pipe wall that di ssi pate
the distortion caused by the inertial forces. If the pipe
is long enough, the effects of the inertial forces are
compl etel y eliminated and a "fully devel oped" condition
is reached where the fl ow profile does not change.
Unfortunately, in practice it can take 50 di ameters or
more for the profile to stop devel opi ng. Further, the
shape of the profile when "fully devel oped" is a
3 s. Corey, H. Estrada, Theory and Application of Ultrasonic Flow
Meters, ISHM Class 3175, 2002
functi on of the viscosity and roughness of the pipe
wall. In most applications, the vi scosi ty is not well
known and the effective roughness of the pipe wall is
al most never known. As a result, the external UFM
profile factor in "fully devel oped flow" can range over
+/-10% dependi ng on the fluid vi scosi ty and wall
roughness (from laminar flow regi mes up to turbul ent
fl ow regi mes). Correcting this change in profile factor
then is an i mportant task for the external meter.
In practice, the lowest uncertai nty in the profile factor
for an external meter is usual l y achi eved between 10
and 20 di ameters downstream of the di sturbance
where the inertial forces are still domi nant but the
profile is not as distorted. Even in this range, the
absol ute accuracy of the profile factor for an external
met er is limited to approxi matel y 1% and in most
cases is cl oser to 2% unless it is based on appl i cati on-
speci fi c hydraulic testing that model s the piping
geomet ry and fluid viscosity.
The accuracy of a multi-path wetted met er profile
factor can be substantially better because they sampl e
a greater fraction of the fl ow profile. Typi cal l y profile
factor accuraci es of +/-0.25% or better can be
achi eved.
UFMs are also sensitive to vel oci ty profiles where
there is a large rotational component (swirl). Swirl is
normal l y generated by two or more out of plane
changes in fl ow direction (e.g. one el bow/tee that goes
from vertical to horizontal fol l owed by an el bow/tee
that changes the direction of fl ow in the horizontal
plane). Swirl is present to some degree in al most
every application. Swirl can generate significant
transverse vel oci ty components and it takes a long
di stance to di ssi pat e.
On an individual path basis, a UFM cannot resolve
transverse vel oci ty components from axial vel oci ty
components. It is normally assumed that the vel oci ty
is purel y axial. However, if the center of swirl rotation
is the center of the pipe, it will not affect UFMs
because it is self canceling. However, if the swirl is
not centered, it can cause significant errors. In
appl i cati ons where significant swirl may be present,
this probl em can be eliminated by installing fl ow
condi ti oners that largely el i mi nate swirl upstream of
the UFM. Another solution is to use a UFM that
di rectl y measures the swirl and can remove its effect.
For exampl e, Caldon' s symmet ri c 8 path meters
measure the axial and transverse vel oci ti es at each
chord location allowing the effect of transverse flows to
be removed.
Like other meters, the profile factors of both external
and wetted UFMs are sensitive to changes in the
385
upstream condi ti ons whi l e in service. For exampl e, if
one of mul ti pl e feeds to a header upstream of a UFM
is isolated, the profile factor for the meter may change.
External meters are much more sensitive to these
changes than multi-path wetted UFMs due to the fact
that mul ti -path wetted meters sampl e a greater fraction
of the pipe.
UFMs are not uni que in this sensitivity. Generally,
changes in vel oci ty profile will cause comparabl e
errors in competi ng instruments. However, unlike
competi ng i nstruments, multi-path UFMs are capabl e
of detecting these changes.
Significance:
1. Profile factors are a large potential error source.
2. UFM vendors should be aware of the installation
site hydraul i c conditions.
3. Multi-path UFMs have much lower profile factor
errors and can be very insensitive to changes in
vel oci ty profiles.
4. Multi-path UFMs have the capabi l i ty of detecting
changes in vel oci ty profiles.
Repeat abi l i t y - Met er Pr ovi nq
Ultrasonic fl ow meters are sampl ed systems. That is,
the transi t ti me measured for a single pulse traveling in
one direction along an acousti c path sampl es the fluid
vel oci ty and sound vel oci ty along that path. These
vari abl es vary in ti me because of turbulence, fl ow
control operati ons and other factors. A single sampl e
does not establish the mean velocity.
Multiple sampl es are necessary to reduce the
measurement uncertainty. The sampling characteri sti c
of ul trasoni c fl ow meters is fundamental l y different
than that of turbi nes and positive di spl acement meters,
whi ch integrate the fl ow field mechani cal l y and tend to
smooth ti me-wi se fl ow vari ati ons by their rotational
inertia.
Factors affecting the repeatabi l i ty of ultrasonic fl ow
meters are:
Turbul ence Intensity: Typically, the rms val ue for
local turbul ence will lie in the range of 3 to 7% of the
mean axial vel oci ty 4. The magni tude will depend on
upstream hydraulics. The mean vel oci ty measured
along a path will be bel ow the 3 to 7% figure
because of spatial averagi ng along the path
(typically ranging 2 to 4%).
Sampl e Rate: A proving run takes place over a finite
ti me per i odmf or a ball prover, 10 to 20 seconds is
typical. The more frequentl y an ultrasonic fl ow meter
sampl es the fl ow during the run period, the more
4 Reference "Boundary Layer Theory" Seventh Edition,
Schlichting (Chapter XVIII), McGraw-Hill
preci se the measurement of the calibration
coefficient. Thi s is particularly true when a compact
prover is used and fl ow transients exist.
Assumi ng, that the prover is perfect or has a negligible
contri buti on to uncertai nty and repeatabi l i ty then, the
repeatabi l i ty of a UFM will be a function of certain
met er and appl i cati on characteristics. In particular, it
will depend on 1) met er path configuration, 2) sampl e
rate, 3) prover vol ume, and 4) turbulence.
Char act er i st i c St at i st i cs: For pulse output meters,
the number of pulses required to obtain repeatabi l i ty
commonl y used in prover calibrations, 0.05% from five
runs, is dependant upon the pulse-to-pulse regul ari ty s.
The worse the regularity, the more pulses are required
to obtain a gi ven repeatability. Consi der the different
meters (turbine, vortex and UFM) shown in Figure 5.
Fi gur e 5 - Pr edi ct ed Repeat abi l i t y vs. Nu mb e r of
Pul s e s / Sa mpl e s f or Var yi ng St andar d Devi at i ons
O.7O%
0.60%
~ o . , t r / o
L ~ " / o
o . ~ % "
o . l o % '
o . ~ %
~ mezm-(le-ls%)
10,000 IOQ
No. o f Pul~m/SampI=
A good turbi ne met er has a pulse-to-pulse standard
deviation of better than 1-2%. The turbine met er meets
the repeatabi l i ty requi rements with a rel ati vel y small
number of pulses. Further with a compact prover,
pulse i nterpol ati on is a valid concept because of its
predi cti ve nature (e.g., good regularity of pulse output).
A vortex met er at the other extreme has a somewhat
i ndetermi nate regularity, but from the authors'
experi ence has a pulse-to-pulse regularity standard
devi ati on between 10-15%. It can be seen that many
more pul ses are required to obtain good repeatability.
Included in Fi gure 5 is a "statistical" performance
typifying a UFM (in this case an Caldon LEFM 240C). 6
s The Predictions of Calibration Repeatability Using Compact
Provers and Pulse Interpolation, R. Paton
6 The value assumes that the LEFM produces one pulse per flow
measurement sample, and that there is no pulse interpolation
(sample rate 60-70 Hz). The pulse/sample output from an ultrasonic
meter is derived from converting each sampled flow measurement
into pulses. The "jitter" or standard deviation is due to turbulence
and hydraulic variability that in tum produce variability in the pulse
output.
3 8 6
Not e t hat Fi gure 5 can be i nt erpret ed in t er ms of a
pr over vol ume r equi r ement . To achi eve a desired
r epeat abi l i t y in a set of cal i brat i on runs f or a speci f i c
met er type, t he pr over is si zed such t hat at t he syst em
f l ow rate, t he met er pr oduces t he number of sampl es
requi red f or t he desi red repeat abi l i t y. Thus, to achi eve
a r epeat abi l i t y of 0. 05% f or t he ul t rasoni c met er, about
1500 f l ow measur ement sampl es- - ar e requi red. If t he
met er is sampl i ng at 60- 70 Hz, a vol ume equal to 20-
25 seconds t i mes t he f l ow rat e at whi ch t he provi ng is
to be per f or med is requi red.
I n- Li ne Pr ovi ng Per f or mance - Ex pe r i e nc e 7
In t he previ ous sect i on, one concl usi on is evi dent, t he
UFM met er wi l l not prove as wel l as a t urbi ne met er,
but it does prove. However , t he obj ect i ve in provi ng a
UFM is di f f erent than t hat of a turbi ne. For a UFM, t he
obj ect i ve is to ver i f y/ det er mi ne t he met er' s cal i brat i on
al one and not to al so det er mi ne the met er ' s oper at i ng
condi t i on, as wi t h the t ur bi ne met er.
For a poi nt of ref erence, Fi gure 6 summar i zes provi ng
resul t s f rom mul t i pl e si tes (i ncl udi ng field i nst al l at i ons
as wel l as at t hr ee i ndependent l aborat ori es) 8. Meter
si zes are f rom 4" to 12" di amet er and vi scosi t i es var y
f rom 0.7 to 100 cS. 9
The cur ves in Fi gure 6 are f or t wo provi ng cri teri a:
pr over vol ume requi red to achi eve a cal i brat i on
uncer t ai nt y of + 0. 027% in ei t her 5 proves or 10
proves. The graph cl ear l y demonst r at es the
i mpr ovement in repeat abi l i t y by t aki ng mor e repeat
runs. Goi ng f rom 0. 05% in 5 runs to 0. 12% in 10 runs
r educes t he requi red vol ume by a f act or of 3.
Fi gure 6 al so shows a pl ot of t he t ypi cal vol umes used
f or t urbi ne met er s (the dashed l i ne) 1. The t ypi cal
pr over si ze line fal l s al most on t op of t he curve fit l i ne
of t he 0. 12% r epeat abi l i t y in 10 runs. However, f or t he
ul t rasoni c f l ow met er, t he pr over vol ume f or the 0. 05%
r epeat abi l i t y in 5 runs r equi r es a much l arger pr over
t han f or equi val ent si ze t ur bi ne met er.
7 For brevity, this paper can only discuss in-line (e.g., ball) provers.
Small volume provers will be discussed in a later paper.
8 Note: the data is more heavily weighted with lab data, which
interestingly, is typically worse than field data (possibly due to
control loop stability).
9 Data is presented as a predicted required prover volume by using
the following equation:
r e pe a t a bi l i t y = [ . Volumetest
O (n) (3" test V V l u m e required
Here the factor D ( n ) relates the range (the maximum minus the
minimum) of a limited sample taken from a large population to the
standard deviation Ctest of that population. D(n) = 2.33 for 5 samples
and 3.078 for 10 samples. John Mandel, The Statistical Analysis of
Experimental Data, Dover
lo Here the prover size was computed for a prover to achieve 15,000
pulses from a typical turbine meter.
Fi gur e 6 Pr over Vol ume - 5 Run and 10 Run API
Requi r ed Repeat abi l i t y
100
~ 1 o Run Curve l i t Typi cal Prover for 1
,, ,,, ,* urbineUeters
/ ' \
5 RI Curve Fit
6 8 10 12
Pi pe Size (i.hes)
. . . . . . . . 1000
100
10
14 1
Concluding Thoughts
Both ext ernal and wet t ed UFMs are excel l ent
t echnol ogi es f or many appl i cat i ons and advances in
el ect roni cs and t r ansducer t echnol ogy are reduci ng
UFM cost at t he same t i me as i mprovi ng t hei r
per f or mance. The hi gh turn down ratio, non-i nt rusi ve
desi gn, and l ow mai nt enance cost make UFMs an
at t ract i ve al t ernat i ve to ol der t echnol ogi es.
It is i mpor t ant to under st and t he f act ors t hat dri ve t he
per f or mance of UFMs in or der to most successf ul l y
appl y t hem (e.g., rel i abi l i ty, accur acy and
repeat abi l i t y). The t opi cs pr esent ed in thi s paper
shoul d be consi der ed when appl yi ng a UFM. In
addi t i on, t hese t opi cs shoul d provi de a sol i d f oundat i on
f or under st andi ng t he per f or mance of UFMs.
Both wet t ed and ext ernal UFMs have t hei r pl ace in t he
market . Ext ernal UFMs nor mal l y can be appl i ed
wi t hout cut t i ng t he pi pe and do not breach t he
pr essur e boundar y. Mul t i -pat h wet t ed UFMs have t he
hi ghest accur acy and i nher ent r edundancy, however ,
requi re a spool pi ece to be i nstal l ed in t he pi pel i ne.
3 8 7