pertamina

FLOWMETERS – Fundamental Training

INP DEPARTMENT

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 @ Sigit Ismail

Keller Room INP STG-SDS-CT

1
CONTENTS

Pre Test (10 minutes)

Why Measure Flow ?
Terminology
Flowmeter Selection
Post Test (10 minutes)

2
 WHY MEASURE FLOW

1. SAFETY
 Uncontrolled flow rates

2. CUSTODY TRANSFER
 the measurement of
fluid passing from a
supplier to a customer

3. PRODUCT INTEGRITY
 ensuring right amount
of blended materials

4. EFFICIENCY INDICATION
 to determine efficiency of
process by comparing the
above measurement to the
amount of product produced 3
 TERMINOLOGY

FLUID TYPE
• CLEAN FLUID  Free from solid particles
• DIRTY FLUID  Containing solid particles
• SLURRY  Suspension fine solids
• STEAM
• GAS

4
TERMINOLOGY

5
 TERMINOLOGY
It’s ... FLOW PROFILE
Laminar Flow  the fluid
travels smoothly or in regular paths

 Velocity & Pressure remain constant

 Sometimes called ‘streamline flow’

Turbulent Flow  the fluid

Undergoes irregular fluctuation
or mixing
 Velocity & Pressure continuously undergoing
changes in magnitude and direction
 Most kinds of fluid flow are turbulent 6
TERMINOLOGY
 TERMINOLOGY

Liquids Gases
 Temperature =  Density  Temperature =  Density
 Temperature =  Density  Temperature =  Density
 Pressure = No change  Pressure =  Density
 Pressure = No change  Pressure =  Density
TERMINOLOGY
 TERMINOLOGY

Which does have high or low VISCOSITY ?

VISCOSITY  Measure of a fluid’s tendency to resist a force, or to resist flow

LIQUID  Temperature Viscosity

GAS  Temperature Viscosity

 TERMINOLOGY

REYNOLDS NUMBER (Re)

 Dimensionless number
 Parameter which indicates flow profile

m m/s kg/m3
Reynolds (Pipe I.D.) ( Velocity) (Density)
Number Viscosity kg/ms
Rd = ( x v x D)/
TERMINOLOGY
 TERMINOLOGY
VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE
 TERMINOLOGY

EU Volumetric Flow Rate

 TERMINOLOGY
MASS FLOW RATE
 TERMINOLOGY

What is a k-factor?

 As the turbine rotates within the flow meter, each time a turbine
blade passes the face of the magnet an electronic pulse is created.

 The total number of pulses corresponding to one unit of flow is the k-

factor.

 All pulse output type flow meters when they are dispatched by their
manufacturer will have a calibration certificate. The calibration
certificate will show that the meter has been calibrated over its flow
range and noted on the certificate will be the average K-factor for the
meter.

 This K-factor will be given in terms of the number of pulses produced

by the meter for a given volumetric flow. (e.g.) 200 pulses per U.S.
gallon, 150 pulses per liter etc.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
RANGEABILITY
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
REPEATABILITY

What is Repeatability?

 Repeatability is the measure of a meter’s ability to

reproduce flow accurately. To put it another way, it is
the measure of how repeatable a flow meter’s
reading is at a precise flow rate.
One can determine repeatability of a meter
by ascertaining the flow reading at a specific
flow rate, then discontinuing the flow, and
allowing the meter to “zero.” Then by
resuming the flow at the same rate, we can
ascertain repeatability by inspecting the
difference between the initial flow
measurement and subsequent readings.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Rotameter

• Rotameters are the most

widely used type of
variable-area (VA)
flowmeter
• In these devices, the
falling and rising action of
a float in a tapered tube
provides a measure of
flow rate

• Rotameters are known as gravity-type flowmeters because they are based on the
opposition between the downward force of gravity and the upward force of the
flowing fluid.
• When the flow is constant, the float stays in one position that can be related to the
volumetric flow rate.
• That position is indicated on a graduated scale.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Positive Displacement Flow Meter

• Positive displacement flowmeter technology is the only flow

measurement technology that directly measures the volume of the fluid
passing through the flowmeter.
• Positive displacement flowmeters achieve this by repeatedly entrapping
fluid in order to measure its flow.
• This process can be thought of as repeatedly filling a bucket with fluid
before dumping the contents downstream.
• The number of times that the bucket is filled and emptied is indicative
of the flow through the flowmeter.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Turbine meter

If a fluid moves through a pipe and acts on the vanes of a turbine, the turbine
will start to spin and rotate. The rate of spin is measured to calculate the flow.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Vortex Flow Meter

• Flow will alternately generate vortices when passing by a bluff

body.
• A bluff body has a broad, flat front. In a vortex meter, the bluff body
is a piece of material with a broad, flat front that extends vertically
into the flowstream.
• Flow velocity is proportional to the frequency of the vortices.
• Flowrate is calculated by multiplying the area of the pipe times the
velocity of the flow.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION

Differential-Pressure Flow Meter

 An orifice flow meter is used to create a

constriction in the flow path.
 As the fluid flows through the hole in the
orifice plate, in accordance with the law
of conservation of mass, the velocity of
the fluid that leaves the orifice is more
than the velocity of the fluid as it
approaches the orifice.
 By Bernoulli’s principle, this means that
the pressure on the inlet side is higher
than the pressure on the outlet side.
 Measuring this differential pressure
gives a direct measure of the flow
velocity from which the volumetric flow
can easily be calculated.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Pitot Tube

 The pitot tube measures the fluid flow

velocity by converting the kinetic energy of
the flow into potential energy.
 The use of the pitot tube is restricted to
point measuring.
 With the "annubar", or multi-orifice pitot
probe, the dynamic pressure can be
measured across the velocity profile, and
the annubar obtains an averaging effect.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Venturi Tube

• In the Venturi Tube the fluid flowrate is

measured by reducing the cross sectional
flow area in the flow path, generating a
pressure difference.
• After the constricted area, the fluid is
passes through a pressure recovery exit
section, where up to 80% of the differential
pressure generated at the constricted area,
is recovered.
FLOWMETER SELECTION

System considerations for

differential-pressure flow meters

• Robust and mature technology with easy

maintenance (no moving parts)
• Suitable for turbulent flow
• Poor accuracy for low-flow
measurements
• Uses extractive flow-measurement
technique, so there is always a permanent
pressure loss that must be overcome
with extra pumping energy
• Requires strict placement of pipe fittings,
elbows, and bends for downstream and
upstream constriction taps
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Magnetic Flow Meter
• EMFs theory of operation is Faraday’s
Law of Induction which states that a
voltage is induced across a conductor
moving through a magnetic field.
• In terms of an EMF this means that
when an electrically conductive fluid
(typically water) moves through a
magnetic field generated by the coils in
the EMF, a voltage is induced which is
then measured by the electrodes.
• This voltage is directly proportional to
the liquid process liquid’s velocity.
• The signal converter filters out noise in
the signal and reports the liquid
velocity and flow rate.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
System considerations for
electromagnetic flow meters
(magmeters)
• Can measure only fluids with conductivity
greater than 10 μS/cm, eliminating their
use in the petroleum, oil, and gas
industries, since hydrocarbons have poor
conductivity
• Sensor-electrode choices change
depending on fluid conductivity, pipe
construction, and type of installation
• No losses in system pressure, which may
be critical in applications that cannot
• Ideal for corrosive and dirty fluids, tolerate pressure drops, such as
slurries, etc., provided the liquid phase has applications with low-velocity flow
sufficient conductivity, since the flow meter
has no internal parts
• High accuracy to within ±1% of indicated
flow
• Higher cost

• It consists of a pair of ultrasound
transducers mounted along an
axis aligned at an angle with
respect to the fluid flow axis.
FLOWMETER SELECTION
Ultrasonic Flow Meter
• These transducers, each consisting of a
transmitter/receiver pair, alternately
transmit to each other.
• Fluid flowing through the pipe causes a
difference between the transit times of
beams traveling upstream and
downstream. Measuring this difference
in transit time gives flow velocity.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION

System considerations for

ultrasonic flow meters

• The Doppler-shift flow meter is

relatively inexpensive

• The ultrasonic flow meter is externally clamped onto existing pipes, allowing
installation without cutting or breaking pipes, which minimizes personal exposure
to hazardous liquids and reduces possible system contamination
• The ultrasonic flow meter’s most significant disadvantage is its dependence on
the fluid’s flow profile; for the same average flow velocity, the meter could give
different output readings for different flow profiles
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
Coriolis Flow Meter

“When the fluid starts flowing through the tubes,

it is subject to Coriolis force ..
 FLOWMETER SELECTION

• The oscillatory motion of the tubes

superimposes on the linear motion
of the fluid, exerting twisting forces
on the tubes.
• This twisting is due to Coriolis
acceleration acting in opposite
directions on either side of the tubes
and the fluid’s resistance to the
vertical motion.
• Sensor electrodes placed on both
the inlet and outlet sides pick up the
time difference caused by this
motion.
• This phase shift due to the twisting
forces is a direct measurement of
mass flow rate.
 FLOWMETER SELECTION
System considerations for
Coriolis flow meters

• Direct measurement of mass

flow rate eliminates effects of
temperature, pressure, and flow
profile on the measurement
• High accuracy
• Sensor can make simultaneous
measurements of flow rate and
density because the basic
oscillating frequency of the
tube(s) depends on the density of
the fluid flowing inside
• Cannot measure flow rate of fluids with entrained
particles (liquids with gas or solid particles; gas with
liquid bubbles; etc.) because such particles dampen
the tube’s oscillations, making it difficult to take
accurate measurements
 FLOWMETER SELECTION

“How to choose the right flow

meter for my process
application ...?
FLOWMETER SELECTION
FLOWMETER SELECTION
FLOWMETER SELECTION
38
 PRE-TEST

1. Why do we measure the flow (at least 2 reasons)?

2. Is the picture below laminar or turbulent flow ?

3. What is the difference between

Volumetric and Mass flow rate ?

4. Mention how many Flowmeter

do you know ?

5. How to choose the right

flowmeter for your process
application ?
 POST-TEST

1. Why do we measure the flow (at least 2 reasons)?

2. Is the picture below laminar or turbulent flow ?

3. What is the difference between

Volumetric and Mass flow rate ?

4. Mention how many Flowmeter

do you know ?

5. How to choose the right

flowmeter for your process
application ?