NormGasMeter Appl Note Total 4 pages

MRC 990809 R1 / 000219 R2 Page 1 of 4

NORMALIZED FLOW MEASUREMENT.

GAS Metering using the Krohne Vortex Meter Model VFM5090 GFM.

Density Compensation a MUST for Normalized Gas Flow Metering.

Understanding the BASICS

Majority of the Flowmeters available in the market place today measure the velocity of
gases to give the user the Volumetric flowrate at the Operating conditions i.e. operating
Temperature & Pressure.

In case of GASES like Air , Oxygen , Argon , Nitrogen , Hydrogen , Ammonia etc
knowing the NORMALIZED Flow ( Equivalent Flow at 1 Atm & 20 / 15 / 0 deg C ) is
important, which means ON LINE DENSITY COMPENSATION

For all gases , if the Composition of the Gas or Gas mixture remains CONSTANT , then
by measuring the Process Temperature & Pressure , ON LINE DENSITY
COMPENSATION can be done.

Thus , by knowing the INSTANTANEOUS Flowrate , Pressure , Temperature & the Gas /
Gas composition the NORMALIZED FLOW in Nm3/ hr , Nm3/ min , scfm or slpm can
be obtained by using the Universal GAS LAWS

( Qop * Pop) / Top = ( Q N *P N ) / T N

where
Q op = Flow at Operating conditions QN = Flow at Base conditions
P op = Flowing pressure ( psia) PN = Base pressure (psia)
T op = Flowing temperature ( deg F) TN = Base Temperature ( deg F)

But, the Universal GAS LAWS hold good ONLY for IDEAL gases. The behavior of
REAL gases deviates from the Ideal Gas Law & this deviation is corrected by the
COMPRESSIBILITY Factor Z

The Universal GAS LAW is thus modified to

( Qop * Pop) / ( Top* Zop) = ( Q N *P N ) / ( T N * Z N )

Zb - Compressibility factor at NTP / STP conditions

Zf - Compressibility factor at Operating or Process conditions,
Why is this important
NormGasMeter Appl Note Total 4 pages
MRC 990809 R1 / 000219 R2 Page 2 of 4

For a 1 kg/cm2 pressure variation in the Gas Pressure , the ERROR in the
NORMALIZED FLOWRATE will be close to 21%.

If this is acceptable then WHY METER THE GAS FLOW ????

The following example explains the same :-

Gas flow is approximately 1000 m3/ hr with the Pressure varying between 2.5 to 3.5
kg/cm2(g)

Considering that the VOLUMETRIC FLOW is constant at 1000 m3/hr with the pressure
varying between 2.5 to 3.5 kg/cm2(g), then the meter in each case will READ , as per the
following table , which indicates the results in

NORMALIZED GAS FLOW measurement with and without Density

Compensation.

Volumetric Gas Normalized Flow % E rror

Flow Pressure with Comp. without Comp.
m3/ hr kg/cm2(g) Nm3/ hr Nm3/ hr

1000 2.5 3246 3246 ***

1000 3.5 4170 3246 21%**

*** The DPT Based system may be calibrated at a fixed Gas pressure of 2.5 kg/cm2(g),
then the readings will be inaccurate by 21 % of a simple 1 kg/cm2 change in the Gas
Pressure.

Then coming back to

If this is acceptable then WHY METER THE GAS FLOW ????

Well , KROHNE has the SOLUTION

The KROHNE VORTEX METER VFM 5090 GFM

with Pressure & Temperature Compensation built-in.

Highlighting Features of the KROHNE VORTEX METER

Model VFM 5090 GFM
NormGasMeter Appl Note Total 4 pages
MRC 990809 R1 / 000219 R2 Page 3 of 4

The KROHNE VORTEX METER VFM 5090 GFM has the necessary Temperature
( PT 1000 ) & Pressure Sensor along with the SOFTWARE ALGORITHM built in ,
to compute the Normalized Flowrate.

The KROHNE VORTEX VFM 5090 GFM has the facility to select from the Keypad,
any of the 20 gas components namely

Methane Ethane H2S Propane Air CO

Nitrogen Hydrogen Oxygen i-Butane n-Butane CO2
i-Pentane n-Pentane Hexane Ammonia Ethylene Argon
Neon Xenon

FLOWRATE INDICATION is programmable in

NORMALISED FLOW (Nm3/hr)

VOLUMETRIC FLOW (m3/hr) or
MASS FLOW (Kg/hr)

by USER from front KEYPAD at Site.

FLOW INTEGRATOR TOTALIZER for TOTAL GAS flow

CALORIFIC VALUE of the Gas based on the User Programmable

GAS COMPOSITION.

HEAT CONTENT VALUE

Under this menu the KROHNE VORTEX VFM 5090 GFM calculates & indicates

a) Thermal Power is KJ/hr, MJ/hr, GJ/hr, Kcal/hr, KW & MW

b) Thermal Energy - Total in KJ , MJ, GJ, Kcal, KWh & MWh
based on the GAS Composition

Power Cost of Compressed Air

NormGasMeter Appl Note Total 4 pages
MRC 990809 R1 / 000219 R2 Page 4 of 4

Every Compressor manufacturer specifies the FAD of the Compressor vis a vis the
KWh Rating of the Motor .

1367 cfm Compressor requires a 250 KWh motor

1367 * 60 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) require 250 KWh Power per hour
Therefore ,
Cost of 82,020 ( 1367 * 60 ) cubic feet per hour of Air ( Free Air ) is
250 * Rs 3/- ( 1 KWh costs Rs 3/- )

82,020 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) costs 75,000 paise

1 cubic feet of Air ( Free Air ) costs approx 1 paise

Very simple to compute the Monthly Bill of COMPRESSED AIR

Compressor Capacity The POWER BILL

scfm Monthly Yearly

1000 4,32,000/- 51.84 Lacs

2000 8,64,000/- 103.68 Lacs
5000 21.6 Lacs 2 Crore 60 Lacs
10,000 43.2 Lacs 5 Crore 18 Lacs

For a 2000 scfm Compressor, which has an Annual POWER BILL of

104 Lacs , an investment of around 1% of this value, is worth the
investment to monitor the 104 Lacs.