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Clamp-on Ultrasonic
Meter Economically
Gauges Multiphase Flows
by S. Al-lababidi, Department of Process and Systems Engineering,
School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK
ltrasonic meters gauging multi- with the production from another, the own- transit time difference between ultrasound
phase flows offer the potential for ers of both being different; the accuracy traveling from transducer T1 to transducer
accurate, economical measure- expected from flow rate measurement T2 and when the ultrasound is traveling
ment of fluid volumes over a wide would be about 5% of the measured value. from transducer T2 to transducer T1. If the
flow range with no moving parts and Process Control — when gas lift pump- ultrasonic beam in the fluid is at an angle
using simple geometry. This article pres- ing or vapor injection is used, it is necessary to the pipe axis then the volumetric
ents the clamp-on ultrasonic meter’s cur- to know the efficiency of the process; here, flowrate (Qv) is related to the time differ-
rent applications and highlights further also the accuracy expected from flow rate ence T, given by Eq. 1 in Table 1.
attempts to improve its functional condi- measurement would be about ± 5% of the However, if the wedge on which the trans-
tions in two-phase, gas/liquid, flow under measured value, as the trending of the vari- ducers are mounted is made of a material
slug flow conditions. ables is more important than their actual for which the speed of sound is cw and
values for control purposes. having an angle to the pipe axis, then Eq. 1
Technology Fiscal Metering — much work has to can be re-written as Eq. 2, Table 1.
Multiphase flow metering can be under- be done in this area because of the high Where “D” is the internal pipe diameter;
stood as the measurement at line condi- accuracy required (typically ± 0.25% for “C1”is the velocity of sound in the fluid; “K”
tions of the component volumetric rates of oil and ± 1% for natural gas) which do is the ratio of actual average velocity to veloc-
a multiphase flow stream without its com- not fit into the available multiphase ity determined by the transducer “ T”; is
pulsory separation or sampling. For oil meters profile yet. time difference between ultrasound travelling
well test applications, multiphase flow However, multiphase flow systems are from transducer T1 to T2 and from T2 to T1
metering is the measurement of the oil, difficult to predict because they combine and “ ” is beam angle to the pipe axis.
water and gas flow rates of the produced turbulent flows with often highly complex
fluids from a well, without the usage either interfaces. An understanding of such flows Performance Issues
of a two-phase or a three-phase separator. is only obtainable by experimental obser- TTUFs are designed for operation with
In comparison to conventional gravity sep- vations and measurements. liquids which have only low content of air
arator well test systems, multiphase flow bubbles or solids. The effect of air bubbles
metering allows shorter duration and more Operating Principle is to scatter the ultrasound andbut also to
accurate well tests, with less operator The transit-time ultrasonic method is affect the speed of sound in the liquid by
supervising. Additionally, multiphase flow based on the apparent difference of the affecting the compressibility of the liquid.
meters have lower capital and operating sound velocity in the flow direction and the These have the effect of attenuating the sig-
costs for offshore and subsea applications. opposite direction. This method gives a nal and degrading the signal- to- noise ratio
In the oil industry, the main goals expect- flow velocity averaged along a particular in the flowmeter. The degree of scattering
ed from the employment of multiphase acoustical path. For a single beam device, to and attenuation is dependent on the size,
flow meters are: convert this path velocity to a velocity aver- number and distribution of the air bubbles.
1. To replace test separators, aged over the entire-section of the flowing Table 2 presents the application areas of
2. To avoid installation of test lines and medium, the knowledge of the flow veloci- clamp-on flowmeter. Clamp-on transit-time
test headers (both in subsea and topside ty profile is essential. The meter consists of ultrasonic meters are likely to be used over
applications), and three elements—the transducers, the clamp- a very wide range of pipe sizes and liquids
3. To improve the well data acquisition ing arrangement and the signal processing and because the overall performance
(by improving the accuracy and frequency and user interface electronic package. achievable in the field depends on the care
of well tests). The flowrate is measured by using the with which the operators prepare the pipe
The requirements for these meters are
likely to be focused on four main areas:
Reservoir Management — the oil
recovery from a field can be improved in
the long term by continuous monitoring of
the flow rates at each well; a possible
overall uncertainty of the reservoir moni-
toring using the conventional systems (test
separator, each well being tested once a
month, further data processing) could lead
to a 10% level; the ideal situation would be
for each well to have its individual multi-
phase flow meter in order to increase the
quality and quantity of the information
available to the reservoir engineers.
Custody Transfer Metering — the pro-
duction from one oil field can be mixed Table 1: Clamp-on Ultrasonic Flowmeter Liquid Volumetric Flowrate Correlations
Oil Industry Used for measurement of crude oil after first stage separator; References
offloading of crude oil; water injection; refined oil. Thorn, R., Johansen, G.A., and Hammer, E
A.,”Recent Developments in Three Phase Flow
Food Industry Blending and batching of food and drink where issues of Measurement”, Journal of Measurement Science &
Technology 8, 691-701 (1997).
hygiene and contamination are of major concern. Mehdizadeh, P., and Frachy, D., “Multiphase
Flow Metering Using Dissimilar Flow Sensors:
Chemical Industry Employed as a tool for checking, servicing and Theory and Field Trial Results”, SPE Middle East
Oil Show, Bahrain (March 1995).
maintaining existing flowmeters Sanderson, M.L., “Process Measurement
Systems”, MSc Course Module 10, Cranfield
dependent on the actual flowrate of the of the pipe. Flow profile depends on the
University, Bedfordshire, England (2001).
gas and the flow regime. Al-lababidi and Gurevich, Y., “Performance Evaluation and
Reynolds number (Re) and, the roughness Application of Clamp-On Ultrasonic Cross-
Sanderson (2003) investigated the per- and the shape of the pipe. Manufacturers may Correlation Flow Meter CROSSFLOW”, Paper pre-
formance of the clamp-on transit time or may not compensate for this. For those sented at the International Conference of Flow
ultrasonic under slug flow conditions in manufacturers who do compensate, the com-
Measurement, Sao Paolo, Brazil (2000).
two-phase gas/liquid flows in horizontal Sanderson, M.L., and Yeung, H., “Guidelines
pensation is generally based on a knowledge for the Use of Ultrasonic Non-Invasive Metering
pipe where new closure method for liquid of the particular liquid being monitored. For Techniques”. Journal of Flow Measurement and
flowrate was obtained. The closure products whose temperature is changing sig- Instrumentation, 13, 125–142 (2002).
method for the liquid flowrate employs a ANSI/ASME MFC-5M-85, “Measurement of
nificantly during measurement, compensation Liquid Flow in Closed Conduits Using Transit –Time
mathematical relationship, under slug flow for Reynolds Number on-line is required. Ultrasonic Flowmeters”, ASME, New York NY (1985).
conditions, between the estimated liquid Enquiries should be made to manufacturers as Lahey, R. T., Cheng, L. Y., Drew, D. A. and
flowrate QESTIMATED the indicated liquid to whether they provide on-line correction. Flaherty, J. E., ”The Effect of Virtual Mass on the
flowrate QINDICATED; a velocity profile Numerical Stability of Accelerating Two-phase
Flows”, International Journal of Multiphase Flow
correction factor, (K2 (Re)); the partial- 6,281-294 (1980).
filled area of the pipe; the cross-sectional Cheng, L. Y., Drew, D. A., Lahey, R. T. “An
area of the pipe and a height correction analysis of wave propagation in bubbly two-compo-
factor (K1 (h)). The closure method corre- nent, two-phase flow”, Trans. ASME, Journal of
Speed of Sound Correction Factor. All Heat Transfer, 107,702-408 (1985).
lation is given by: manufacturers require the user to input Al-lababidi, S., and Sanderson, M.L., “Closure
It has been demonstrated through using either the speed of sound or identify the Model for Two-Phase Liquid-Gas Measurement
the closure method that the clamp-on transit- liquid (and perhaps its temperature) in the
under Slug Flow Conditions”, Paper presented at
time ultrasonic flowmeter has offered a suc- International Conference of Flow Measurement,
initialization stage of measurement as part Groningen, The Netherlands (May 2003).
cessful measurement in two-phase flow of the process to determine transducer sep-