LOW PRESSURE GAS MEASUREMENT USING ULTRASONIC TECHNOLOGY Class 1195 Daniel J.

Rudroff Welker Flow Measurement Systems Inc. 13901 West Bellfort Sugar Land, Texas 77478 Gas Usage With the increased use of natural gas as a fuel, higher natural gas prices, and new federal regulations, all buyers and sellers of natural gas are looking at ways to improve their natural gas measurement and reduce maintenance and the unaccounted for natural gas. Natural Gas Price Compared to Oil While natural gas still has many advantages and its usage is increasing it is no longer a cheap fuel. One Btu of energy from natural gas costs as much or more than a Btu produced from oil. The Btu in one barrel of oil is equivalent to approximately 5,600 cubic feet of natural gas. At $8.00 per thousand cubic feet, the natural gas equivalent of one barrel of oil is $45.00 equal to, or more than the cost of an average barrel of oil. An error in measurement of only one tenth of one percent (0.1%) with a 6 meter working at 100 Psi and 100 Deg. F. measuring 15 MMSCF/D of Natural Gas selling at $8.00/MCF will cause an over or under billing of $43,800 in one year. This error can be caused by either volume or energy content. If the company undercharges, it has lost money and if it over charges, it runs the risk of lawsuits later for huge amounts of money caused by those over charges. Because under billing causes loss of revenue, and over billing can cause a future correction that will cost the company a lot of money, precise gas energy measurement is important and necessary to insure precise and continuous measurement of natural gas that both the buyer and seller can agree upon. Ultrasonic Technology Ultrasonic meters were introduced for flow measurement as early as 1970. The growth of ultrasonic natural gas measurement started in the United States around 1995. Since then they have gained worldwide acceptance in the natural gas pipeline industry as an accurate, reliable and repeatable, natural gas flow measurement device. The gas ultrasonic meter is easy to understand and maintain in the field, and is easy to interface with the flow computers and volume correctors used throughout the industry today. The high frequency pulse output of most ultrasonic meters is adjustable which makes it easy to interface with new or existing flow computers and volume correctors. Until now the ultrasonic Meter has been used for measuring the volume of natural gas flowing through pipelines at high pressure. Its application for custody transfer measurement at all pressures is covered under AGA 9 Measurement of Gas by Multipath Ultrasonic Meters. With the ability of ultrasonic meters to measure flow at pressures down to atmospheric, and the availability of smaller transducers which allow smaller size two, three, and four inch meters, the ultrasonic meter is well suited for measuring low pressure, low flow, natural gas.

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Recent developments, specifically the Energy Meter algorithm developed by Southwest Research use the speed of sound from an Ultrasonic Meter along with temperature, pressure and diluents value to determine real time the Btu, Specific Gravity, Wobbe Index and Compressibility of a natural gas.

Measuring Principle Two or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers, are installed at an angle to the flow axis, operate alternately as a transmitter and receiver. The signals transmitted through the gas accelerate in the direction of flow and decelerate against the direction of flow. The resulting difference in propagation times is calculated using geometric variables to determine the mean gas velocity. The crosssectional area yields the volumetric flow during operation. The measurement result is not affected by the pressure, temperature, or gas composition. To increase the accuracy of measurement, the gas velocity is measured with multiple paths. The speed of sound (SOS) is the average speed of the Ultrasonic Signal in both directions, with and against the flow. Application An ultrasonic gas meter is a velocity-sensing device that derives volume by sensing velocity through a known cross sectional area. As with all meters proper installation is very important to the proper operation of an ultrasonic meter system. The American Gas Association (A.G.A.) Report No. 9 mentioned above is the accepted standard for gas ultrasonic meters and their installation. AGA Report No. 9 includes suggested pre-run and post-run lengths, and piping; however it clearly states the manufacturers recommendations should be consulted and can also be followed. For example the drawing included in AGA 9 shows the use of a flow conditioner. However some manufacturers of ultrasonic meters state flow conditioners are not required if the proper upstream diameters of pipe are installed before the meter. It is always advisable to contact the ultrasonic meter manufacturer for their recommendations. Flow computers and volume correctors easily accept the flow proportional pulses generated by the ultrasonic meter and the inputs from temperature and quality sensing devices. Because the ultrasonic gas meter is an extremely repeatable device, it lends itself well to the flow curve characterization and linearization capabilities of flow computers. Inputs from devices that determine BTU, such as an Energy Meter developed by SwRi, or chromatograph can also be used as live or fixed inputs to Flow Computers and Correctors. An advantage of the ultrasonic meter is that the speed of sound of the gas being measured is known can be used as an input into an Energy Meter. Energy Meters use the speed of sound of the gas, flowing pressure, temperature and inputs such as

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CO2 and N2 to determine almost real time Btu and Specific Gravity. This technology is known as correlative technology. The low power requirement some less than one Watt, and the SOS used to determine gas energy, make the ultrasonic meter ideal and easy to interface with Flow Computers that are solar powered. Natural gas ultrasonic meters are also bi-directional and available with different numbers of paths. Each path has two ultrasonic transducers. Meters with one to eight paths are available. As the number of paths increase the accuracy usually increases. Many times a two path meter can be used instead of a more expensive four or six path meter. Small meters for example are only available in a reduced number of paths. The customers accuracy requirement will determine how many ultrasonic paths are required. Sizing Good engineering practice and the manufacturer's recommendations should always be followed when sizing an ultrasonic gas meter. Manufacturers of ultrasonic natural gas meters provide very useful information on the volume of gas their meter can handle at specific pressures, temperatures and densities. Since some of these ultrasonic meters can measure flow in excess of 200 ft/second, care must be taken when using these tables and charts to not exceed the erosional velocity of the gas being measured, or create excess noise. Meters, which usually have a heavy wall, can handle the high velocities, however the surrounding piping must be considered. There may be elbows, thermowells, sample probes etc. in the line that can be damaged by the high velocity gas in the piping. API Recommended Practice 14E is a good guideline for the maximum velocity through a natural gas measurement system. API RP 14 E includes a formula that can be used to determine the maximum velocity of a fluid through a line. API RP 14E uses a constant, (a number between 100 and 200), divided by the square root of the density of the fluid at its flowing conditions of pressure and temperature. Constant 100 to 200 Square Root of the flowing gas density in Lbs./Cu.Ft. The constant of 100 is used for dirty and wet gas. The 200 constant is used for perfectly dry and clean gas. For example if a 0.65 Specific Gravity gas is wet and dirty at 200 Psi and 60 Deg. F. the density would be 0.724 Lbs/Cu.Ft., and the recommended maximum velocity would be 117 ft/sec. However if the gas is clean and dry, and a constant of 200 is used the maximum velocity goes up to 235 Ft/sec. Since little gas is perfectly clean and dry a constant of 150 is normally used and a constant of 150 would result in a maximum velocity of 176 ft/second. The key is to be able to determine the condition of the gas. We know having a perfectly clean dry gas is extremely difficult. API 14E makes recommendations on which constant to use. They state: Industry experience to date indicates that for solids-free fluids, values of C=100 for continuous service and C=125 for intermittent service are conservative. For solids-free fluids where corrosion is not anticipated or when corrosion is controlled by inhibition or by employing corrosion resistant alloys, values of C=150 to 200 may be used for continuous service; values up to 250 have been used successfully for intermittent service. If solids production is anticipated, fluid velocities should be significantly reduced. Different values of C may be used where specific application studies have shown them to be appropriate. Since some gas ultrasonic meters can measure at higher velocities than other types of meters, an ultrasonic meter one pipe size smaller can usually be used. The ability to measure gas flow with a one size smaller meter, no pressure drop, no moving parts, and complete real time diagnostics make the ultrasonic meter ideal and economical for low pressure applications.

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Ultrasonic Meter Diagnostics The speed of sound derived by an ultrasonic meter is a very valuable means of self-diagnosis. Most ultrasonic meters continuously check for any abnormality in the system. Parameters such as system voltage, gain, signal to noise ratio, velocity of sound on each pair of transducers and gas velocity are continuously monitored. Alarm points can be set for any parameter. A software program that can log data, graph parameters, set alarm points, configure outputs and offer complete diagnostics for not only the meter but also the meter system is available for most ultrasonic gas meters. This software can be monitored continuously or as required. Low frequency switches available on the meter itself can send an alarm when any alarm condition has been exceeded without the software running.

Features As stated previously one of the newest technologies, the Energy Meter, uses speed of sound obtained from the ultrasonic meter as in input. The Energy Meter uses the speed of sound from the meter, pressure and temperature from the pressure and temperature transmitter, and other inputs such as CO2 and N2 to determine the Btu and Specific Gravity of the flowing natural gas. This correlative technology is addressed in AGA 5 and has been shown to work very well with most standard gas compositions. Calibration and Proving Historically gas was not the precious commodity it is today. Measurement by a device with reasonably good accuracy was accepted as good enough. Today, natural gas has become the fuel of choice because of its availability and environmental advantage. Deregulation of the natural gas industry, higher gas prices and stricter controls on emissions have made the precise measurement of natural gas very important to producers, transporters, and distributors of natural gas. The ability to be proved at atmospheric pressure allows some ultrasonic meters to be proved with proving equipment already existing in many natural gas distribution companies. Dry and Wet calibrations There have been some questions regarding the definition of dry calibration and wet calibration. Like many definitions in the measurement industry the name does not fully describe the process. Dry calibration or Zero flow check The ends of the meter are completely sealed, the meter is filled with nitrogen and the temperature allowed to stabilize. The meter is then checked to see if it shows flow. There will always be measurable flows in the meter caused by gas circulating in the meter due to currents caused by thermal convection. These will be very small but due to the

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sensitivity of the ultrasonic meter they will be found. If the limits of flow are not exceeded the dry calibration is complete. This information is valuable as it can be used later to check the condition of the meter after it has been in service. The data from the Dry Calibration at commissioning is stored and future dry calibrations are compared against it to verify the meter still has the same no flow characteristics. The difference between the velocities of sound of all the paths should be smaller than 3 ft/sec. The difference between the average velocity of sound of the device and the real velocity of sound of the medium trapped in the meter should be smaller than 3 ft/sec. The measured velocity of gas should be smaller than 0.04 Ft/sec. In addition to the above test at the factory, the physical dimensions of the meter are also checked. The bore diameter is checked at several places along the bore length, the distance across the signal path to the point the transducer rests, the precise angle of the transducers, and the transducer length are measured after manufacturing to within .0001 of one millimeter. These values are then entered into the meter electronics. Wet calibration or flow calibration Wet calibration or flow calibration is usually done at a calibration facility such as CEESI, Pigsar, SwRI or TransCanada Calibrations. The meter is tested at as close to operating conditions as possible. The curve of the meter that is assured to be better than the out of the box requirements of AGA 9 is improved upon. With the repeatability of the meter better than 0.2% of reading the accuracy after a "Wet calibration can be close to or equal to 0.2%. Wet in this case means wetted with a flowing gas even if the gas used is dry. In plant flow test at atmospheric conditions Some meter manufacturers have an atmospheric test facility and can flow test the meter at various flow rates at atmospheric pressure and higher. Atmospheric calibration is only possible if the meter itself is capable of accurate measurement at atmospheric conditions. The Entire Flow Range of a meter refers to the range the meter will or can be operated under, and may be different than the Customers Entire Flow Range. For example if the customer has a low flow requirement of 1 MMSCF/D minimum and a maximum flow of 10 MMSCF/D, this is the customers entire flow range. The meter itself may have a range that exceeds the operating range required by the customer and this is the Entire Flow Range of the meter itself. Meter Proving after the meter has been in operation In the petroleum liquid industry no custody transfer liquid measurement system would be complete without a method to prove the meter, either as part of the equipment or there would be connections provided for a portable prover. It seems logical since the price of natural gas is about the same as petroleum liquid, a shop or field proving method should also be used for natural gas. AGA 6, which is out of date and is in the process of being rewritten, will address this subject. Unlike liquids, In-Situ volume proving of Natural Gas Meters has not been standard and has not been required. However In-Situ volume provers for natural gas are being designed and built. It is only a matter of time before they become a standard in the natural gas industry as they have in the liquid industry.

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Meters that have been working in the field for years without being tested are being removed for test or tested in place. If the meter being used is capable of metering at atmospheric conditions, it can be checked on a transfer proving system either portable that is brought to the field, or checked in the shop. It should be noted that while proving the meter itself is a good practice, checking as much of the system as possible e.g. meter and meter tube is much better. Even better is checking not only the meter and piping but also the transmitters and flow computer. Some companies require all meters being used for Custody Transfer of natural gas, regardless of size, be proved on a regular basis and meters that cannot be proved are being replaced with meters that can be proved. For proving, Flow Computers with their pulse interpolation capabilities allow precise gating of the start and stop time of the master meter and the meter being tested. Some meter manufactures provide a proving and calibration service for both low and high pressure testing. Several privately owned testing facilities are also available and provide these services. Again checking the meter is good practice but checking the system is better. Atmospheric Transfer Meter Provers available from several manufactures can prove and calibrate gas meters. These provers can be installed in a shop or made to be portable so they can be taken to the field. Sizes range from very small meters up to and including 12 meters. This Transfer Proving device is a secondary calibration system using master meters. A master meter calibration system can be either low pressure or high pressure. If the field configuration of the meter station does not allow a master meter to be installed in series with the operating meter the meter and/or meter run can be removed and calibrated using an atmospheric proving system. This is done either on site or in a shop. It is very common today for gas meter stations being sent to international destinations be designed with a three valve manifold downstream of the post run section. This three valve manifold which has a block and bleed valve as the inline valve can then be connected to a master meter or when they are available, a volume prover. The master meter used on a Transfer Meter Prover or high-pressure master meter prover must be calibrated at a facility that can trace its accuracy to the applicable standard agency such as NIST in the United States. A self-checking meter such as an ultrasonic meter with dual systems which can self check makes an excellent Master Meter for checking any natural gas meter. A Field Installation with 3 Valve Manifold for In-Situ Proving

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Maintenance Field tests have shown that ultrasonic meters with no moving parts provide long service life, reduced maintenance, and accurate measurement. Little maintenance needs to be performed on an ultrasonic meter since there are no moving parts. However all custody transfer meters need to be checked periodically to insure proper operation. With an ultrasonic meter a check can be performed with the software. The parameters of gain, velocity of sound, velocity of gas, and signal to noise ration can be easily compared to the parameters recorded when the meter was installed. If all parameters are the same as when installed it can be assumed the meter is functioning correctly. While set alarm points will indicate an alarm condition, periodic checks of the meter condition with the software will insure the meter is working correctly and if an abnormal condition occurs such as dirty gas, its affect on the meter can be immediately seen. Installation and Operation When placing a new meter system in service, especially on newly installed systems, the entire piping system before the meter should be free of any trash or debris. While this will not normally damage an ultrasonic meter it could collect in front of a flow conditioner and cause errors in measurement. Thermowells and sample probes could also be damaged or broken. During all start ups and shut downs slowly raise or lower the pressure in the meter system. The gas flow should also be increased slowly to avoid damage to the components in the system such as flow conditioner, sample probe or thermowell. To accomplish a slow pressure rise in the system a small by pass valve can be placed around the up stream main block valve. Proper sizing of the blow down will prevent rapid depressurization. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation for pressurizing and de-pressurizing the meter. Conclusion Field experience has shown that the ultrasonic meter is a precision measurement device. It is capable of providing very precise gas measurement over a very large turndown with minimum maintenance in low pressure applications. Proper selection of the meter, good system installation, proper maintenance procedures, and attention to proper application, will insure the meter will provide accurate and precise gas volume and energy measurement input over all pressure ranges, during the entire life of the meter.

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References A.G.A. Report No 9, Measurement of Gas by Multipath Ultrasonic Meters A.G.A. Report No 5 Fuel Gas Energy Metering A.G.A. Report No 6, Methods of Testing Large Displacement Meters API Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards, Chapter 4, Section 6, Pulse Interpolation. API RP 14 E Recommended Practice for Design and Installation of Offshore Production and Platform Piping Systems A New Ultrasonic Gas Flow Meter For Custody Transfer, Dr. Volker Herrmann, 1st Gas O&M Industry Conference Mumbai, India, June 18th 2003 Edgar B. Bowles, Onsite Proving of Natural Gas Turbine Meters. Southwest Research Institute, ISHM 2001. Joel T. Park, Kendricks A. Behring II, Philip J. Krueger, Gas Research Institute Topical Report Metering Research Facility Program: Review of Field Meter Provers. Natural Gas Meter Proving Daniel J. Rudroff, AGA Operations Conference, May 23-25, 2004 Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, Phoenix, AZ Use of an Inferential Gas Properties Algorithm as a Metering Station Diagnostic Tool AGA 2005 paper, Richard Cline, Integrated Information Technologies, Darin L.George Ph.D., Senior Research Engineer, Southwest Research Institute*, San Antonio, Texas, USA

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