ULTRASONIC FLOWMETER FOR COAL SEAM GAS APPLICATION

Lei Sui, Randy S. Pfenninger, Toan H. Nguyen, Nicholas A. Hobbs, Isaac Sadovnik, Liguo Su, James E. Matson

Abstract

The use of ultrasound to measure flow is now well established with many installations worldwide in chemical and petrochemical plants, and refineries. In general, it is more challenging to apply ultrasonic techniques to gas flow measurement than liquid due to a variety of reasons, including the much lower acoustic impedance, higher Mach numbers, higher turn-down ratios, and larger pressure variations, associated with gas flow measurement. In this paper, ultrasonic flowmetering of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) or Coal Bed Methane Gas (CBMG) is investigated and reported. A theoretical model has been developed to understand how the received ultrasound signal strength changes with temperature, pressure and gas contents. Ultrasonic flowmeter dynamic range and the build-up on transducer faces for this application have also been explored and tested. CFD models have been set up to investigate the effects of transducer location and nozzle opening on flow profiles, meter repeatability and overall system accuracy. Finally, external flow calibration results have been presented.

Keywords

ultrasonic, flow meter, gas, Coal Seam Gas, (CSG), Coal Bed Methane Gas (CBMG), CFD models

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DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC9 - Flow Measurement

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