ABOUT SELECTING THE VORTEX FLOWMETER OPTIMAL BLUFF BODY SHAPE

Vortex flow meters are becoming more widespread in many industries. This is due to the simplicity and reliability of the flow transducer, the scale linearity, the frequency measuring signal presence, low requirements for alignment and ensuring the straight sections length at the installation site, etc. Among the vortex measuring instruments, the most common are instruments with a bluff body. Such flow meters operation principle is based on measuring the vortex stripping frequency behind a streamlined body installed in the flow. In this case, the metrological characteristics are determined by the bluff body shape. Therefore, the search for the optimal sensing element shape and the hydraulic channel configuration of the flow meter as a whole remains an actual issue. The paper proposes an algorithm for solving this issue according to the criteria of the measured flow rates maximum range and the interaction efficiency of the bluff body with the measured medium flow. The first criterion value is determined from the condition that the Strouhal’s number remains unchanged; the second criterion is based on the estimation of the measured medium pressure drop and the measurement error. To realize the algorithm, simulation modeling is used in the Ansys Fluent fluid simulation software, which uses computational fluid dynamics methods. Modeling carried out for three shapes of the bluff body: a cylinder, a prism with a triangular section, a prism with a trapezoidal section, which made it possible to choose a sensitive element for further solving the multi-parameter optimization problem. Geometric features of the selected sensitive element shape, the limits of their change and boundary values are grounded. The simulation made it possible to estimate the measured flow rates range and pressure losses, as well as to determine the vortex stripping frequency, measurement error and efficiency factor for the investigated geometric model. To further improve the instrument metrological parameters, the authors proposed to supplement the primary transducer geometric model with gradual contraction and diffuser sections. These sections parameters are selected from the conditions of a continuous flow and the maximum measured flow rates range with a minimum pressure loss. The obtained results confirmed the strategy proposed by the authors. The further research prospect is to carry out simulation studies of the flow meter hydraulic channel proposed configuration for different measured media.

ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY IN AUTOMATED CONTROL OF WATER RESOURCES

Control of water resources is becoming an important strategic issue. That is why authorities set the goal for wa-ter agencies to manage the availability of water and create regulations to its rational use. The main point in water control is measurement. There are three important aspects of measurements of water resources: at water extraction from nature, at the consumption and at custody transfer. Control of water consumption sometimes is based not on measurements, but on preliminary estimation, for example, by pumping. Ultrasonic measurement technology as a key feature of automated control of resources has a potential role in this market. In contrast to mechanical (turbine) meters, ultrasonic meters have a priority because they also give a possibility to realize smart metering. In contrast to electromagnetic meters, which also measure with high accuracy and realize smart functions, ultrasonic meters much more suitable for rough water, wastewater and sewage. Such water resources are usually poorly controlled, which means that no one knows their exact cost. Measurement is mandatory to control cost and for billing. Accuracy is important issue, especially when we say about measurements in large pipe diameters. There is practically no alternative to ultrasonic flow meters. Market of diverse meters concentrated on diameters under 400 mm. For larger diameters, only ultrasonic meters are in use. They have many chords, difficult algorithms for data processing. Thus, they are applicable over a very wide flow range. In this paper, we discover transit-time ultrasonic flow meters to understand features of their measurement theory taking into account all factors affecting their work. This article describes errors inherent in these flowmeters during measurements. As far as accuracy is significantly important in billing, the cost of 1% measurement error in consumption of water resources for small (DN50÷DN150 mm) and large (DN200÷DN1200 mm) pipe diameters has been evaluated and analyzed. The losses from the installation of low-quality metering devices are demonstrated and discussed.

Method of Modelling a Tank with Ribbing using a Spatial Scanner for Optimized Control of Volume Characteristics

Increasing requirements for product quality, whether from the side of technical standards or customers, generate demands on the optimization of measurement and data evaluation processes, which include also dimensional characteristics. The paper deals with determining the volume of the tank of a railway wagon with ribbing. In practice, volume flow meters are usually used to measure the internal volumes of manufactured tanks, which measure the volume of water when filled with water. The method is not only time-consuming but also energy-consuming and generates a large amount of wastewater. Therefore, these obsolete methods are gradually being replaced by those that allow effective inspection of tank wagon dimensions according to the technical documentation. The topic of the paper is a description and verification of the design of a progressive method of determining the internal volume of the tank using a spatial 3D scanner Faro FocusS150 and software processing of measured data. At the same time, verification of compliance with the requirements for the accuracy of determining the internal volume of the tank is presented. The aforementioned methods are therefore compared in terms of accuracy, complexity and time consumption.

Indirect estimation of the production rate of wells with low flow rate

The problem of measuring the flow rate of wells with low production rates is relevant for many oil fields. Conventional flow meters are not suitable for such cases, and installing an additional flow meter for each well is impractical. At the same time, wells with sucker-rod pumping units (the majority of wells) are outfitted with dynamographs for continuous diagnostics of the pumping equipment state. Dynamograms allow determining the theoretical flow rate of the well easily, however, a mathematical model is required to estimate the actual flow rate. For the correction of flow rate obtained from dynamograms, the authors of this study propose using models based on regression equations that link the calculated valueswith the measurements made by a reference instrument. The results of the experiments have confirmed the eligibility of this approach.

Monitoring the composition of gas condensate well streams based on samples taken from multiphase flow meters

The article highlights the relevance of reliable estimation of the composition and properties of reservoir gas during the development of gas condensate fields and the complexity of the task for reservoirs containing zones of varying condensate content. The authors have developed a methodology that allows monitoring the composition of gas condensate well streams of similar reservoirs. There are successful examples of the approach applied in Achimov gas condensate reservoirs at the Urengoy oil and gas condensate field. The proposed approach is based on the use of the so-called fluid factors, which are calculated on the basis of the known component compositions of various flows of the studied hydrocarbon system. The correlation between certain "fluid factors" and the properties of reservoir gas (usually determined by more labor-consuming methods) allows one to quickly obtain important information necessary to solve various development control tasks.

Application of Wavelet Feature Extraction and Artificial Neural Networks for Improving the Performance of Gas–Liquid Two-Phase Flow Meters Used in Oil and Petrochemical Industries

Measuring fluid characteristics is of high importance in various industries such as the polymer, petroleum, and petrochemical industries, etc. Flow regime classification and void fraction measurement are essential for predicting the performance of many systems. The efficiency of multiphase flow meters strongly depends on the flow parameters. In this study, MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle) code was employed to simulate annular, stratified, and homogeneous regimes. In this approach, two detectors (NaI) were utilized to detect the emitted photons from a cesium-137 source. The registered signals of both detectors were decomposed using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Following this, the low-frequency (approximation) and high-frequency (detail) components of the signals were calculated. Finally, various features of the approximation signals were extracted, using the average value, kurtosis, standard deviation (STD), and root mean square (RMS). The extracted features were thoroughly analyzed to find those features which could classify the flow regimes and be utilized as the inputs to a network for improving the efficiency of flow meters. Two different networks were implemented for flow regime classification and void fraction prediction. In the current study, using the wavelet transform and feature extraction approach, the considered flow regimes were classified correctly, and the void fraction percentages were calculated with a mean relative error (MRE) of 0.4%. Although the system presented in this study is proposed for measuring the characteristics of petroleum fluids, it can be easily used for other types of fluids such as polymeric fluids.

Estimation of the accuracy of fuel consumption measurement based on data from the on-board CAN-bus

The legal requirements for vehicle exhaust emissions are becoming increasingly stringent. Emissions are directly related to fuel consumption. Therefore, reducing fuel consumption is a very urgent task. To solve this problem, it is necessary to assess the influence of various factors on the actual fuel consumption. To determine the fuel consumption, there are a large number of different methods using external flow meters installed in the fuel line, installing additional level sensors in the fuel tank. A very simple and convenient method is based on the use of information from the electronic engine control unit. This method requires minimal financial investment and does not require significant structural changes. The question arises about the measurement accuracy according to this method, since the ECU calculates the fuel consumption according to a mathematical model, calibrated and programmed at the factory. To assess the accuracy of this method, a set of tests was carried out. The tests were performed at constant vehicle speed and according to the standard driving cycle. During the tests, the fuel consumption was recorded using a high-precision calibrated flow meter installed in the fuel line and on the basis of data from the engine ECU. Based on the test results, a conclusion was made about the size of the discrepancy in the methods for determining the fuel consumption.