Emerson ultrasonic flowmeters extended to LNG duty 08 May 2013

Emerson Process Management reckons it has solved problems with measuring the flow of LNG (liquefied natural gas) at cryogenic temperatures with a version of its redundant four-path Daniel 3818 liquid ultrasonic meter.

The device, it says, provides stable, accurate and reliable dynamic volume measurement (better than conventional higher accuracy than static methods), making it capable of reducing flow measurement uncertainty throughout the LNG value chain.

Peter Syrnyk, vice president of engineering at Emerson Process Management, Daniel, says that the 3818 provides a factory-proven linearity within ± 0.15% and a meter factor uncertainty of ± 0.027%, due to its multi-plane British Gas design, fast signal processing, and advanced transducer technology.

"We continue to develop and perfect a wide range of ultrasonic flow meters for liquid and gas measurement," comments Syrnyk.

"The introduction of the 3818 liquid ultrasonic meter addresses the industry's need for custody transfer to be based on more accurate measurements by all stakeholders in the LNG value chain."

Industry forecasts anticipate increasing LNG trades in short-term (spot) contracts, so the development is likely to be significant for many marine and offshore applications, including custody transfer, fiscal metering, line balancing, check metering, allocation measurement and tanker loading and unloading.

In addition, LNG facilities use shared or commingled storage tanks, which require dynamic measurement to quantify and allocate ownership among multiple parties.

With a completely redundant four-path, multi-plane configuration that is the equivalent of two four-path meters in a single body, the new unit harnesses two independent transmitters – one for each set of four chordal paths.

Acoustic processing is performed by electronics designed to achieve high sampling rates, provide stable ultrasonic signals and optimal low flow response.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Emerson Process Management

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