New Ultrasonic Flowmeter Handles Custody Transfer Applications

Krohne’s new multichannel ultrasonic flowmeter is accurate and reliable enough to be used for the first time in custody transfer applications. The petroleum industry demands this type of application, but has traditionally had to use turbine meters, which are costly and require cleaning and calibration. Krohne’s new Altosonic V is less than one-third the cost of an equivalent turbine meter and requires virtually no cleaning or maintenance because it has no moving parts. The first Altosonic V installations at Shell Oil and Dow Chemical in Germany were successful and Krohne is offering the flowmeter as a standard product. The Altosonic V’s flow measuring system consists of a measuring tube with 10 ultrasonic sensors, a field-mounted signal converter, and a flow processor in the control room. The Krohne flowmeter uses a “confuser” device to straighten out disturbed profiles, and five independent measuring lines—with two ultrasonic sensors in each line—to accurately measure the flow profile across the pipe. Extensive signal processing and computing equipment integrate the data to produce measurements, which include not only volumetric flow rate and totalizing, but sound velocity, mass flowrate, temperature, and viscosity.

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