Natural Gas Flow Meters -

Why Calibrate? (…and how to)

Terry Grimley
Ed Bowles, Jr.
Jim Witte
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, Texas
Metering Research Facility at SwRI
(In operation since 1991)

2
 Why flow calibrate your meter?

 You suspect a problem with your meter.

 Your sales contract or tariff requires that your
meter be flow calibrated.
 The applicable industry standard for your meter
requires flow meter calibration.
 Your meter is part of a custody transfer dispute.
 You are conducting a lost and unaccounted for
gas volume investigation that includes your meter.
 You want the meter to be as accurate as possible.
 It’s cheap (sometimes VERY cheap) insurance.

3
 What can bias errors in an ultrasonic flow
meter cost?
 AGA Report No. 9 maximum error = ±0.7% (for dia. ≥ 12”)
 Assume transmission grade gas at 850 psi flows through an
ultrasonic meter at 50 ft/sec.
 Value of a 0.25% bias error corrected via flow calibration
(for $4/mscf gas):
Diameter Annual
(inches) Value Calibration cost
for a 12-inch
8 $ 320,000
meter recouped
12 $ 716,000
in less than a
16 $ 1,273,000 week’s time!
20 $ 1,989,000
24 $ 2,864,000
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 Let’s begin with some terminology…
 Accuracy (a.k.a., error) - A qualitative concept of the
closeness in agreement of a measured value and an
accepted “reference” or “true” value.
 Repeatability (a.k.a., precision) - The variation in
measurements taken by a single person or
instrument on the same item (e.g., flow meter) and
under the same conditions over a short period of
time.
 Reproducibility - The variation in measurements that
occurs when any of the repeatability conditions have
changed (e.g., person, instrument, time, etc.).

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 Measurement Uncertainty
(a.k.a., the upper limit of the measurement error)
“True” Value
(Never
Frequency of Occurrence

known!) Average Measurement

Precise, Unbiased
Precise (i.e.,
BiasedNarrow Base)

Imprecise,(i.e.,
Imprecise BiasedWide Base)
Unbiased

Magnitude of Sampled Variable, X (e.g., flow rate)

(“Normal” or “Gaussian” Distribution)
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What can cause metering errors?

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Adverse Operational Effects

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More Operational Effects...

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 Reported Orifice Meter Measurement Error Sources
Operational Characteristic Approximate Flow Rate Error (% of reading)
Orifice plate surface roughness Up to -0.7%
Notches/grooves on orifice edge -0.6% to +1.0%
Plate thickness and bevel angle -3.7% to +0.4%
Plate installed backwards Up to -20%
Liquid film on plate Up to ±1.5%
Liquid film on meter tube Up to +1%
Grease on surface of plate Up to -13%
Bent/warped plate Over-measurement <+0.5%, if deflection angle < 1°
Under-measurement beyond -1.5% for larger deflection
Orifice eccentricity Within ±0.1%, if maintained at allowable limits
Swirl effects Up to +5.2%, depending on swirl type
Location of downstream thermowells < ±0.28% for TWs as close as 1.63 pipe diameters
High differential pressures (ΔP > 100 in. H20) < ±0.1%, if allowable limits are followed

Low differential pressures (ΔP < 10 in. H20) Can exceed ±4%, if ΔP <20” H2O column
Pulsation effects (SRE always over-registers) Can exceed ±0.5%, if ΔPr avg > 0.25 psi

Acoustic noise Can exceed ±0.23%, if pulsations >155 dBA

Over-registration Under-registration Over- or Under-registration

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 The upstream piping geometry can
“distort” the flow in the pipe…

 Changes in direction or pipe bends

 Elbows
 Ys, tees, headers, etc.

 Blockages/obstructions
 Valves
 Pressure regulators

 Filters/separators

 Orifice plates

 Flow conditioners

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 Meter Sensitivity to Flow Field Distortion

 Flow meters sensitive to flow field distortions…

 Orifice
 Ultrasonic
 Straight tube (radial mode) Coriolis
 Pitot-probe type
 Turbine (sometimes)
 Flow meters not sensitive to flow field
distortions…
 Positive displacement (e.g., rotary & diaphragm)
 Bent tube Coriolis
 Turbine (sometimes)

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 Flow Meter Calibration Options

 Field (in-situ) proving

 American Gas Association Report No. 6
“Field Proving of Gas Meters Using Transfer
Methods,” March 2013
 Proving meters using critical flow devices
 Proving field meters with “master” meters

 Flow lab calibration

 “Open” system, i.e., side branch on a pipeline
 Closed-loop (recirculating) system

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Field Meter Proving…

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 In-situ Sonic Nozzle Meter Proving Field Test
(Example data provided by Dr. Frank Ting - Chevron)

 Objective: Optimize orifice meter beta

ratios & operating conditions
 Orifice meter sizes: 2, 4, 6, 8, & 16 inch dia.
 Flow range: Up to 200 MMSCFD
 Pressure: Up to 1,000 psig
 Flow reference: Flow calibrated sonic nozzles
(±0.25% of reading uncertainty)

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 In-situ Sonic Nozzle Proving -
Example Flow Performance
0.5
Sonic
SonicNozzle
Nozzle
Reference
Reference
0
Difference

-0.5
Percent Difference

-1.0

-1.5
Percent

-2.0 4"
6"
-2.5 16"
~83% of the flow is under-
registered by at least 1.25%!
-3.0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Beta Ratio
Beta Ratio
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Field Meter Station with an Ultrasonic Flow Meter Plumbed
in Series for Performing In-situ Meter Calibration Checks

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The Basis of All Flow Meter Calibrations
Conservation of MASS (simplified)
Qm = (ρ A V)1 = (ρ A V)2
Flow Direction

Meter No. 1 Control Boundary Meter No. 2

(Field meter Steady Flow
Unsteady Flow (Prover @
being checked (An (Theundesirable
desired test
testcondition!)
condition)! P2 , T 2 , ρ 2 ,
@ P1 , T 1 , ρ 1 , A2, & V2)
A1, & V1)
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 Flow Meter Calibration Facilities
 Two basic types of calibration facilities…
 Open design – uses existing pipeline flow (side branch).
 Closed-loop – purpose-built flow meter calibration facility.
 Secondary measurement (lab “working” standard):
 Turbine meter(s)
 Sonic nozzle(s) (a.k.a., critical flow Venturi)
 Rotary meter(s)
 Primary measurement
 Sliding piston/swept volume
 Pressure, (fixed) volume, temperature, time (PVTt) system
 Weigh tank
 Inter-lab comparison testing provides information on
equivalence of different lab facilities.

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 Primary Gas Calibration System
Total Measurement Uncertainty
 Primary systems are
those that determine
flow rate from
fundamental
measurements of
mass, length, & time.
 Lowest measurement
uncertainty - typically
in the range of ±0.02
to ±0.05% of reading.

MRF Weigh Tank

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 Secondary (“Working”) Gas Calibration
System Total Measurement Uncertainty
 Secondary systems
are those calibrated
using a primary
system.
 Typically include
empirical calibration
coefficients.
 Measurement
uncertainty is
typically in the range
of ±0.05 to ±0.15%
of reading. MRF Critical Flow Venturis
(i.e., sonic nozzles)
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 Meter Calibration Considerations
 Meter only vs. meter with
upstream/downstream piping included.
 Digital vs. analog flow meter/lab interface.
 “As-found” testing allows assessment of
potential measurement biases from
meter/adjacent piping/flow conditioner fouling
for meters removed from service.
 Scheduling: Lab backlog times vary (1-3 months
is typical), so plan ahead as much as possible.
 Flow meter owner/operator/manufacturer test
witnessing varies.
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 Flow Meter Installation
 Flow meter is shipped pre-assembled or is
assembled at the flow calibration facility.
 On-site assembly of piping components typically
proceeds from upstream to downstream to allow
internal inspection of flange alignment.
 Meter power, data communication, and
secondary instrumentation installation.
 Lab instrumentation is typically used for pressure and
temperature measurements.
 Initial meter checkout typically is done prior to the
flow calibration.
 Example piping configurations follow.
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Example Single Flow Meter Installation

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Ultrasonic Meters Flow Calibrated in a Skid

8-inch Meter
Flow
Outlet

3-inch Rotary 6-inch Meter

Meter
Flow
Inlet
 Meter Calibration Details
(Example: Ultrasonic flow meter)
 Establish stable flow/pressure and ensure thermal
stability.
 Test over a range of flow rates: For ultrasonic flow
meters, AGA-9 recommends 100, 75, 50, 25, 10, 5,
2.5% of full scale, but other points can be used,
depending on the application.
 At the MRF, we acquire multiple samples at each flow
rate (3 to 6 measurement points, each of 90 to 300
seconds in duration).
 Record path-by-path and other diagnostic information
and examine for consistency (run log files).
 Compare speed of sound measurement to those values
produced using AGA-10.
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 Meter Calibration Documentation
 AGA-9 recommends 15 items that should be
included in the meter calibration report.
Examples include:
 Flow lab calibration procedure
 Meter manufacturer, model, & serial number

 Description of mechanical installation

 Raw data, adjustment factor(s), and test method

used (should include measurement uncertainty

estimate)
 Final meter configuration, including firmware

revision number
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Some things to consider, depending
on your type of flow meter…

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Ultrasonic Flow Meters
(Image courtesy of Sick, Inc.)

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 Ultrasonic Meter ‘A’ with Flow Conditioning
(97 diameters of straight pipe upstream)
Bare Tube
1.0
19-tube Bundle
VORTABTM
CPA 50E
0.8 GFCTM
Percent Error

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Velocity (ft/sec)
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 Ultrasonic Meter Adjustments

 AGA-9 references three common methods

of correcting the meter output:
 Flow Weighted Mean Error (FWME) correction
 Polynomial error correction

 Multi-point (point-by-point) linearization

 Depending on the characteristics of the

meter error curve, one of the above
methods may be preferred over the
others.

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 FWME Correction
1.500
As-Found
1.250 Estimated As-Left, FWME

This method
1.000 applies a single meter calibration factor to all of the calibration
points. The 100greater importance
100
0.750 method does allow
Meter Factor = for = to
= 1be placed on a
.00381
particular flow rate to ensure + FWME
that
100 at +that
the error100 ( −0.flow
38) rate is minimized.
0.500
The calculation method is explained in detail in AGA Report No. 9.
0.250
Percent Error

0.000

-0.250

-0.500

-0.750

-1.000

-1.250

-1.500
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Velocity (ft/sec)
36
 Polynomial Correction
1.500
As-Found
Estimated As-Left, Polynomial
1.250
Poly. (As-Found)

1.000

0.750

0.500

0.250
Percent Error

0.000

-0.250

-0.500

-0.750
Y = -2.00258(10) -4X2 ++ 3.26980E-02x
y = -2.00258E-04x 3.26980(10)
2 -2X + 1.49299
- 1.49299E+00
-1.000

-1.250

-1.500
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Velocity (ft/sec)

37
 Point-by-Point Linearization
1.500
As-Found
Estimated As-Left, Point-by-point Linearization
1.250
As-Left, Verfication Points

1.000

0.750

0.500

0.250
Percent Error

0.000

-0.250
? ?
-0.500

-0.750

-1.000

-1.250

-1.500
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Velocity (ft/sec)
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Orifice Flow Meters
(Built to specifications of American Gas Association Report No. 3)
Differential
Pressure Taps

Orifice Plate

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 Orifice Flow Meter Calibration

8-inch diameter Reader-Harris

β = 0.600 Pressure Tap
Gallagher
“Separation”
Cd Equation
~0.15% difference

=qm N1Cd EvYd 2 ρt ,P ∗ ∆P

𝜌 × 𝑉 × 𝐷 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 = =
𝜇 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹

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 Turbine Flow Meters
No tapered tail Wide flow annulus
Narrow flow annulus Tapered tail

Rounded nose cone with Poorer integral flow conditioning

Good integral flow conditioning A rounded nose cone, but
many straightening vanes (i.e., fewer straightening vanes, no
(i.e., conical nose, straightening few straightening vanes
contracting inlet section, and more
vanes, contracting inlet cross
open cross section).
section, and tapered exit).

41
Turbine Flow Meter Calibration

8-inch diameter meter

Error relative to single K-factor
Test conditions: 750 psia, 70°F

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 Example Calibration Factor vs. Flow Rate
(4-inch diameter meter)
145.5

145.0

144.5

144.0
K (pulses per cubic foot)

143.5 Atmospheric air

150 psia natural gas
143.0
400 psia natural gas
142.5
1.9 % 700 psia natural gas

142.0

141.5

141.0

140.5

140.0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Q (acfh)

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 Turbine Meter Calibration Notes

 Turbine meters should be characterized as a

function of Reynolds number (per AGA-7).
 Calibration at operating pressure can further
reduce the measurement uncertainty.
 Characterizing a turbine meter by a single
K-factor can lead to error.
 Multi-point linearization can be built into the
flow computer to minimize the error.

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Coriolis Flow Meters
(Bent tube and straight tube designs)

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Coriolis Flow Meter Calibration

◊ - Without meter zeroed

□ - With meter zeroed

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 Coriolis Meter Calibration Notes

 Zeroing the meter provides the reference

condition upon which Coriolis meters are
highly dependent.
 Gas calibrations at elevated pressure
should consider the pressure sensitivity of
the meter.

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 Conclusions
 Informed users can make good choices for calibration
requirements. For instance, decide how accurate your
meter needs to be!
 Calibration facilities can offer advice to help with your
decisions and planning.
 Properly calibrated flow meters provide an accurate
means of measurement that will reduce system
measurement biases - and associated operating costs.
 An initial meter calibration prior to field installation
provides both verification of meter performance and
removal of any measurement bias error - and provides
baseline (reference) diagnostic information for
monitoring of meter health in the future.
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 Thank you. Any questions?

SwRI Metering Research Facility

Southwest Research Institute Website: www.mrf.swri.org

tgrimley@swri.org
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Example FWME Calculation & Correction
Flow Rate
FWE = ⋅ Error
100
100
Full Scale ft/s Rate
ft/s
Flow
Flow FWME
Velocity Error Full Scale
Point Weighted Corrected
(ft/s) (%) Fraction
Error Error (%)
1 94.558 -0.169 0.946 -0.160 0.212
2 70.983 -0.190 0.710 -0.135 0.191
3 52.117 -0.414 0.521 -0.216 -0.034
4 37.820 -0.570 0.378 -0.216 -0.191
5 23.628 -0.648 0.236 -0.153 -0.269
6 14.217 -1.023 0.142 -0.145 -0.646
7 9.443 -1.338 0.094 -0.126 -0.961
Sum = 3.028 -1.151

FWME =
∑ FWE 1 =
− 1.151
=+−100
0.380−
%1
Corrected Error =Flow Rate × 3.𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸
∑ Full Scale Flow Rate
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 + 100 028

50
 Example Flow Distortion (Swirl) Caused by Two
90° Elbows, 90° Out of Plane

“Type 2” Swirl
(Counter-rotating vortices)
“Type 1” Swirl
(Solid body rotation)

Swirl can persist for 200 to 300 nominal pipe diameters!

Velocity Profile
(Axi-symmetric, fully-developed, turbulent)
51
Wake Downstream of a Cylindrical Body
(e.g., thermowell or gas sample probe)

Flow Direction

Cylindrical Body

52
Side Branches or Splits in the Flow Stream

Closed
Branch

Closed
Branch

Closed
Branch

Flow Direction
First-order or
Fundamental Mode Flow Direction
Second-order Mode

53
 Flow Separation Downstream of an Obstruction
(e.g., partially closed valve, protruding gasket, orifice…)

Flow Direction Flow Direction

Separation Recirculation
Zone Zone

Flow Flow
Obstruction Obstruction

54
Partially Closed Valves
(Ball valve example)

55
Example Flow Distortion (Swirl) Caused by Two
90° Elbows, 90° Out of Plane
(Numerical simulation courtesy of E-on Ruhrgas)

56
Is a flow “conditioner” necessary?

GFC™ VAS

19-tube Bundle

GFC™ TAS

CPA Profiler™
Example Flow Conditioners
(They do not all perform the same!)
57
Flow “conditioners” also disturb the flow!
“Settling” Distance

Flow
Direction

58
Installation Guidelines Are Included
in the Applicable Standards

59
Straight Pipe Installation

60
Installation with Inlet Elbows and Cleanout Tees

61
Integral Elbow-Tee-Cleanout Combination

62
Z-pattern - Two Meters in Series in a Header

A B

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