Custody transfer

flowmeters

Prepared and reported by: Abdelrahman Mohamed Elshafei

Reported to: Eng. Moataz Sherif
Table of contents
1. ABSTRACT: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3
2. INTRODUCTION: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
3. THEORY OF OPERATION AND DIFFERENT TYPES:ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT
DEFINED.
4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL LEVEL SENSORS: ---------- ERROR!
BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5. CONCLUSION: -------------------------------------------------- ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6. REFERENCES: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

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 1. Abstract:
In this document, I am going to discuss the operation of custody transfer
flowmeters and their types.

2. Introduction:
Custody transfer in fluid measurement is defined as a metering point
(location) where the fluid is being measured for sale from one party to another.
During custody transfer, accuracy is of great importance to both the company
delivering the material and the eventual recipient, when transferring a
material.
The term "fiscal metering" is often interchanged with custody transfer, and
refers to metering that is a point of a commercial transaction such as when a
change in ownership takes place. Custody transfer takes place any time fluids
are passed from the possession of one party to another.
Due to the high level of accuracy required during custody transfer
applications, the flowmeters which are used to perform this are subject to
approval by an organization such as the American Petroleum Institute (API).
Custody transfer operations can occur at a number of points along the way;
these may include operations, transactions or transferring of oil from an oil
production platform to a ship, barge, railcar, truck and also to the final
destination point, such as a refinery.
Many flow measurement technologies are used for custody transfer
applications; these include differential pressure DP flow meters, turbine flow
meters, positive displacement flow meters, Coriolis flow meters and
ultrasonic flow meters.

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 3. Custody transfer measurement technologies:
a) Differential Pressure Flowmeters
Differential pressure (DP) flow meters are used for the custody transfer of
natural gas to measure the flow of liquid, gas, and steam. The DP flow meter
consists of a differential pressure transmitter and a primary element. The
primary element places a constriction in a flow stream, while the DP
transmitter measures the difference in pressure upstream and downstream of
the constriction.
In many cases, pressure transmitters and primary elements are bought by the
end-users from different suppliers. However, several vendors have integrated
the pressure transmitter with the primary element to form a complete flow
meter. The advantage of this is that they can be calibrated with the primary
element and DP transmitter already in place.

Fig. 1 various types of differential pressure flowmeters

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Standards and criteria for the use of DP flow meters for custody transfer
applications are specified by the American Gas Association (AGA) and the
American Petroleum Institute (API).
An advantage of using a DP flow meters is that they are the most studied and
best understood type of flow meter. A disadvantage of using a DP flow meters
is that they introduce a pressure drop into the flow meter line. This is a
necessary result of the constriction in the line that is required to make the DP
flow measurement.
One important development in the use of DP flow meters for custody transfer
applications has been the development of single and dual chamber orifice
fittings.
b) Turbine Flowmeters
The first turbine flow meter was invented by Reinhard Woltman, a German
engineer in 1790. Turbine flow meters consist of a rotor with propeller-like
blades that spins as water or some other fluid passes over it. The rotor spins
in proportion to flow rate. There are many types of turbine meters, but many
of those used for gas flow are called axial meters.

Fig. 2 Turbine flowmeter

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The turbine flow meter is most useful when measuring clean, steady, high-
speed flow of low-viscosity fluids. In comparison to other flow meters, the
turbine flow meter has a significant cost advantage over ultrasonic flow
meters, especially in the larger line sizes, and it also has a favorable price
compared to the prices of DP flow meters, especially in cases where one
turbine meter can replace several DP meters.
The disadvantage of turbine flow meters is that they have moving parts that
are subject to wear. To prevent wear and inaccuracy, durable materials are
used, including ceramic ball bearings.
Standards have been drafted for the use of turbine flowmeters as precision
measuring instruments in gas flow applications, particularly the custody
transfer of natural gas. The American Gas Association has published a
standard called the Report #7 specifying the installation of turbine flowmeters
for high-accuracy gas flow measurement, along with the associated
mathematics for precisely calculating flow rate based on turbine speed, gas
pressure, and gas temperature. Pressure and temperature compensation is
relevant to turbine flowmeters in gas flow applications because the density of
the gas is a strong function of both pressure and temperature. The turbine
wheel itself only senses gas velocity, and so these other factors must be taken
into consideration to accurately calculate mass flow.
c) Positive Displacement Flowmeters
Positive displacement (PD) flow meters are highly accurate meters that are
widely used for custody transfer of commercial and industrial water, as well
as for custody transfer of natural gas and many other liquids. PD flow meters
have the advantage that they have been approved by a number of regulatory
bodies for this purpose, and they have not yet been displaced by other
applications.
PD meters excel at measuring low flows, and also at measuring highly viscous
flows, because PD meters captures the flow in a container of known volume.
Speed of flow does not matter when using a PD meter.

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Some designs require that only lubricating fluid be measured, because the
rotors are exposed to the fluid. PD meters differ from turbine meters in that
they handle medium and high-viscosity liquids well. For this reason, they are
often used to measure the flow of hydraulic fluids.
However, a positive displacement meter can be considerably heavier and more
costly than non-positive-displacement types such as orifice plates, magnetic
or vortex flow meters.
d) Coriolis Flowmeters
Coriolis flow meters have been around for more than 20 years and are
preferred in process industries such as chemical and food and beverage.
Coriolis technology offers accuracy and reliability in measuring material
flow, and is often hailed as among the best flow measurement technologies,
however, significant limitations exist in conventional Coriolis meters for
custody transfer. This is because Coriolis meters have not performed well in
measuring two-phase flow conditions, which involve a combination of gas
and liquid.
Flow is measured using Coriolis meters by analyzing the changes in the
Coriolis force of a flowing substance. The force is generated in a mass moving
within a rotating frame of reference. An angular, outward acceleration, which
is factored with linear velocity is produced due to the rotation. With a fluid
mass, the Coriolis force is proportional to the mass flow rate of that fluid.
A Coriolis meter has two main components: an oscillating flow tube equipped
with sensors and drivers, and an electronic transmitter that controls the
oscillations, analyzes the results, and transmits the information. The Coriolis
principle for flow measurement requires the oscillating section of a rotating
pipe to be exploited. Oscillation produces the Coriolis force, which can be
sensed and analyzed to determine the rate of flow.
Coriolis mass flowmeters are very accurate and dependable. They are also
completely immune to swirl and other fluid disturbances, which means they
may be located nearly anywhere in a piping system with no need at all for
straight-run pipe lengths upstream or downstream of the meter. Their natural

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ability to measure true mass flow, along with their characteristic linearity and
accuracy, makes them ideally suited for custody transfer applications
The American Gas Association (AGA) formalized the use of Coriolis mass
flowmeters for the measurement of natural gas with their Report #11. This
standard is equivalent to AGA #3 for orifice meters, AGA #7 for turbine
meters, and AGA #9 for ultrasonic meters.
Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of Coriolis flowmeters is their high initial
cost, especially for large pipe sizes. Coriolis flowmeters are also more limited
in operating temperature than other types of flowmeters and may have
difficulty measuring low-density fluids.
e) Ultrasonic Flowmeters
Ultrasonic flow meters were first introduced into industrial markets in 1963
by Tokyo Keiki in Japan. Custody transfer measurements have been around
for a long time, and over the past ten years, Coriolis and ultrasonic meters
have become the flow meters of choice for custody transfer in the oil and gas
industry.
Ultrasonic meters provide volumetric flow rate. They typically use the transit-
time method, where sounds waves transmitted in the direction of fluid flow
travel faster than those travelling upstream. The transit time difference is
proportional to fluid velocity. Ultrasonic flow meters have negligible pressure
drop, have high turndown capability, and can handle a wide range of
applications. Crude oil production, transportation, and processing are typical
applications for this technology.
The use of ultrasonic flow meters is continuing to grow for custody transfer.
Unlike PD and turbine meters, ultrasonic flow meters do not have moving
parts. Pressure drop is much reduced with an ultrasonic meter when compared
to PD, turbine, and DP meters. Installation of ultrasonic meters is relatively
straightforward, and maintenance requirements are low.
In June 1998, The American Gas Association published a standard called
AGA #9. This standard lays out the criteria for the use of ultrasonic flow
meters for Custody Transfer of Natural Gas.

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 4. Custody transfer requirements:
Custody transfer metering systems must meet requirements set by industry
bodies such as AGA, API, or ISO.
The national Weights & Measures codes and regulations control the wholesale
and retail trade requirements to facilitate fair trade. The regulations and
accuracy requirements vary widely between countries and commodities, but
they all have one common characteristic - “traceability”. Always a procedure
defines the validation process where the duty meter is compared to a standard
that is traceable.
A contract is a written agreement between buyers and sellers that defines the
measurement requirements. These are large-volume sales between operating
companies where refined products and crude oils are transported
by marine, pipeline or rail. Custody transfer measurement must be at the
highest level of accuracy possible because a small error in measurement can
amount to a large financial difference. Due to these critical natures of
measurements, petroleum companies around the world have developed and
adopted standards to meet the industry's needs.
In Canada, for instance, all measurement of a custody transfer nature falls
under the purview of Measurement Canada. In the USA, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) controls the standards which must be met
for interstate trade.

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 5. References:
www.instumentationtools.com
www.flow-tech.com
www.fluidswitch.com
www.thomasnet.com
www.controlglobal.com
Lessons in industrial instrumentation

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