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Advances In Coriolis Technology

Resolve Tough Pipeline Flow
Measurement Challenges
By Wade M. Mattar, Flow Specialist, Invensys Process Systems,
Foxboro Measurements and Instruments Division, Foxboro, MA

oriolis technology offers

C unprecedented accuracy and

reliability in measuring materi-
al flow in the pipeline and gas
industry and is often hailed as among the
most superior flow measurement technolo-
gies. But conventional Coriolis meters
have had one significant limitation: they
haven’t performed well in measuring two-
phase flow conditions — flow that
involves a combination of gas and liquid
mass. Two-phase flow can cause process
interruptions and measurement inaccura-
cies that can significantly affect produc-
tion and profitability.
Recent developments in digital Coriolis
technology overcome the challenges of meas-
uring two-phase flow to improve traditional
pipeline flow measurement while offering a
solution for demanding applications that have
been traditionally out of reach.

How Coriolis
Measurement Works
With worldwide revenues greater than
$400 million and expected to exceed $600
million in the near future, Coriolis meters
are among the fastest-growing flow meas-
urement technologies. These meters meas-
ure flow by analyzing changes in Coriolis
force of a flowing substance. Coriolis force
is generated in a mass which is moving
within a rotating frame of reference. That
rotation produces an angular, outward
acceleration which is factored with linear
velocity to define the Coriolis force. With a
fluid mass, the Coriolis force is proportion-
al to the mass flow rate of that fluid.
To use Coriolis force for measurement,
a Coriolis meter has two main compo-
nents: an oscillating flow tube equipped
with sensors and drivers, and an electron-
ic transmitter that controls the oscilla-
tions, analyzes the results, and transmits
the information.
Reliable Coriolis measurement depends on
consistent, reliable oscillation which is deter-
mined by the following four factors: the den-
sity of the liquid, the balance of the tubes, the
dampening caused by the flow stream itself,
and the physical isolation of the tubes from
the environment. Compromising even one of
these factors will degrade Coriolis meter per-
Transferring CO2 in pipelines can be complicated by variations in ambient temperature and
pressure outside the pipeline that cause two-phase (gas and liquid) flow. Advanced digital
Coriolis flow meters can now accurately measure two-phase flow to improve such applica-
tions as custody transfer, proving, tank truck and tanker loading and unloading and appli-
cations where two-phase flow is a key part of the process.
formance. Yet two-phase flow compromises Where Accurate Flow
every one of them. Measurement Matters
Thus applications involving negligible Coriolis technology is highly accurate in
amounts of entrained gas — even as little as single-phase flow with perhaps a ± 0.1%
2% volume — have been poor candidates for error level. Two-phase flow can boost the
Coriolis measurement. This has been particu- error rate to 20% or higher. Following are
larly troubling in applications where reliable, some of the profitability drains that inaccu-
highly accurate flow measurement can confer rate flow measurement causes:
considerable bottom-line advantage, but  Lost production: in flow-intensive opera-
where two-phase flow is an integral part of the tions thousands of dollars’ worth of lost
process or it is necessary to begin with an production can pass undetected in minutes.
empty or partially filled flow tube.  Inaccurate pricing: in custody transfer
Making matters worse, entrained air may applications, where measured amount
not emerge as the culprit until after a fraz- transferred defines payment price, faulty
zled process engineer has invested many measurements raise financial havoc on
hours trying to figure out why he can’t get either end of the transfer.
the results he needs. Our own analysis  Excess downtime: when traditional
shows that up to 92% of all Coriolis meas- Coriolis meters encounter entrained air,
urement problems are due to entrained air they render inaccurate measurements —
or gas, yet in the vast majority of cases and if the condition persists, will shut down
two-phase flow is not even recognized as cutting into valuable production time.
the problem. To determine the extent of the problem and

Pipeline & Gas Journal / July 2005 / www.pipelineandgasjournal.com

find a cost-effective solution, Invensys com-
missioned a survey of process engineers. This
revealed that entrained air was indeed a major
problem in the industry, and that what cus-
tomers really wanted was a cost-effective
meter that could provide accurate measure-
ment despite the presence of air. Invensys
partnered with researchers at Oxford
University to develop digital technology for
accurate measurement of flow, even when air
was entrained in the flow tube.
Working closely with the Oxford
researchers, engineers at Invensys developed
a transmitter that applied the Oxford measure-
ment principles. In the resulting patented
product, the Foxboro CFT50 digital Coriolis
flow transmitter, incorporates new signal pro-
cessing techniques to provide useful measure-
ments of both mass flow and density, and the
operational aspects of keeping the Coriolis
meter running stably in single-phase or two-
phase flow conditions. One of the many
patents it has received involves an advanced
control and measurement system with high-
speed digital signal processing that responds
to changing flow conditions many times faster
than standard Coriolis flow meters. Another
patent relates to detecting and compensating
for two-phase flow conditions and generating
a validated mass flow measurement.
New Solutions For
Traditional Problems
Coriolis meters measure the mass flow of
materials, which is independent of other
physical parameters, as well as the ambient
conditions in which the measurement is
made. Therefore, the measurement is unaf-
fected by changes in temperature, pressure,
density, viscosity and flow profile. With the
ability to handle two-phase flow and com-
pensate for physical conditions, the
advanced Coriolis flowmeters have greatly
expanded fluid metering applications,
including traditionally difficult situations
such as custody transfer, proving, tank truck
and tanker loading and unloading, and
applications where two-phase flow is an
integral part of the process.
Accurate measurement at custody trans-
fer points is critical as competitive market
conditions drive companies to develop more
efficient operations. By minimizing wasted
materials left on the bottom of transport
vessels and improving transfer yields,
advanced Coriolis flow meters provide
more accurate material accountability,
which is a direct contribution to bottom-line
performance. This is a winning situation for
both entities involved in the transaction.
Advanced Coriolis technology is increas-
ingly replacing positive displacement
meters for custody transfer to attain the
benefits of Coriolis accuracy while reduc-
Pipeline & Gas Journal / July 2005 / www.pipelineandgasjournal.com
ing total cost of ownership. With no moving
parts in the fluid stream, Coriolis meters
require little-to-no maintenance and are
easily installed.
In pipeline flow measurement proving
applications, the frequency and duration of
calibration can hinder productivity. Advanced
digital Coriolis flowmeters offer a solution by
providing a much faster response time and
greater accuracy and repeatable proving with
small volume provers. A proving run may be
accomplished in as little as 20 seconds or less.
This is particularly beneficial in multi-prod-
uct pipeline applications where fluids varying
from light, liquefied petroleum gases to heavy
crude oils pass through a common flow meter.
For these applications, flow meters are often
proven several times a day, so slashing each
proving process to seconds can significantly
boost productivity.
Another issue is unloading railcars and
tank trucks until they are practically dry.
Completely emptying out the tank invari-
ably introduces air as the level approaches
bottom. This is exacerbated by the fact that
in most cases unloading is done at as high a
flow rate as possible to speed up the
process. This high flow rate tends to suck
air into the flow meter. Where a convention-
al Coriolis meter would shut down in this
situation, advanced Coriolis meters contin-
ue to provide a useful flow measurement,
enabling faster, more complete unloading of
tank trucks and railcars. Even with the flow
tube empty, they respond ten times faster
than traditional Coriolis transmitters which
reduce startup time while increasing pro-
duction throughput and profitability.
Innovative Process
Improvement
In addition to improving existing flow
measurement applications, advanced Coriolis
technology is opening new doors for improv-
ing process efficiencies where two-phase flow
is an integral part of the process.
For instance, using carbon dioxide (CO2)
for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can
increase output by as much as 12%.
However, accurate measurement of CO2
has been the Achilles’ heel of the process.
A large midstream energy company found
the solution by applying advanced Coriolis
metering technology as part of a three-
stage EOR program. The first stage was
primary oil recovery, based on natural gas
driving the oil to wellheads. Secondary
efforts involved waterflood-driven produc-
tion using natural aquifers.
As primary and secondary production
methods declined in effectiveness, tertiary
oil recovery techniques were examined. A
number of EOR options were studied and
CO2 injection into the oil reservoirs was
determined to be the most effective method
for extracting and moving oil to the well-
bore. While the yields from this EOR were
significant from the start, engineers felt
they could do even better if they could
more accurately measure the CO2 flows in
each well.
The problem is that when CO2 is above the
critical point it exists as a gas and is easily
measured with standard gas measuring
devices such as orifice plates. However, below
the critical point it can co-exist in two phases,
liquid and gas.
The company transfers CO2 in pipelines to
multiple injection wells throughout the field
and variations in ambient temperature and
pressure outside the pipeline have a dramatic
affect. On a cool morning, they could have
primarily liquid CO2 in the pressurized distri-
bution pipelines. But in the afternoon, with
elevated outside temperatures, they could
have primarily gas.
Possible options considered were orifice
plates with multi-variable DP transmitters,
Vortex meters, and conventional Coriolis flow
meters. While traditional Coriolis technology
is highly accurate in single-phase flow with a
0.1% plus or minus error level, two-phase
flow can boost the error rate to 20% or high-
er. None of these options met the company’s
performance standard so they explored new
avenues of flow measurement technology.
The company tested an advanced digital
Coriolis flowmeter to successfully measure
two-phase CO2 and, based on the results
installed the flow meters at each of the
injection wells. The advanced Coriolis flow
meters improved the accuracy of CO 2
measurement by 300%. This provided the
immediate benefits of increasing oil output
as well as the long-term advantages of
accurate flow measurement data to corre-
late optimum production efficiency with
the volume of CO2 injected, which is criti-
cal for developing oil reservoir strategies.
The preceding cases are a small sampling
of the many ways in which the benefits of
Coriolis accuracy can be attained in areas that
have been traditionally out of reach. Daily we
are seeing new applications wherein advanced
Coriolis flow meters are being successfully
used to solve traditional problems.
So take a look at your flow measurement
challenges. Are you simply writing off lost
materials without knowing exactly what is
causing them? Are you experiencing down-
time that could be better spent producing
profit? Are you investing in outdated technol-
ogy? If you answer yes to any of these ques-
tions, or just feel that better flow measure-
ment would improve your process in any way,
advanced digital Coriolis technology may be
the solution to today’s problems and tomor-
row’s innovations. P&GJ