Effects of water in oil and oil in water on single-phase flowmeters

摘要

The effect of two-phase flow on the performance of a range of single-phase flowmeters has been investigated experimentally using the National Standard Multiphase Flow facilities at NEL. The flowmeters tested were 2-inch and 4-inch positivedisplacement meters, venturi meters, helicoidal and flat-bladed turbine meters, 2-inch U-tube, 3-inch and 1.5-inch straight tube Coriolis meters and a 4-inch vortex shedding meter. The flowmeters were tested in oil flow with water and water flow with oil. The second component fractions were varied from 3% up to 15% by volume. The aim of the project was to quantify the effect of second-phase fluid components on the basic uncertainty of a range of single-phase. These tests have provided evidence of thesuitability of particular flowmeters for two-component flow applications. Comparisons have been made between generic type and size of flow meter. The oil-in-water and water-in-oil tests indicated that the uncertainty in the outputs of the flowmeterstested were generally within± 1% relative to the reference flow-rates, although some errors as high as 5-10% were also observed. Most of the measurements from the turbine flowmeters and the positive displacement flowmeters were within± 0.4% of thereference flow-rates.