Fluid flow

Introduction

Measurement is an important aspect of any fluid that is being sold for some
quantity. Without measurement one would not know how much fluid he or she is
receiving or distributing. As energy prices increase the demand for flow measurement
also increases. The increased value of oil and natural gas means that companies are
willing to spend more money on accurate and efficient techniques. Increased demand for
energy results in more drilling worldwide. This generates a greater demand for flow
measurements at well sites. The increased demand not only reflects on measurement at
the well site but also downstream to the sales line. When speaking of large quantities of
fluid the accuracy of the measurement can coincide with large sums of money. When
money is involved accuracy will be of greatest importance. Technology is providing new
efficient, reliable, and cost effective ways of measuring fluids.

Since the 1950s technology of flowmeters has deviated from differential pressure,
positive displacement, turbine, open channel, variable area and target flowmeters to a
more electronic approach. Accuracy is the main characteristic of a good flowmeter.
Having less maintenance requirements is also an advantage in a good flowmeter design.
The top three technologically advanced flowmeters used in the energy markets today are
Coriolis, ultrasonic, and vortex. These three flowmeters account for about 35% of the
current market today.

Fundamentals of gas measurements

In order to understand gas measurement, one must understand the fundamentals of

a gas. This includes the units of measurement, the properties of gases, the gas laws and
the methods and means of measuring gas. It is important to understand the chemistry of
the gas being measured in order accurately measure the fluid. Gases are made up of
particles that are free to move relative to each other in the space which surrounds it. The
kinetic theory of gas is an integral part in understanding the behavior of a gas. Realizing
that a gas is made up of molecules which are essentially tiny particles is the first step to
understanding the behavior of a gas.
Air for example is made up of a mixture of molecules consisting essentially of
nitrogen and oxygen which is abundant throughout the earths atmosphere. A cubic
centimeter of air or any gas at standard temperature and pressure contains about twenty-
six billion billion molecules. Within this cubic centimeter of space there is a large
amount of frictionless empty space around each molecule. At low pressures the relative
size of the space surrounding the molecule is enormous compared to the size of the
molecule. The gas molecule is incompressible but the space which surrounds the
molecule is essentially compressible. When one says that a gas is compressible they must
understand that the molecule itself is not compressible but the space which surrounds the
particles is compressible. Compression of a gas is accomplished by bringing the
molecules closer together in a relatively large empty space occupied by the gas. This is
done by adding more molecules or reducing the space occupied by the gas. Gas
molecules are in a chaotic state and continually moving throughout the space that
confines the gas. Each particle travels in straight lines until they collide with another
particle or the confining wall. These collisions are perfectly elastic; therefore no energy
is lost.
Exerted pressure is witnessed in many measurement situations. This exerted
pressure depends on how hard and how often the molecules collide with the confining
walls. Each particles collision with the confining wall exerts a force in the direction of
travel. The sum of these forces at any given instance is the exerted pressure. The fewer
number of molecules in the confined chamber will cause fewer collisions thus creating a
lower pressure on the confining wall. A higher concentration of molecules in the
confined chamber will cause more collisions thus creating a higher pressure on the
confining wall. Temperature also has an effect on the exerted pressure. The higher the
temperature, the faster the gas molecule will move. This increased movement will cause
more collisions with the confining wall. More collisions relates to higher pressures under
constant volume processes. In a closed system the amount of molecules remains the
same but the number of collisions is dependent on the temperature.
Energy is the capacity for doing work. Energy may be stored in the form of
thermal, chemical, electrical, and mechanical. According to the first law of
thermodynamics energy can neither be created nor destroyed but it can change from one
form to another. The three phases that matter can undergo are gas, liquid, and solid.
Thermal energy must be added or removed from a substance for that substance to change
phase. For example to change from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas, thermal energy
must be added to the matter involved. To reverse this process thermal energy must be
removed from the matter. Examining the behavior of the molecules will aid in the
understanding of this phenomena. In the gaseous phase molecules are free to move
unrestricted within a confined space. They move rapidly and in all directions, colliding
with each other and the confined wall(1). In the liquid phase molecules are free to move
within the liquid body. They do not have unrestricted motion in this confined space
because of a strong attraction between molecules. The attractive force in a liquid is much
stronger than the attractive force of molecules in a gas(2). In the solid phase molecules
are in motion but are very restricted. The motion may be considered more a molecular
vibration. The attractive force between molecules is very strong(3Fundemental of gas
measurement). These important fundamental concepts are necessary to understand gas
measurement.

Fundamentals of Liquid Measurement

When measuring liquids it is not enough to just measure volumes of liquid with
meters or tanks. It is also necessary to measure the temperature of the fluid at the time of
volume measurement. Liquids expand with increased temperature and shrink with lower
temperature. For this reason temperature plays an important role in accurate
measurement. There are other physical properties that may affect the volume
measurement. Density, sediment and water, vapor pressure, and viscosity are physical
properties that must be measured in conjunction with temperature to produce an accurate
volume measurement. Density is defined as the mass of fluid per unit volume at a given
temperature. Relative density is the ratio of the density of a liquid at a given temperature
to the density of pure water at a standard temperature which is 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
API gravity is a special gravity scale commonly used in the petroleum industry. Since
liquids expand and contract with temperature changes, liquid volume changes and the
density or API gravity changes also. Compressibility must also be considered in liquid
measurement. Liquids expand when pressure is reduced and shrink in volume when
pressure is increased. Compressibility effects are less than those due to temperature, but
are not negligible. Compressibility values have been tabulated and can be found in tables
provided by API.