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How Thermal Flowmeters Work

Thermal flowmeters use the thermal properties of the fluid to measure the flow of a fluid flowing in a pipe or duct. In a typical thermal flowmeter, a measured amount of heat is applied to the heater of the sensor. Some of this heat is lost to the flowing fluid. As flow increases, more heat is lost. The amount of heat lost is sensed using temperature measurement(s) in the sensor. The transmitter uses the heat input and temperature measurements to determine fluid flow. Most thermal flowmeters are used to measure gas flows. Thermal flowmeters represent 2% of global flowmeter sales. Continue reading “How Thermal Flowmeters Work”

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How Ultrasonic Flowmeters Work

animation of flow moving through ultrasonic flowmeter

animation of flow moving through ultrasonic flowmeterUltrasonic flowmeters use sound waves to determine the velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe. At no flow conditions, the frequencies of an ultrasonic wave transmitted into a pipe and its reflections from the fluid are the same. Under flowing conditions, the frequency of the reflected wave is different due to the Doppler effect. When the fluid moves faster, the frequency shift increases linearly. The transmitter processes signals from the transmitted wave and its reflections to determine the flow rate. Continue reading “How Ultrasonic Flowmeters Work”

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The Intricacy of Proper Instrumentation in Cleaning Produced Water

The cleaning of produced water during oil and gas production and exploration is a crucial, although costly endeavor. In the process of bringing oil and gas up to the surface from a well, several byproducts are also produced. Water is the largest of these byproducts by volume, with 882 billion gallons produced per day. This produced water contains a variety of other compounds and substances, including organic and inorganic compounds, grease, bacteria, and dissolved solids such as iron. Continue reading “The Intricacy of Proper Instrumentation in Cleaning Produced Water”

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Adjustable Pressure Snubbers Used to Protect Instruments Against Pressure Surges in LACT Units

We recently met with a customer in Odessa, TX, who was having an abnormal amount of smart pressure transmitter failures in their LACT skids from one customer’s region.

Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) units are used for the unattended and automatic measurement of the quality and quantity of crude oil, typically from well head producers to purchaser, or from truck offloading into storage tanks. These sites are typically on production lease sites in remote areas. Continue reading “Adjustable Pressure Snubbers Used to Protect Instruments Against Pressure Surges in LACT Units”

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Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil Extraction

In the past few years, oil production in the United States has skyrocketed. In fact, the U.S. is out-producing many OPEC countries and is currently on track to become one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world, alongside Russia and Saudi Arabia.[1] The top oil producing region in the U.S. is known as the Permian Basin, which includes parts of Texas and New Mexico. Other major oil-producing states include Colorado, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Alaska, and California.[2] Continue reading “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil Extraction”