The problem of how to accurately measure the flowrate of oil–gas–water mixtures in a pipeline remains one of the key challenges in the petroleum industry. This paper discusses why three-phase flow measurement is still important and why it remains a difficult problem to solve. The measurement strategies and principal base technologies currently used by commercial manufacturers are described, and research developments that could influence future flowmeter design are considered. Finally, future issues, which will need to be addressed by manufacturers and users of three-phase flowmeters, are discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/24/1/012003/pdf

Three-phase flow measurement in the petroleum industry

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/246007/Coriolis-draft-paper-V8.1-FMI-Larger-Fonts.pdf?sequence=1

Coriolis flowmeters: a review of developments over the past 20 years, and an assessment of the state of the art and likely future directions

https://research.tees.ac.uk/ws/files/9903105/Application_of_soft_computing_techniques_to_multiphase_flow_measurement.pdf

Application of soft computing techniques to multiphase flow measurement: A review

Coriolis mass flow metering provides a direct measurement of mass flow and is generally regarded as the most accurate and precise flow technology in common use in industry. This paper describes the role of the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware, which is programmed using the Handel-C language, in the implementation of a "digital" Coriolis meter, which replaces the conventional analog positive feedback system used to maintain flowtube oscillation. The FPGA is coupled to a microprocessor, which carries out conventional measurement tasks and selects the drive parameters to be used by the FPGA. The resulting meter is able to maintain the operation in more difficult process conditions, including two-phase flow, which has previously caused Coriolis meters to cease oscillation. The system described in this paper is used in a commercial meter that has been successfully applied to two-phase industrial applications.

/pdf/an-fpga-implementation-of-a-digital-coriolis-mass-flow-w2al4lixv5.pdf

An FPGA Implementation of a Digital Coriolis Mass Flow Metering Drive System

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will play a critical role in future decarbonisation efforts to meet the Paris Agreement targets and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Whilst there are many well developed CCUS technologies there is the potential for improvement that can encourage CCUS deployment. A time and cost-efficient way of advancing CCUS is through the application of machine learning (ML). ML is a collective term for high-level statistical tools and algorithms that can be used to classify, predict, optimise, and cluster data. Within this review we address the main steps of the CCUS value chain (CO2 capture, transport, utilisation, storage) and explore how ML is playing a leading role in expanding the knowledge across all fields of CCUS. We finish with a set of recommendations for further work and research that will develop the role that ML plays in CCUS and enable greater deployment of the technologies.

/pdf/harnessing-the-power-of-machine-learning-for-carbon-capture-49gfskv497.pdf

Harnessing the power of machine learning for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) – a state-of-the-art review

Two-phase flow metering of heavy oil using a Coriolis mass flow meter: A case study

Two-phase flow metering using a large coriolis mass flow meter applied to ship fuel bunkering

Coriolis mass flow metering has been established as the most accurate widely-used industrial flow measurement technology since its introduction in the mid 1980s. Coriolis meters operate (Fig. 1) by oscillating a flow-tube (typically 1-300 mm in diameter), at the natural frequency of a selected mode of vibration, the so-called drive mode. Two sensors monitor the flow-tube vibration as the process fluid passes through. The frequency of oscillation (in the range 50Hz - 1kHz depending on flow-tube geometry) is determined by the overall mass of the vibrating system, and hence for a given flow-tube, this varies with the density of the process fluid. Accurate determination of the frequency of vibration thus enables the process fluid density to be calculated. The geometry of the flow-tube is arranged so that Coriolis forces act to give a phase difference between the two sensor signals, roughly proportional to the mass flow of the process fluid (which in the largest meters may approach 1 tonne/s). While the flow-tube is essentially a mechanical device with a few electrical transducers (sensors and drivers), the transmitter is an electronic and computational device which drives and monitors the flow-tube, and which generates the measurement data. A long-term research programme at the University of Oxford has been developing all-digital transmitter technology [3, 4, 5] with various improvements including a very fast response time [6] and an ability to operate in two-phase flow [1-5]. The transmitter architecture in Fig. 1 includes audio quality analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog convertors (DACs), with 24-bit samples delivered at 48kHz. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are chips consisting of configurable logic blocks, capable of carrying out complex digital algorithms in real time and in parallel. FPGA tasks include interfacing to the ADCs and DACs, generating the drive waveform and pre-filtering of the measurement data. This architecture is used in Invensys Foxboro’s commercial product, the CFT-50 Coriolis transmitter, which was used in the trials. Reizner [7] provides a good background to the problems associated with metering two-phase flow using Coriolis meters. In brief, it is difficult to maintain flow-tube oscillation in two-phase, as the condition induces very high and rapidly fluctuating damping (up to 3 orders of magnitude higher than for single phase conditions). When the transmitter is unable to maintain oscillation, the meter is described as “stalled”, and no (valid) measurement can be provided. Even where stalling is averted, large measurement errors may be induced into the mass flow and density measurements. Previous papers have described the use of a digital drive and an agile control system to maintain flow-tube oscillation through two-phase flow or batching to or from an empty flow-tube [2,8]. In this paper, it is assumed that the transmitter has this capability. The focus is restricted to

Two-phase (gas/liquid) flow metering of viscous oil using a Coriolis mass flow meter: a case study

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/10121/32417/01514693.pdf

Overview of techniques

A smoothing technique is developed to calculate the interface conditions of spectral element method for solving the incompressible Newtonian fluid flow. The first derivative at the interface of spectral elements is calculated by using only the adjacent subdomains. Numerical simulations of an incompressible laminar fluid flow through a planar channel and a 2:1 planar contraction channel are presented for various Reynolds numbers.

Ronaldo Mercado

Papers

Two-phase flow metering of heavy oil using a Coriolis mass flow meter: A case study

Two-phase flow metering using a large coriolis mass flow meter applied to ship fuel bunkering

Two-phase (gas/liquid) flow metering of viscous oil using a Coriolis mass flow meter: a case study

Overview of techniques

Smooth interfaces for spectral element method for the solution of incompressible Newtonian fluid flow