(PRESS RELEASE)
(Photo Ref:Contact Marketing Communications Dept. St Neots
PRESS ENQUIRIES TRADE ENQUIRIES
Tel: / Tel:Fax: / Fax:
ABB-KT/521 / Date:
.
ABB Flow Capability Article
for ‘Instrumentation Review’
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE?
-ABB Will Measure It-
With more than 100 different designs of flowmeters available to address just 12 basic principles of operation, selecting the optimum instrument for a particular application can be a daunting task. Each flowmeter type has its strengths and weaknesses and there are many design variations within the type specifications. Add to this the fact that previously impossible areas of application are now being opened up through modern manufacturing processes and materials and it is not surprising that many users fall short of securing the optimum system for their specific requirements. Since much of a plant’s profitability depends upon accurate and reliable flow measurement, it is of paramount importance that the decision-making is driven by knowledge and skills which are broadly based and under constant review.
Selecting a meter on cost alone maybe short-term expediency but it can often be the root cause of a highly problematic installation in the medium to long-term. Although cost is clearly an important factor, it should, nevertheless, be viewed in the wider context of a supplier’s capability credentials. Good technical back-up; the provision of independently traceable test facilities; a long-established track record in the field and a reputation for high-reliability products based on sound research and development ultimately provide for the most cost-effective investment.
These are the criteria that have formed the bedrock of ABB’s world-wide operation in the development and application of flow metering technology. Activities span more than a hundred years - a period which has seen the company take its place at the forefront of new research and development and at centre stage of world standard-making.
Versatility and Choice.
As suppliers of one of the world’s most comprehensive ranges of flowmeters, ABB offers versatility and choice from a number of different technologies for measuring liquids, gases, steam or mixtures in virtually any application. Products include electro-magnetic meters for conductive liquids; Coriolis meters for measuring mass, density, volumetric flow, net flow, viscosity, concentration and specific gravity; turbine meters for custody transfer measurements of petroleum products and differential pressure meters for a wide range of applications. High quality calibration - the key to reliable flowmeter performance in the field - forms an integral part of the business, with nationally approved calibration facilities established in the UK, USA and Australia.
Major Innovation.
Many flowmeter designs within ABB’s product port folio have emerged as world leaders in their own right. The ABB MagMaster™ range, for example, represents a major innovation in the design of electro-magnetic meters, breaking new ground in performance with an operable flow range of 1000:1 and an accuracy of ±0.2% of reading, or 0.001 m/s. Tube sizes range from 3mm to 2,400mm - providing the ability to cope with flow rates from a few grams per minute to several tonnes per second. Various models include special versions for food industry, pulp and paper and mining applications, and one of even higher specifications - potential operating flow range 1500:1 and an unsurpassed accuracy to 0.15% of reading - for water and wastewater applications. Importantly, those minimal night flows, invariably the unregistered leakage leading to millions of gallons of water unaccounted for each year, can now be measured with precision and accuracy.
The superiority of ABB MagMaster performance has been proven to the extent that these devices are becoming increasingly recognised as the best solution for the intercomparison and assessment of water test flow facilities. The instrument readily meets the reference meter criteria and overcomes many of the drawbacks associated with traditional test meters. For example, the absence of moving parts in the MagMaster design eliminates the problem of time-dependent ‘wear and tear’ and, unlike displacement and turbine meters, the instrument does not require periodic recalibration to establish long-term trends.
These and many other MagMaster attributes fall well within the specifications for large-scale water supply projects around the world. For example, the £546-million Izmit Water Supply project - an international joint venture led by Thames Water - uses some 60 MagMaster flowmeters of various sizes for the treatment and fiscal metering of drinking water to 1.5 million people in Turkey.
This project also features ABB’s innovation for resolving the problem of performing regular routine calibration checks on MagMaster flowmeters buried underground. ABB CalMaster™ - a portable flowmeter calibration verification system - enables calibration testing to be carried out from the surface via a lap top computer connected to the MagMaster transmitter. No access to the flowmeter sensor is required, thus avoiding interruption to supplies and the mechanical excavation sometimes involved in removing the underground flowmeter.
Continuing Development.
Building on the MagMaster performance capability, development continues to extend the scope of application. Certification of a hazardous area version is imminent and the new ‘MagMaster Micro-Mag’ was recently introduced to accommodate very small pipe sizes for low flow applications in the chemical, water treatment, pharmaceutical and many other process industries.
Mass Meters.
The ABB line of Coriolis MassMeters, embracing flowmeter sensors, associated smart transmitters and additional options, is being successfully applied to a wide variety of industries. Units range from small sizes with flow rates from 0-0.5kg/min through to the large 3 and 4-inch (75mm and 100mm) meters with flow rates of 0-10,000 kg/min. The microprocessor-based series of smart transmitters provides all the built-in controls and monitoring functions needed and does not require complex instructional procedures or intricate programming. Just three keys enable the user to access all software functions.
As well as providing a direct measurement of fluid mass, these meters also embrace parameters such as percentage solids, density, volumetric flow, net flow, viscosity, concentrations and specific gravity. ABB MassMeter systems feature all of the standard serial communications, plus HART. MODBUS and Fieldbus protocols. Added customer support was recently announced with the launch of the new on-line computer facility - ‘Remote Diagnostics Access’. From ABB offices this can be linked via a modem to a mass meter on the customer’s premises to provide maintenance engineering down the telephone line - a significant saving in the time and cost of site service visits.
Insertion Metering.
As an economic alternative to in-line metering, the ABB AquaProbe insertion meter can be permanently installed for monitoring water supplies, or it can be used as a portable survey tool for the periodic checking of installed meters. Either mains or d.c. powered, the instrument provides both digital and analogue outputs proportional to flow, may be used to totalise flow in either direction and can be installed or removed without disruption to the water supply. Rugged, reliable and suitable for remote locations, the ABB AquaProbe features full two-way communication and incorporates software that has been designed particularly to make data analysis easy for the user.
World’s Largest WEDGE Flowmeter.
ABB’s comprehensive range of differential pressure flow devices include orifice meters for extremely low flows, Venturi and Dall tubes for water and waste applications and WEDGE meters for slurries and abrasive liquids. At its Rochester, USA facility, ABB has built what is believed to be the largest WEDGE Flowmeter in the world. It is 48-inches (1.22m) in diameter and will be used to measure slurry flows at a mining operation in Canada.
Calibration.
Top quality flowmeter performance is dependent on calibration to the highest standards - a criterion which ABB is meeting with nationally approved facilities in the UK, USA and Australia.
In the UK, ABB has one of the largest flowmeter calibration and test facilities in the world. It comprises 11 computerised plants (calibration rigs) which include testing lines for design and development work on the company’s own wide range of flowmeter products, various sizes of operational mass flowmeters, and electro-magnetic meters from 3mm bore instruments for small water flows, through to the massive 2.4 metre devices for large mains distribution systems. Flow rates can be as low as 0.4 litres per second, or as high as 2,700 litres per second.
The largest facility is the classified “NAMAS Calibration Laboratory” where testing is traceable to the rigorous national standards set by the National Measurement Accreditation Service, part of the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). Calibration is conducted on electro-magnetic flowmeters from sizes 200mm to 2.4 metres.
The calibration facilities for mass meters are equally comprehensive, covering all sizes and including the only test rig in the UK - and one of the few in the world - designed to accommodate the large 4-inch meters. Compared with devices for measuring volume flow only, mass flowmeters are quite complex and require three test functions - mass flow, density and temperature - in which primary standards involving the critical weighing of water fed into the system have to be used. Since many applications involve hot fluids - oil, tar and some food liquids - an additional series of tests needs to be carried out using hot water in order that the effect of temperature on the instrument’s materials can be measured.
In Australia at its Caringbah plant near Sydney, ABB operates one of the largest and most comprehensive flowmeter test facilities in the Southern Hemisphere. An internationally-recognised testing laboratory, this facility is registered with the Australian National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), for the calibration of all makes and types of flowmeter. The laboratory is also registered for headloss tests on valves, and performance tests on pumps.
In Rochester, USA, ABB’s principal flowmeter calibration plant uses instruments which are traceable to the National Institute of Science and Technology. The facility features four flow loops which calibrate electro-magnetic flowmeters from fractional sizes through to those of 30-inch in diameter. There is also a mass flowmeter calibration facility catering for all sizes up to 4-inch units. An underground sump holds approximately 100,000 gallons of water which will flow through the large test rig at the rate of some 5,000 gallons per minute.
With market demands continuing to drive flowmeter suppliers towards new dimensions of flow measurement reliability, ABB is determined to remain at the ‘cutting edge’ of innovation. As well as new products and services emerging to meet customer industry-specific needs, the Company is also heavily involved in fundamental research that will extend the boundaries of flow measurement technology. The pursuit of a major step forward in the understanding of turbulence and flow models in relation to flowmeter errors is but one important example.
END
Prepared by
Richardson Public Relations
November, 1998.Approximately 1,720 words.
1