Innovative in-situ calibration system simplifies flow meter calibration verification

The time-consuming and costly task of traditional flow meter calibrations, which requires shutting down the line, pulling the meter, installing a spare and paying a lab fee, is no longer a painful or costly process with the innovative VeriCal In-Situ Calibration Verification System for the ST00 Series Flare Gas Flow Meter from Fluid Components International (FCI).

The ST100 Flare Gas Flow Meter with the VeriCal In-Situ Calibration System is designed to meet the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) Rule, 30 CFR Part 250, Subpart K, Section 250, stipulating that all domestic US offshore rigs processing more than an average of 2000 bopd must install flare/vent gas flow meters. These regulations are intended to protect the environment through the monitoring of greenhouse gases (GHG).

The VeriCal In-Situ Calibration System verifies the ST100 Flow Meter’s flare gas calibration is accurate in minutes without removing the meter from the pipe or process to meet MMS regulations. In the past, oil/gas companies had to endure the cost and hassle of periodically pulling their flow meters from the process, then returning them to the manufacturer or a calibration lab for testing and finally paying to ship them back for re-installation.

Setting a new industry benchmark in process and plant air/gas flow measurement, the ST100 Series Air/Gas Flow Meter offers the most feature-rich and function-rich electronics available. The ST100 meter’s performance delivers unsurpassed adaptability and value to meet plant gas flow measurement applications for today and tomorrow.

With a unique graphical, multivariable, backlit LCD display/readout, the ST100 meter brings new meaning to the term “process information.” It provides the industry’s most comprehensive information with continuous display of all process measurements and alarm status, and the ability to interrogate for service diagnostics.

The easy-to-use ST100 meter stores up to five unique calibration groups to accommodate broad flow ranges, differing mixtures of the same gas and multiple gases, and obtains up to 1000:1 turndown. Also standard is an on-board data logger with an easily accessible, removable micro-SD memory card capable of storing 40 million readings.

With two multi-variable core model families, oil/gas engineers can choose from the ST and STP families. ST meters measure both mass flow and temperature, and the exclusive STP family adds a third parameter, pressure, making the ST100 the world’s first triple-variable thermal flow meter. Both families include single-point and dual-element models as configurations.

The ST100 meter can be calibrated to measure virtually any process gas, including wet gas, mixed gases and dirty gases. The basic insertion style air/gas meter features a thermal flow sensing element that measures flow from 0.25 to 1000 SFPS (0.07 NMPS to 305 NMPS) with accuracy of ±0.75 percent of reading, ±0.5 percent of full scale.

Designed for rugged industrial processes and plants, ST100 meter include service up to 850ºF (454ºC) and are available with both integral and remote (up to 1000 feet [300 meters]) electronics versions. The ST100 meter is agency approved for hazardous environments, including the entire instrument, the transmitter and the rugged, NEMA 4X/IP67 rated enclosure. Instrument approvals in addition to SIL-1 include ATEX, IECEx, FM and FMc. No matter if the need is for 4-20 mA analog, frequency/pulse, alarm relays or digital bus communications such as HART, Fieldbus, Profibus or Modbus, the ST100 meter is the solution.