New Gas Flow Meter Introduced

KROHNE, Inc. (USA), a global technology specialist in the development, manufacture and distribution of accurate, reliable and cost effective measurement instrumentation for the process industries, announces its ALTOSONIC V12 gas flow meter. With the new ALTOSONIC V12, KROHNE has launched their next generation of ultrasonic gas flow meters for custody transfer applications.

The ALTOSONIC V12 has 12 measuring chords, two of which are solely dedicated to diagnostic functions. Once commissioned, it continuously checks the operating status. The positioning of the chords in five horizontal parallel planes compensates for swirl and thus, provides reliable measurements, even with highly distorted flow profiles. The diagnostics in the ALTOSONIC V12 can reliably assess deposits, contamination or changes in wall roughness, so that maintenance can be scheduled according to actual needs.

In the development of the ALTOSONIC V12, KROHNE focused on two significant problems that customers encounter and which cannot be satisfactorily addressed by existing ultrasonic flow meters:

The first challenge was how to transfer the calibration curve obtained under ideal conditions in the high-pressure test rig to the real-life measuring station with its headers, strainers, bent pipes, etc. In order to solve this, hundreds of flow profiles in all kinds of applications were analysed as part of the product development. The result is that the ALTOSONIC V12 is now the first ultrasonic flow meter capable of complying with the ISO17089 and AGA9 standards having 5D straight inlet requirements without using a flow straightener.

The second challenge concerned self-monitoring of the flow meter during operation: In other words, defining the accuracy of billing after a certain period of operation. Applying the proven reflecting technique, the meter is able to detect not only changes in the flow profile, but also the changes in the cross sectional area. Through this, the ALTOSONIC V12 is capable of assessing process changes that existing ultrasonic flow meters cannot even detect.

The ALTOSONIC V12 meter is available in sizes 4” – 24”, an installation length of 3D, and a maximum operating pressure of 2200 psi. It is compatible with commonly used protocols and can be seamlessly integrated into any existing infrastructure.