V-Cone Flow Meter Helps FPSO Vessels Shed Weight and Save Space for Big Cost Savings

Aug 07 2009

McCrometer (USA) announces the newest V-Cone^® FPSO Flow Meter which offers proven differential pressure (DP) flow measurement technology with built-in flow conditioning that reduces upstream/downstream straight pipe run requirements by up to 70% or more. This significant reduction in pipe requirements adds up to cost savings in materials and installation labour while reducing overall weight and saving valuable deck space. Using less pipe and thereby reducing weight also can simplify vessel balancing, which makes it easier to find the optimal location for meter installation.

The effects of swirl and other pipeline disturbances caused by nearby valves or elbows often hamper flow meter performance by negatively affecting measurement accuracy and repeatability. For this reason, most flow meter installations require 10 to 40 straight pipe diameters upstream from the meter and 5 or more straight pipe diameters downstream, to smooth the liquid flow profile prior to measurement. With built-in flow conditioning, the V-Cone Flow Meter needs only 0 to 3 straight pipe diameters upstream and 0 to 1 downstream to operate effectively and maintain accuracy. The V-Cone’s unique self-conditioning design provides an extremely stable flow profile delivering high accuracy of +0.5% and repeatability of +0.1% over the entire range. The versatile V-Cone is ideal for both top-side and sub-sea FPSO applications measuring liquid, steam or gas and supporting line sizes from 0.5 to 120 inches with an unmatched 10:1 turndown ratio for wide range-ability. Petroleum production engineers can depend on the V-Cone for an exceptionally low cost of ownership because the meter has no moving parts. The V-Cone requires virtually no maintenance or recalibration over an unprecedented long life, typically exceeding 25 years. With low permanent head loss, the V-Cone reduces the cost of ownership by minimizing energy requirements. For critical surge control compressor applications, the V-Cone exhibits quick reaction time due to the low noise to signal ratio compared to other differential pressure technologies. With a feedback control loop the fast reaction of the V-cone can help avoid compressor damage and loss of production.