PRCI

Recent Results

Meter Station Design Tool

The Meter Station Design Tool (MSDT) is a software application that leads engineers, step-by-step, through the design process for a natural gas orifice flow meter station. The MSDT helps ensure new meter stations being designed from scratch or existing stations being modified incorporate the latest design methodology to minimize measurement uncertainty and maximize cost effectiveness and reliability of the installations. The MSDT creates station designs that produce accurate flow measurement in the most cost-effective way possible and minimize the likelihood of problems being engineered into the designs from the outset.

Key Results

Measurement experts do not typically design pipeline meter stations. That task is usually left to others, such as electrical, instrumentation, or mechanical engineers. Consequently, design flaws can creep into the process or overtly costly station configurations can result due to lack of expert knowledge by the station designer. The MSDT software is designed to:

  • Incorporate design information available from applicable sources (e.g., industry standards, company-specific best practices or standards, the latest R&D findings, manufacturer-furnished information, etc.)
  • Make it possible to estimate the total measurement uncertainty for a given meter station configuration
  • Allow for tradeoff or “what if” comparisons of various meter station designs

Funding in 2011 will allow the MSDT to be expanded to handle ultrasonic meter, turbine meter and coriolis meter station designs. The Final Report is available for members on PRIME.

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