Flow computers play a vital role in various industries like oil & gas, chemicals, water & wastewater, power, etc. by enabling accurate flow measurement and monitoring of liquids and gases flowing through pipelines. Let’s take a deeper look at what flow computers are, their key functions, and applications.
What are Flow Computers?
A flow computer is an electronic device that collects data from flow meters, temperature sensors, and pressure transmitters installed in a pipeline system. It calculates and totals the flow of liquids and gases based on measurements received from these field instruments. Flow computers perform important calculations like flow rates, volumes, densities, energies, etc. and generate reports essential for operations, accounting, and billing purposes.
Modern flow computers come with features like data logging, remote communication capabilities, alarming, and integration with various protocols. They support diverse types of primary elements like turbine meters, ultrasonic meters, coriolis meters, thermal mass meters etc. Flow computers ensure measurement accuracy, minimize errors, and maximize process efficiency.
Key Functions of Flow Computers
Data Collection: Flow computers receive live sensor readings like flow, temperature, pressure from field instruments on a pipeline. They accept inputs from multiple meters and sensors.
Calculations: Based on sensor data and process conditions, flow computers perform advanced flow calculations. This includes mass flow rates, energy values, densities, volumes, Reynolds number, etc. using appropriate equations, standards and conditions.
Totalization: Flow computers accumulate and totalize flow volumes over time for custody transfer, production accounting and operations. Daily, monthly and yearly totals are generated.
Alarm Monitoring: Flow computers continuously monitor process parameters and sensor health. They generate alarms for conditions like high/low flow, sensor failure, calibration errors etc. to ensure safe operations.
Data Logging: All raw sensor readings and calculated values are time-stamped and stored in flow computer memory or database for record-keeping, audits and analysis.
Output and Communications: Flow computers provide outputs to control valves, HMI screens and transmit data via wired or wireless networks to host systems, browsers and remote monitoring stations.
Protocol Support: Modern flow computers support open communication protocols like HART, Profibus, Modbus, Ethernet/IP, OPC enabling seamless integration into SCADA and process automation systems.
Applications of Flow Computers
Oil & Gas Measurement: Flow computers are extensively used in oil & gas production facilities, refineries, pipelines and tank farms to continuously measure well-stream flows, product movements, custody transfers based on accurate metering.
Custody Transfer Measurement
Flow computers installed at metering stations perform highly accurate flow metering, calculations and totalization critical for sales accounting between operators, producers and customers in oil & gas midstream and downstream sectors.
Fiscal Measurement
Oil & gas companies rely on flow computers at well- pads, flow stations and plants to measure fiscal volumes for allocation, distribution and tax/royalty calculations as per regulatory obligations.
Power Utilities: In hydroelectric, thermal and nuclear power plants, flow computers integrated with flow meters precisely measure make up water, feed water, condenser water, steam flows etc. for process optimization and power generation accounting.
Water & Wastewater: Municipal water authorities and wastewater treatment facilities utilize flow computers for applications like raw water intake measurement, finished water sales measurement, sewage inflow measurement and industrial effluent monitoring.
Chemical Processing: Flow measurement and monitoring capabilities of flow computers help chemical companies manage liquid flows of reactants, intermediates and products safely and efficiently through schemes involving pumps, heat exchangers, reactors and storage tanks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, flow computers have become indispensable field instruments in process industries due to their abilities to interface with multiple field instruments, perform advanced flow calculations and totalizations, monitor process parameters, generate operational data and integrate into plant automation systems. Their measurement capabilities ensure regulatory compliance, optimize processes and facilitate production accounting and billing activities. As flow measurement technology progresses further, next-gen flow computers will leverage edge computing, AI and real-time analytics to deliver even better insights for industrial operations.
*Note:
- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
