EP0213838A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Flow meters
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1986-08-12
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-08-12
Abstract
Abstract A 3-phase flow meter (1) comprises a pipeline (2) containing pressure and temperaure meters (4,6) and a meter (10) for measuring the density of the combined flow. A proportion of the flow is diverted through a separator (14) which separates outthe gas component from the liquid components. A density meter (30) is provided to measure the density of the combined liquid components. The outputs of the various meters are fed to a processing circuit which outputs the volumes and masses of the three phases.
Inventors
- 👤 Ronald Northedge
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 10:28
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01F; G01F15/00; G01F15/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A flow meter (1, 40) comprising a pipeline (2) for carrying a mixture of up to three distinct fluid components, a flow meter (4, 6, 8) associated with said pipeline (2) for producing a first signal representing the flow rate of the mixture, means (10, 42, 8) for producing a second signal representing the density of the mixture in the pipeline (2), means (12) for withdrawing a sample of the fluid from the pipeline and feeding it to a separator (14), means (30, 44) for producing a third signal representing a parameter of the non-gaseous components of the mixture, and processing means (50) for receiving said first, second and third signals and processing them to produce outputs representing the flow rate of each fluid component passed through said pipeline (2), characterised in that the first signal represents the volume flow rate of the mixture, in that the withdrawing means (12) continuously withdraws a fraction of the fluid from the pipeline (2), in that the third signal represents the combined density of the non-gaseous components of the mixture, and in that the apparatus further comprises means (22, 24) for returning at least the separated non-gaseous components of the mixture to the pipeline (2).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
202 words
A flow meter (1, 40) comprising a pipeline (2) for carrying a mixture of up to three distinct fluid components, a flow meter (4, 6, 8) associated with said pipeline (2) for producing a first signal representing the flow rate of the mixture, means (10, 42, 8) for producing a second signal representing the density of the mixture in the pipeline (2), means (12) for withdrawing a sample of the fluid from the pipeline and feeding it to a separator (14), means (30, 44) for producing a third signal representing a parameter of the non-gaseous components of the mixture, and processing means (50) for receiving said first, second and third signals and processing them to produce outputs representing the flow rate of each fluid component passed through said pipeline (2), characterised in that the first signal represents the volume flow rate of the mixture, in that the withdrawing means (12) continuously withdraws a fraction of the fluid from the pipeline (2), in that the third signal represents the combined density of the non-gaseous components of the mixture, and in that the apparatus further comprises means (22, 24) for returning at least the separated non-gaseous components of the mixture to the pipeline (2).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
A flow meter as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the volume flow meter (4, 6, 8) comprises a velocity meter (8), a pressure sensor (4) and a temperature sensor (6), the outputs of which are fed to the processing means (50) for producing said first signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A flow meter as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that either or both the means (10, 30) for producing signals representing density comprise nucleonic density meters.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A flow meter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the means for producing the third signal comprises a capacitative density meter (44).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
A flow meter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the means for producing the second signal comprises a differential pressure meter (42) and a velocity meter (8).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
108 words
A flow meter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the continuous separator (14) comprises a vertically disposed cylindrical chamber (16) having a fluid inlet (12) adjacent the top of the chamber (16), said fluid inlet being adapted to direct the incoming fluid tangentially around the cylindrical interior wall of the chamber, an open-ended conical mesh member (18, 20) disposed with its base below said inlet, a gas outlet (22) disposed above said inlet (12) and above a top end of said mesh member (18, 20), and an outlet (24) below said mesh member (18, 20) for non-gaseous components of the input fluid.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
A flow meter as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that the means (30, 44) for producing the third signal representing density is disposed in said chamber (16) below said mesh member (18, 20).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
48 words
A flow meter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it further comprises means (52) for supplying the processing means (50) with data relating to the present density of each of the components to enable the meter to output inferred mass flow rates.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
98 words
A continuous separator (14) characterised in that it comprises a vertically disposed cylindrical chamber (16), having a fluid inlet (12) adjacent the top of the chamber (16), said fluid inlet being adapted to direct the incoming fluid tangentially around the cylindrical interior wall of the chamber (16), an open-ended conical mesh member (18, 20) disposed with its base below said inlet, a gas outlet (22) disposed above said inlet (12) and above a top end of said mesh member (18, 20), and an outlet (24) below said mesh member (18, 20) for non-gaseous components of the input fluid.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
98 words
A continuous separator (14) characterised in that it comprises a vertically disposed cylindrical chamber (16), having a fluid inlet (12) adjacent the top of the chamber (16), said fluid inlet being adapted to direct the incoming fluid tangentially around the cylindrical interior wall of the chamber (16), an open-ended conical mesh member (18, 20) disposed with its base below said inlet, a gas outlet (22) disposed above said inlet (12) and above a top end of said mesh member (18, 20), and an outlet (24) below said mesh member (18, 20) for non-gaseous components of the input fluid.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
A separator as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that two coaxial mesh members (18, 20) are provided nested one above the other.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
A separator as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that the mesh of the lower member (20) is finer than that of the upper member (18).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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