31-07-2012

McCrometer's V-Cone flow meter obtains G​OST-R certification

McCrometer is pleased to announce that the advanced differential pressure V-Cone® Flow Meter, offering a proven track record for precision flow measurement in rugged environments, has obtained GOST-R Certification and now officially meets Russian national technical standards.

GOST-R certification is a strict approval process to ensure the accuracy of reporting and metrology. It assures McCrometer customers in the Russian market that the V-Cone will accurately and reliably report fluid flows.  Typical applications include:  oil/gas custody transfer, energy consumption and efficiency, and more.

Designed for accurate and reliable fluid measurement in rugged, space-challenged environments, the V-Cone Flow Meter supports a wide range of oil/gas production and other process industry applications.The V-Cone’s highly compact, no-moving parts design simplifies installation, virtually eliminates maintenance and recalibration, while offering a long life and low life-cycle costs.

McCrometer’s versatile V-Cone Flow Meter is compatible with the demanding standards set by the oil/gas industry.  It relies on an advanced differential pressure (DP) flow technology designed with built-in flow conditioning to achieve an accuracy of +0.5%, with a repeatability of +0.1%.  It operates over a flow range of 10:1, and comes in line sizes from 0.5 to 120 inches.

With its unique ability to self-condition flow, the V-Cone Flow Meter is a real space-saver, eliminating the need for long up/down stream straight pipe runs required by other dP technologies, such as orifice plates and Venturi tubes.  It can be installed virtually anywhere in a piping system or be easily retrofit into an existing piping layout, providing significant installation flexibility and initial cost savings.

Unlike traditional DP instruments such as orifice plates and Venturi tubes, the V-Cone Flow Meter’s design is inherently more accurate because the flow conditioning function is built-into the basic instrument. The V-Cone conditions fluid flow to provide a stable flow profile that increases accuracy. It features a centrally-located cone inside a tube. The cone interacts with the fluid flow and reshapes the velocity profile to create a lower pressure region immediately downstream. 

The pressure difference, which is exhibited between the static line pressure and the low pressure created downstream of the cone, can be measured via two pressure sensing taps. One tap is placed slightly upstream of the cone and the other is located in the downstream face of the cone itself. The pressure difference can then be incorporated into a derivation of the Bernoulli equation to determine the fluid flow rate.

The cone’s central position in the line optimizes the velocity of the liquid flow at the point of measurement. It forms very short vortices as the flow passes the cone.  These short vortices create a low amplitude, high frequency signal for excellent signal stability. The result is a highly stable flow profile that is repeatable for continuously accurate flow measurement.  All of this is possible with a minimal straight pipe run of 0 to 3 diameters upstream and 0 to 1 diameters downstream from the flow meter.