Virtual Gas Flow Sensing Across Restricted Orifices
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Solution Overview
Problem
In gas plants, excess gas is often flared due to lack of piping infrastructure or safety reasons, leading to inefficiencies and potential safety hazards, as existing methods rely on hardware flowmeters that are cumbersome and require facility shutdowns for installation.
Innovation Solution
A virtual flow sensing system using existing instruments and a gas flow model to determine gas flow rates through restricted orifices, eliminating the need for hardware flowmeters and avoiding facility modifications or shutdowns, by utilizing pressure and temperature data from sensors upstream and downstream of the orifice.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If hardware flowmeters are installed to measure gas flow rates, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to facility shutdowns and modifications required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical hardware flowmeters with a virtual flow sensing system that uses pressure sensors and temperature sensors combined with a gas flow model to calculate flow rates. This substitution eliminates the need for physical flow measurement devices and facility shutdowns, as the system computes flow rates using the formula Q = C * (ΔP)^0.5 * (T/T_std) * (P_std/P) based on differential pressure measurements and gas properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pressure sensors and temperature sensors as intermediary devices that measure parameters upstream and downstream of a restriction point. These sensors serve as mediators to obtain the necessary data for calculating gas flow rates without requiring direct flow measurement or facility modifications, enabling continuous operation during measurements
2Measurement precision
If hardware flowmeters are installed to measure gas flow rates, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to facility shutdowns and installation time
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual flow sensing system replaces hardware flowmeters with a computational approach using pressure differential measurements and gas flow modeling. This allows continuous gas handling operations to proceed without shutdowns for installation or calibration, maintaining full productivity while achieving accurate flow rate measurements through the calculated formula
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-establishes the gas flow model and restriction point characteristics before measurements are needed. The pressure sensors and temperature sensors are pre-positioned upstream and downstream of the restriction, allowing immediate calculation of flow rates when measurements are required, without needing for facility shutdowns or installation delays
3Ease of operation
If virtual flow sensing is used to determine gas flow rates, then ease of operation is improved by avoiding facility shutdowns, but device complexity increases due to multiple sensors and computational models
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure sensors and temperature sensors serve multiple functions: they measure process conditions for flow rate calculation, monitor system operation, and provide data for safety assessments. The gas flow model acts as a universal computational framework that can be applied to different restriction points and gas types, reducing the need for specialized hardware for each application
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of flow measurement, temperature monitoring, and pressure differential detection into a unified virtual flow sensing system. By combining pressure sensors upstream and downstream of the restriction with temperature sensors and integrating them with the gas flow model, the system achieves comprehensive gas flow characterization without requiring separate hardware flowmeters or multiple independent measurement systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate determination of gas flow rates without physical flow measurement devices, reducing operational disruptions and costs, and allowing for real-time adjustments in gas handling and processing, thereby optimizing gas utilization and minimizing flaring.
Implementation Method 1
A virtual flow measurement system uses a known restriction point in a plant and a differential pressure sensor to determine a gas flow rate
Implementation Method 2
determining a gas flow rate based on a gas flow model for a specific gas passing through the restricted orifice
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include obtaining first pressure data regarding a first pressure sensor upstream from a restricted orifice and second pressure data regarding a second pressure sensor downstream from the restricted orifice. The method may further include obtaining temperature data regarding a temperature sensor coupled to the restricted orifice. The method may further include obtaining various gas parameters regarding a predetermined gas flowing through the restricted orifice and various orifice parameters regarding the restricted orifice. The method may further include determining a first gas flow rate of the predetermined gas based on a gas flow model, the first pressure data, the second pressure data, the temperature data, the gas parameters, and the orifice parameters.