Utilising CFD to Understand and Improve Performance of a Wet Gas Flow Meter

通用流量制造公司是一款独特的流量计，可用于石油和天然气以及新兴的氢气行业。该产品利用专利的内部滑动套筒(GB2538805)，改变了内部几何形状，从而极大地提高了气体流量计的使用流量范围。沙特阿美正在抓住这一独特的优势，以减少资本支出，提高流量测量精度，并降低人员风险。它通过使用流量计的宽流量范围来实现这一点，以延长流量计的使用寿命，否则随着气体流量随着时间的推移而减少，流量计的使用寿命将变得多余。当油井流量降低时，它会降到现有仪表的范围以下，需要反复更换较小尺寸的仪表。据估计，在沙特阿拉伯各地的数百口油井中，沙特阿美每口井可以节省约20万GB的成本，因为他们不必过早更换每口油井。为了利用这一优势，沙特阿美希望将该仪表部署在所谓的“湿气井”中，即主要生产天然气但含有一些夹带液体(凝析油和水)的油井。传统的设计(但流量范围有限)文丘里类型的流量计已被改装为使用额外的差压读数来确定流动气流中的液体和气体的数量。Aramco希望帮助GM Flow在我们的仪表内开发湿气体能力，并已在现场设计了一个测试装置，以衡量其对湿气体环境的反应。为了优化这一先进的设计并将其完全商业化，GM Flow希望使用计算流体动力学来了解我们设备的独特流动特性，以便扩大其操作湿气体窗口和其卓越的流动范围，同时提高其操作精度。通过了解流体在仪表内的行为，我们可以优化几何形状和表面光洁度，以优化性能并最大限度地提高其有效性和适用性。

GM Flow manufacture a unique flow meter for use in both the oil & gas and emerging hydrogen industries. The product utilises a patented internal sliding sleeve (GB2538805), to change the internal geometry and so vastly improve the usable flow range of gas flow meters. This unique advantage is being grapsed by Saudi Aramco to reduce the amount of capital spending, increase flow measurement accuracy and reduce risk to personnel. It does this by using the meter's wide flow range, to extend the useful life of a flow meter, which would otherwise become redundant as the gas flow rate reduces over time. When the well flow rate reduces, it drops below the range of existing meters and requires them to be repeatedly replaced with smaller sizes. It is estimated that Aramco can save around £200,000 per well, for each meter they do not have to replace prematurely, in hundreds of wells across Saudi Arabia.In order to capitalise on this advantage, Aramco wish to deploy the meter in what are termed "wet gas" wells, i.e wells which produce mostly gas but with some entraned liquids (condensate and water). Conventional design (but limited flow range) venturi type meters have been adaped to use an additional an differential pressure reading to determine the amount of liquid and gas in the flowing stream. Aramco wish to help GM Flow to develop wet gas capability within our meter and have depolyed a test unit in the field to gauge its reaction to wet gas environments. To optimise and fully commercialise this advanced design, GM Flow wish to use Computational Fluid Dynamics to understand the unique flow properties of our device, in order to enlarge its operational wet gas window in conjunction with its superior flow range, and at the same time, increase its operational accuracy. By understanding how fluids behave within the meter, we can optimise geometrical shapes and surface finish to optimise performance and maximise its effectiveness and applicability.