EXPRO METERS, INC. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20140102697 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING HYDROCARBON MATERIAL PRODUCING WELLSITES USING CLAMP-ON FLOW METERS - A method and system for managing one or more hydrocarbon producing well sites is provided. The well site includes a hydrocarbon material flow passing through a pipe. The system includes a clamp-on flow meter and a control station. The clamp-on flow meter is operable to produce output indicative of at least one characteristic of the hydrocarbon material flowing through the pipe at the well site. The control station is separately located from the well site. The control station includes at least one processor adapted to receive the output from the clamp-on flow meter. The processor is adapted to determine one or more characteristics of the hydrocarbon material flow at each well site using a flow compositional model. | 04-17-2014 |
20120209542 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING MULTIPHASE FLUID FLOW - A method of and apparatus for monitoring fluid flow passing within a pipe is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing a flow pressure value and a flow temperature value for the fluid flow within the pipe; b) providing a fluid flowmeter operable to be attached to an exterior of the pipe; c) providing a processor adapted to include an equation of state model for the pressure, volume, and temperature properties for the fluid flow, and further adapted to receive composition data values for the fluid flow, the flow pressure value, and the flow temperature value, and the flow velocity signals from the flowmeter; and d) determining a volumetric flow rate of one or more phases of the fluid flow. | 08-16-2012 |
20120166125 | METHOD FOR IN-SITU CALIBRATING A DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE PLUS SONAR FLOW METER SYSTEM USING DRY GAS CONDITIONS - A method and system for in situ calibrating a flow metering system to monitor fluid flow in a pipe from a well is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) measuring a first characteristic of the fluid flow exiting the well using a DP flow meter during a dry gas period, and producing an first output data representative of the first characteristic; b) measuring a second characteristic of the fluid flow exiting the well using a SONAR flow meter time during the dry gas period, and producing a second output data representative of the second characteristic; c) determining a dry gas offset between the DP flow meter and the SONAR flow meter based on the first output data and the second output data; and d) calibrating the flow metering system using the dry gas offset. | 06-28-2012 |
20110303019 | MINIMALLY INTRUSIVE MONITORING OF A MULTIPHASE PROCESS FLOW USING A TRACER - An apparatus for and a method of monitoring multiphase fluid flow passing within a pipe is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing a flow pressure value and a flow temperature value for the multiphase fluid flow within the pipe; b) sensing the fluid flow with a fluid flow meter operable to be attached to an exterior of the pipe, the flowmeter including a spatial array of at least two sensors disposed at different axial positions along the pipe, and producing flow velocity signals indicative of a velocity of the fluid flow traveling within the pipe; c) selectively injecting at least one tracer into the fluid flow passing within the pipe, at a known injection flow rate and concentration; d) sensing a sample of the fluid flow for the tracer, and producing tracer concentration signals indicative of the concentration of the tracer in the fluid flow; and e) determining one or more of a gas component flow rate, an oil component flow rate, and a water component flow rate, using one or more of the flow pressure value, the flow temperature value, the flow velocity signals, and the tracer concentration signals. | 12-15-2011 |
20110226063 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SENSING FLUID FLOW IN A PIPE WITH VARIABLE WALL THICKNESS - A method and apparatus for sensing a fluid flow within a pipe is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing an ultrasonic sensor having a transmitter operable to transmit ultrasonic signals through the first pipe wall, the fluid flow disposed within the pipe, and the second pipe wall, and a receiver operable to receive the transmitted signal after the signal has passed through the pipe walls and fluid flow; b) disposing the transmitter adjacent the first wall and the receiver adjacent the second wall; c) disposing at least one acoustic member between at least one of the transmitter and the first wall, and the receiver and the second wall, which acoustic member has acoustic properties such that the combined respective member and pipe wall have half wave resonant frequencies that substantially match the half wave resonant frequencies of the opposite wall, or opposite wall and respective member; and d) sensing the fluid flow through the pipe walls and structure using the ultrasonic sensor. | 09-22-2011 |
20100307263 | ULTRASONIC FLUID FLOW METER HOUSING WITH ACOUSTICALLY MATCHED BASE - A device for sensing fluid flow within a pipe, which pipe has a pipe wall, is provided. The device includes a sensor housing and a fluid flow meter. The sensor housing includes at least one pressure vessel enclosure and hardware for mounting the enclosure on an exterior surface of the pipe wall. The enclosure includes a base, side walls, and a cap. The enclosure base has a pipe-side surface that mates with the exterior surface of the pipe wall. The enclosure base and the pipe wall have substantially similar resonant frequencies and acoustic impedance. The sensor housing is adapted to be attached to the pipe wall such that the pipe-side surface of the base is mated with the exterior surface of the pipe wall. The fluid flow meter includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors disposed within the at least one pressure vessel enclosure. Each sensor has a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitters are adapted to transmit signals at one or more frequencies, including frequencies that are substantially equal to the resonant frequencies of the base and pipe wall. | 12-09-2010 |
20100305882 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING MULTIPHASE FLUID FLOW - A method and apparatus for monitoring multiphase fluid flow passing within a pipe is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing a flow pressure value and a flow temperature value for the multiphase fluid flow within the pipe; b) providing a fluid flowmeter operable to be attached to an exterior of the pipe, the flowmeter including a spatial array of at least two sensors disposed at different axial positions along the pipe, which flowmeter is adapted to produce flow velocity signals indicative of a velocity of the fluid flow traveling within the pipe; c) providing a processor adapted to include an equation of state model for the pressure, volume, and temperature properties for the multiphase fluid flow, and further adapted to receive composition data values for the multiphase fluid flow, the flow pressure value, and the flow temperature value, and the flow velocity signals from the flowmeter; and d) determining a volumetric flow rate of one or both the gas phase and liquid phase of the fluid flow. | 12-02-2010 |
20100257941 | APPARATUS FOR ATTENUATING ULTRASONIC WAVES PROPAGATING WITHIN A PIPE WALL - A damping device for a fluid flow meter mountable on the exterior of a pipe to meter fluid flow traveling within the pipe is provided. The flow meter has at least one ultrasonic sensor operable to transmit ultrasonic signals through a pipe wall in a direction normal to the pipe wall and into a fluid flow disposed within the pipe, which signals create secondary ultrasonic signals circumferentially traveling within the pipe wall at a frequency. The damping device includes a base and a plurality of tines. The base is conformable to an exterior surface of the pipe wall, and has a pipe-side surface and a tine-side surface. The plurality of tines is attached to the base and extends outwardly from the tine-side surface. Each tine is spaced apart from an adjacent tine by a tine-to-tine distance that is less than the wavelength of the secondary ultrasonic signals circumferentially propagating within the pipe wall. | 10-14-2010 |
20100251829 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING A FLUID FLOW PARAMETER WITHIN AN INTERNAL PASSAGE OF AN ELONGATED BODY - A method and apparatus for measuring at least one parameter of a fluid flowing through an internal passage of an elongated body is provided. The internal passage is disposed between a first wall and a second wall, and the first wall and the second wall each include an interior surface and an exterior surface. The method includes the steps of providing an array of at least two ultrasonic sensor units, operating the sensor units to transmit ultrasonic signals at one or more frequencies substantially coincident with at least one frequency at which the transmitted ultrasonic signals resonate within the first wall, receiving the ultrasonic signals with the sensor units, and processing the received ultrasonic signals to measure the at least one parameter of fluid flow within the internal passage. | 10-07-2010 |
20100094569 | VISCOUS FLUID FLOW MEASUREMENT USING A DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE MEASUREMENT AND A SONAR MEASURED VELOCITY - A method and apparatus for determining a parameter of fluid flow within a piping system is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) determining a measured velocity of the fluid flow within the piping system using a fluid flow meter; b) determining a measured difference in pressure value within the fluid flow using a differential pressure meter; c) selecting an estimated Reynolds number of the fluid flow; d) determining a calculated difference in pressure value using a model which relates the calculated difference in pressure value to the measured velocity and the estimated Reynolds number of the fluid flow; e) determining a degree of inaccuracy of the estimated Reynolds number using the measured difference in pressure and the calculated difference in pressure; and f) iteratively adjusting the estimated Reynolds number, determining the calculated difference in pressure, and determining the degree of inaccuracy using the adjusted Reynolds number, until the degree of inaccuracy is within an acceptable range. | 04-15-2010 |
20100000331 | APPARATUS FOR ATTENUATING ULTRASONIC WAVES PROPAGATING WITHIN A PIPE WALL - A damping device for a fluid flow meter is provided. The fluid flow meter is mountable on the exterior of a pipe to meter fluid flow traveling within the pipe. The flow meter has at least one ultrasonic sensor operable to transmit ultrasonic signals through a wall in a direction substantially normal to the pipe wall and into a fluid flow disposed within the pipe. The transmitted signals create secondary ultrasonic signals circumferentially traveling within the pipe wall at one or more frequencies. The damping device includes a tuned body attachable to the pipe wall at one or more contact points. The body has one or more resonant structural modes, each with a natural frequency, which natural frequencies are closely matched to the one or more frequencies of the secondary signals. The body is operable to dissipate energy upon excitation by the secondary signals. | 01-07-2010 |
20090306911 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A WATER CUT DETERMINATION USING A SEQUESTERED LIQUID-CONTINUOUS STREAM - An apparatus and method for determining the water cut value of a multiphase fluid flowing within a pipe is provided. The device includes a sequestering structure disposed within the pipe, a transmitting device, a receiving device, and a processing device. The sequestering structure at least partially defines a sensing passage within the pipe, which passage has a gap extending substantially normal to a direction of fluid flow within the pipe. The sensing passage is oriented to sequester an amount of a liquid component of the multi-phase fluid sufficient to form a continuous liquid body extending across the gap of the sensing passage. The transmitting device is operable to transmit a signal through the liquid across the gap of the sensing passage. The receiving device is operable to receive the signal after it has traversed the liquid within the sensing passage, and create sensor data. The processing device is in communication with at least the receiving device to receive and process the sensor data to determine the water cut value of the liquid. | 12-10-2009 |
20090255345 | CLAMP-ON APPARATUS FOR MEASURING A FLUID FLOW THAT INCLUDES A PROTECTIVE SENSOR HOUSING - An apparatus for measuring one or more characteristics of a fluid flowing within a pipe is provided. The apparatus includes a housing, sealant, and an array of at least two ultrasonic sensors. The housing is operable to be mounted on the exterior surface of the pipe. The housing has at least one pocket extending between a pipe-side surface and an outer surface. The pipe-side surface mates with the exterior surface of the pipe. The sealant is disposed between the pipe exterior surface and the housing pipe-side surface. The sealant forms a seal around the pocket when the housing is mounted on the exterior surface of the pipe. The array of ultrasonic sensor units are disposed within the at least one pocket. Each sensor unit includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitters are operable to transmit ultrasonic signals through the fluid flow within the pipe. The receivers are operable to receive signals from the transmitters. | 10-15-2009 |
20090158858 | METHOD FOR QUANTIFYING VARYING PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS OF NORMAL INCIDENT ULTRASONIC SIGNALS AS USED IN CORRELATION BASED FLOW MEASUREMENT - According to the present invention, a method is provided for sensing a fluid flow within a pipe having a lengthwise axis to determine a parameter of the fluid flow. The method includes the following steps: a) providing an array of more than two ultrasonic sensors, each sensor having a transmitter and a receiver; b) disposing the transmitter and receiver of each sensor orthogonally relative to the lengthwise axis of the pipe; c) receiving ultrasonic signals using the receivers, which received signals result from initial signals transmitted from the transmitters of the ultrasonic sensors; d) processing the received signals from each sensor by projecting the received signals against a sine function and a cosine function, high pass filtering the projected signals, and using the high pass filtered projections to create an arrival vector within a complex plane, wherein the high pass filtered arrival vector is a rectified frequency doubled signal; and e) determining the parameter of the fluid flow using the arrival vector. | 06-25-2009 |
20090055104 | VELOCITY AND IMPINGEMENT METHOD FOR DETERMINING PARAMETERS OF A PARTICLE/FLUID FLOW - A method and apparatus for determining at least one flow parameter of a fluid flowing within a pipe, which fluid contains particles entrained within the fluid flow is provided. The method includes the steps of: 1) determining a velocity of the fluid flow within the pipe; 2) sensing the impingement of particles on a surface wetted with the fluid flow, and producing a signal relating to the impingement; and 3) determining the at least one flow parameter of the fluid flow utilizing the determined fluid flow velocity and the sensor signal relating to impingement of the particles on the surface wetted with the fluid flow. | 02-26-2009 |