Systems and methods to obtain diagnostic information related to a bi-directional prover

A bi-directional prover system that generates diagnostic information relating to detector sensor health, the system comprising:

• a bi-directional prover capable of proving in both the forward and reverse directions connected to a hydrocarbon pipeline with a segmented pipeline section in a rounded U-shape that contains a displacer that is pushed through the pipeline section by fluid let into the pipeline;
• a data acquisition and monitoring computer system;
• a flowmeter that tracks the amount of liquid and its velocity sent through the bi-directional prover and sends pulses to the data acquisition and monitoring computer system;
• a first plurality of detector switches set on a first side of the bi-directional prover configured to trigger a first counter and a second counter in the data acquisition and monitoring computer system when a displacer triggers the first plurality of detector switches;
• a second plurality of detector switches set on a second side of the bi-directional prover configured to trigger a third counter and a fourth counter in the data acquisition and monitoring computer system when a displacer triggers the second plurality of detector switches;
• the data acquisition and monitoring computer system configured with one or more processors and associated non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and being operable by the one or more processors to execute a set of instructions comprising:
• starting the first counter and the second counter as the displacer in the prover pipe passes the first detector switch of the first plurality of detector switches;
• starting the third counter and the fourth counter as the displacer in the prover pipe passes the second detector switch of the first plurality of detector switches;
• stopping the first counter and the third counter as the displacer in the prover pipe passes the first detector switch of the second plurality of detector switches;
• stopping the second counter and the fourth counter as the displacer in the prover pipe passes the second detector switch of the second plurality of detector switches;
• calculating a base prover volume for each section of the prover based on the pulse count readings from the first, second, third, and fourth counters;
• creating meter factors for each section of the prover, the meter factors including at least a first meter factor, a second meter factor, a third meter factor, and a fourth meter factor, by taking the pulse count readings for each section of the prover and subtracting them based on the location of the detector switches in the pipe section and the base prover volume;
• comparing meter factors with a meter factor history to determine if there has been a change in base prover volume before and after a detector switch is changed from each section of the pipe to create a meter factor ratio for each section of the pipe;
• deriving and displaying diagnostic information related to the history, health, trends and archives of the meter factor and the meter factor ratio to determine if the base prover volume has changed over time and if the detector switch needs to be changed based on whether the meter factor ratios for each section of the pipe are within a certain threshold based on the meter factor ratio;
• adjusting the base prover volume based on the compared meter factor ratios if the base prover volume has changed after the comparison of the newly calculated meter factors and meter factor ratios with the historical data of the prover;
• and
• repeating the process of deriving meter factor ratios in the pipe section;
• a four-way valve controlled by the data acquisition and monitoring computer system;
• and
• one or more displays configured in conjunction with the data acquisition and monitoring computer system to display diagnostic information related to the health of the detector switches in oil-related operations within the pipe.