Proverless liquid hydrocarbon flow measurement for pipeline

Abstract

A system for operating a flow meter in a pipeline includes at least one flow conditioner or mixer installed in a pipeline; at least one volumetric flow meter installed downstream from the at least one flow conditioner or mixer for measuring velocity of a fluid in the pipeline; a pair pressure transmitters for measuring fluid pressure at a first side and a second side of the at least one flow conditioner or mixer; and a flow computer, connected to the pair of pressure transmitters and to the at least one flow meter. The flow computer includes 1) at least one database having experimental Reynolds number data for the at least one flow meter for a plurality of fluids, and 2) a processor having programmable logic for calculating viscosity of a fluid in the pipeline and operating the flow meter when the fluid in the pipeline changes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.