System for measuring flow within a pipeline

A system for measuring a flow rate of a fluid, the system comprising:

• a pipeline through which the fluid flows;
• a valve mechanism disposed in the pipeline and defining an adjustable orifice that is coaxial with the pipeline;
• an actuator coupled to the valve mechanism and operable to adjust a size of the adjustable orifice;
• an upstream pressure sensor operable to sense pressure of the fluid in the pipeline at a first upstream location of the pipeline upstream from the adjustable orifice;
• an adjustment controller communicatively coupled to the actuator and the upstream pressure sensor, wherein the adjustment controller is configured to actuate the actuator and thereby adjust the size of the adjustable orifice based on pressure data received from the upstream pressure sensor, wherein the adjustment controller is configured to compare the pressure data received from the upstream pressure sensor with predetermined pressure setting data;
• a differential pressure sensor operable to measure differential pressure across the adjustable orifice of the valve mechanism;
• a temperature sensor operable to sense temperature of the fluid in the pipeline at a first downstream location of the pipeline downstream from the adjustable orifice;
• and
• a calculation controller communicatively coupled to the adjustment controller, the differential pressure sensor, and the temperature sensor, wherein the calculation controller is configured to calculate the flow rate of the fluid based on differential pressure data received from the differential pressure sensor, temperature data received from the temperature sensor, and size data indicative of the size of the adjustable orifice received from the adjustment controller.