There are many in our industry who would consider the advancement of the ultrasonic meter to be the greatest improvement in gas measurement in the past twenty years. It’s my opinion that the immense improvement in gas measurement is not so much the ultrasonic meter itself. Instead, I believe it is the meter’s ability to detect conditions that would compromise its own accuracy and ability to communicate those conditions to the user. It is in the area of communicating those conditions, that we often under-utilize the meter’s capabilities.
Employing electronic flow computers and SCADA systems to collect and analyze ultrasonic meter data can provide many benefits for today’s natural gas pipeline company.