This paper is intended to provide meter station designers with a basic methodology for selection of an appropriate flow meter (or meters) for a given application. Since many applications require that a meter station operate over a broad range of flow rates or loads, an example is provided on how to address system rangeability while maintaining accurate flow measurement. Detailed technical descriptions of the functionality of the various available gas metering technologies is beyond the scope of this paper, but information of that type can be found in other papers in these Proceedings.
General Considerations
There are several basic considerations that should always be kept in mind when designing a gas metering station. These include:
- Desired flow measurement accuracy
- Range of flow rate or load
- Quality and cleanliness of the gas stream
- Limits on the available space for the meter station installation
- Available infrastructure (e.g., electrical power, lighting, data communication, etc.)
- Environmental or atmospheric conditions
- Long-term maintenance requirements for the selected measurement equipment
The meter station designer should also keep in mind that there may be other, special considerations that can vary from application to application. However, regardless of the application − whether it is a meter installation for a residential application or a large, gas-fired electric power plant − the basic design methodology is essentially the same.
