Selecting the suitable Orifice

Flow meter for a gas system

1. Introduction
In order to select a suitable device – In general speaking – for a certain system, there are information is needed to
be known about the system & the device which will make the decision easier to take, functional & reliable.

To be more specific, it is required to select an orifice flow meter (device) for an associated gas system.

This process depends on four main steps

a) Detect system Specs. & data

b) Detect the device needed
c) Collect list of suppliers
d) Judging the offers then select the most effective & suitable one

System data are simply the operational pressure, operational temperature, working fluid and so on. Then, according to
this data a search should held to specify the right type of flow meters that suits the system. Then collect the suppliers
in order to contact with them. Finally after receiving the offers, judgment on cost basis & technical basis held to select
the most suitable flow meter.

2. System Data
As said briefly, every system has its own Specs, So, what are these data? :

 Working fluid: the substance and its properties

 Flow rate: quantity transferred
 Operational pressure
 Operational temperature
 Line size : the device should be mounted on
 Line class : indication of the pressure class at a certain service temperature for materials
 Line schedule : indication of the inner bore of the pipe and surly indicates the stress that pipe can bear
 Area classification : from the point view of hazards
 Installation availability

For example, If a system of Associated gas with flow rate of 5MMSCFD is compressed from state (1) to state (2)
through gas compressor.

State (1): P = 2 bar & T = 40 C, through pipe line #150, ND 8 Inch & SCHD40

State (2): P = 70 bar & T = 90 C, through pipeline #600, ND 6 inch & SCHD80

This description clarifies all data needed to choose the right flow meter.
 3. Gas Orifice flow meter Equations
In order to ensure that the selected orifice flow meter will withstand the flowrate in the conditions
installed in, there are two equations shows the maximum flowrate this orifice can handle without failure.

First Design Equation of an Orifice:

Shown The Design Equation of the

orifice plate, Fn. Of many parameters.

Extracted from Rosemount (Fundamentals of

Orifice Meter Measurement) .

1) Cd: Discharge coefficient, the ratio

of the actual flow to the theoretical
flow passing through the orifice
bore

=
√

m : Actual mass flow rate

= fluid density
= orifice bore area
= pressure difference across the
orifice

2) K : resistivity: the resistance of the

flow to return to its initial condition after passing through the orifice
=

3) d : orifice bore diameter

4) hw : the head that indicates of the pressure difference across the orifice

5) Ev: Velocity of approach equals to the ratio of the velocity of the flow in pipe to the velocity of the flow
through the orifice bore.
= where, is called beta ratio, equals to the ratio of the orifice bore diameter to the internal pipe
√

diameter =
Internal pipe diameter Depends on the pipe Schedule .
6) C : flow coefficient, equals to multiplication of discharge
coefficient & velocity of approach factor

= Cd*Ev

Or from Reynolds number and this chart

7) Y : The expansion factor corrects for the density change

between the measured tap density and the density at the
plane of the orifice face

= 1-(0.41 +0.35 ) , where =

Or from this charts between

 isentropic index γ
 differential pressure to line pressure ratio
 resistivity K, mentioned at point 2

8) Z: compressibility it is the correction needed to predict the real gas behavior, equals the ratio of the real
volume of the gas to the same ideal gas volume.

9) Gr or SG : specific gravity of gas, equals to the ratio of the gas density to the air density

In order to obtain Z, Gr & several steps should be done, will be discussed in the next part.

All these parameters affect the orifice performance and depend on its geometry.

Even none of them the customer could provide the vendors, but they are important to understand the effect
of them on the performance of the device.
 Second Design Equation of an Orifice:

This Equation is fn. Of less parameters from

the first one.
Extracted from Dwyer (Specifications -
Installation and Operating Instructions)

1. K: equals to C in the first equation,

Flow coefficient
2. d: orifice bore diameter
3. D: inner pipe diameter
4. Y: Expansion factor
5. h/w: equals to ΔP in inches of water
6. PL: line pressure in absolute psi
7. TL/Tb: temperatures of line & base
respectively
8. β: beta ratio
9. SG: equals to Gr in the first equation

These both equations allow selecting the suitable orifice flow meter according to the capacity of the orifice

Parameters that depends on the system:

Tb & Pb re the temperature & pressure at base condition which means standard condition in order to
obtain Zb

Tf & Pf & Zf the same properties at flowing condition.

4. Mixed Gas fluids Properties

Gas properties are important as shown above, So, how they could be calculated?

There are two cases

a) Pure gas
b) Mixed gases
For pure gases it is so simple and direct, straight relations to be substituted in & chart to extract from.

Such as;

Gas compressibility (Z) :

In order to obtain Z, it is needed to extract the values from (Nelson &

ober) chart

This is the full scale (Nelson & ober) chart, on the vertical axis Z
changes with two factors

Pr & Tr, where (r) is denoted for reduced

Pr = , where Pc is the critical pressure of the gas, changes with

horizontal axis.

Tr = , Tc is the critical temperature of the gas, changes with the

curves in the area.

for the small values, there are zoomed scale charts, one for the 0
Pr , the other for

0 Pr as shown.

For Mixed Gases, the way of calculate the Pr & Tr is far more
complicated.

Due to the fact that every gas has its own compressibility at certain
pressure and temperature, everyone would expand irrelatively from
the other gases.

So, Pseudo critical term is used, which means the average value that
describe the gas behavior.

A new critical point of the mixture will be created according to the

mole fraction of each gas in the mixture called pseudo critical point.

Pc & Tc in the case of pure gas will be Ppc & Tpc , PC for pseudo
critical

Pr & Tr in the case of pure gas will be Ppr & Tpr , Ppr for pseudo
reduced

For calculating Ppc & Tpc

……………….(A)
Where yi is the molar fraction of a gas in the mixture

Where Gi is the mass fraction of the gas in the mixture & Mi is the molecular weight of the gas

Pci the critical pressure for each gas in the mixture.

For calculating Ppr & Tpr

………………………………….(B)

 Here are tables that state the values of specific critical pressures of the gases

Using this values and substituting in the equations stated previously, it is easy to obtain the Z, & Gr values.
  Now, it is easy to know your system & the orifice flow meter parameters.

 What should be expected when requesting an orifice flow meter in the offers from the suppliers?

5. Orifice flow meter components

There are main three elements in any orifice flow meter

a) Sensing element ( orifice plate)

b) Installation element (Fixation Flange)
c) Reading & calculating element (computerized scanner )

Sensing element ( orifice plate)

The orifice plate is a conduit and a restriction to create a pressure drop.

As the fluid approaches the orifice the pressure increases slightly and then drops
suddenly as the orifice is passed. It continues to drop until the “vena contracta” is
reached and then gradually increases until at approximately 5 to 8 diameters
downstream a maximum pressure point is reached that will be lower than the
pressure upstream of the orifice.

The decrease in pressure as the fluid passes thru the orifice is a result of the
increased velocity of the gas passing thru the reduced area of the orifice. When
the velocity decreases as the fluid leaves the orifice the pressure increases and
tends to return to its original level. All of the pressure loss is not recovered
because of friction and turbulence losses in the stream. The pressure drop
across the orifice increases when the rate of flow increases. When there is no flow there is no differential. The
differential pressure is proportional to the square of the velocity, it therefore follows that if all other factors remain
constant, then the differential is proportional to the square of the rate of flow
Installation element (Fixation Flange)

The flange assembly or installing element is very important, in

order to ensure the centering of the orifice bore.

Several consecrations are taken such as pressure ratings, line size ,

line schedule & the orifice plate size

Reading & calculating element (computerized scanner )

The unit that receives the pressure difference signals and calculates the
corresponding mass flow rate is the scanner.
With a certain inputs needed to be put carefully in order to guarantee the readings

6. Data should be stated for Inquiry

For preparing a full information inquiry to the suppliers , these data should be stated:

a) Working fluid composition

b) Operating Pressure
c) Operating temperature
d) Flow rate
e) Line size
f) Line class & Schedule
g) Hazard classification of the area

Any missing data could cause wrong sizing & selecting the suitable flowmeter
 7. Judging between offers
After receiving several offer from several supplier, it is needed to technically distinguish between them and
choose the best offer that suits the system.

a) The most important factor is the across the orifice, the least the , the best choice would be.
b) The ratio should be in the middle of the range (0.2-0.7), range of high accuracy.
c) Uncertainty
d) Ease of installation according to the flange design
e) Type of the scanner & its accuracy

8. Solving Example of using the equations

Consider a system has these conditions

 Working fluid: Associated gas

 Flow rate: 3-6 MMSCFD
 Pressure: 1600 – 2000 Psi
 Temperature: 100 – 200 F
 Line size: 4" #900 Sch(80)
 Gas composition as shown
 Gas specific gravity: 0.71
 Pb = 14.7 psi , Tb = 70 F

Consider the offered orifice bore is 2" with β = 0.5& =100 inch wc

 The first equation

For using the first equation, some variables are needed to be found

C, Y, Zb & Zf

In order to obtain Z values, it is important to get the pseudo critical pressure & temperature

Gas yi Pci (MPa) Tci (K)

N2 0.00608 3.3936 126.11
CO2 0.00299 7.3787 304.17
C1 0.80164 4.6408 190.67
C2 0.09728 4.8835 303.5
C3 0.056 4.2568 370
IC4 0.0084 3.648 408.11
NC4 0.01621 3.7928 425.39
IC5 0.00432 3.3336 460.89
NC5 0.00353 3.3770 470
 C6 0.00355 3.0344 507.89

By substitution in equation (A)

Ppc = 4.7193 Mpa & Tpc = 220.54 K

 For base conditions

Pb = 14.7 psi = 0.1013529 Mpa Prb = =

Tb = 294.261 K Trb =

b = 0.98

 For flow conditions

Pf = 2000 psi = 13.78951 Mpa Pf =

Tf = 200 F = 366.5 K Tf =

f = 0.85

Knowing that Reynolds Number is 1640000

Getting C

C = 0.6 = Cd*Ev

K= , in order to obtain K, Cd is needed to be known

Ev = = 1.154, Cd = 0.519 , K= 3.69

√

= 0.00184 = 0.99

Substitution in Equation 1

Qv = 218.527*0.6*0.99*( )* *√ = 417942 SCFH = 10030619048 SCFD =

10.03MMSCFD
For a flow rate 6MMSCFD this orifice is suitable and safe.

 The second equation

In this equation there is no need to obtain Z .

C is the only needed factor, like the way mentioned above

√ √
Q= = 6518.2 SCFM = 9.38MMSCFD

For a flow rate 6MMSCFD this orifice is suitable and safe.

9. Conclusion
It is essential to Know the system that you need to install a flowmeter on, working fluid characteristics,
operational pressure & temperature, the flowrate & the hazard classification of the installation area.

How to set an Inquiry & how to judge them