CTF878 Flowmeter

Startup Guide

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 Principle of Operation
• Continuous wave (CW) acoustic Channel 1 Channel 2
signals are transmitted from the Transmit Transmit
transmit transducers

• Flow eddies modulate the amplitude of

each acoustic beam as they pass
through

• Electronics console demodulates

signals from both receive transducers
similar to AM radio

• DSP cross-correlates similar patterns

in each demodulated signal to
calculate the delay – Tao between Channel 1 Channel 2
these patterns Receive Receive

• The distance between the transducer Flow

pairs or Tag Path is divided by Tao to
obtain flow velocity
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 Signal Processing

Carrier Up
Channel 1

Carrier Down
Channel 2

Tao
Modulation Up
Channel 1

Modulation Down
Channel 2

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 Cross-Correlation
Signal

Noise

Signal Amplitude
Cross-Correlation SNR =
Noise Amplitude
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 Obstacles to Flow
Measurement

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 Signal Through Gas
• Most of the energy remains in
the pipe wall due to the acoustic
impedance (density • SOS)
mismatch between the pipe and
the gas. A gas with higher
density (pressure) provides
better Signal Strength

• Signal through gas is

attenuated more with longer
path length, which is
compensated by lowering
transducer frequency with a
sacrifice in the magnitude of
signal modulation
(Caution: Lower transducer
frequency is for larger pipes
eonly!)
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 Short Circuit Noise
• Pipe wall conducts acoustic short
circuit or SC through the
circumference and heavy wall
pipes have more SC due to more
acoustic modes generated in the
thick wall Short Circuit
“Noise”
• Acoustic signal is also conducted
through the pipe wall between the Gas “Signal”
transducers of each path causing
cross talk
• Lower frequency transducers
generate more SC which
excludes their application for
smaller pipes
• For these reasons, the
dampening material is required
for all applications
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 Liquid on the Pipe Wall
• Liquid on the inside or outside surfaces of the pipe is a major
obstacle to CTF878
– Amplitude of the acoustic SC signal traveling in the pipe wall
modulates in the presence of a liquid on the wall
– SC modulation cannot be distinguished from modulation caused
by flow turbulence

• Dampening material installed outside of the clamping fixture

reduces SC modulation due to rain on uninsulated pipes and
SC reflected from any nearby circumferential welds

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 Application Verification
Gas type and minimum pressure:
– Dry air, oxygen, nitrogen or argon at or above ambient pressure (1 bara, 14.5 psia)
– Sweet natural gas at or above 2 bara, 30 psia
– Other acoustically conductive gases with density of 0.074 lbs/ft3, 1.185 kg/m3

Pipes:
– ANSI (DIN) 4 (100) to 24 (600)
– Non-lined steel (double minimum pressure/density for Duplex), copper and most other metals
– HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), PVC, CPVC and most other non-lined plastic pipes (fiberglass
requires demo)

Transducer frequency:
– 0.5 MHz for ANSI (DIN) 3 (75) to 16 (400) pipes
– 0.2 MHz for ANSI (DIN) 16 (400) to 24 (600)

Velocity Limits:
– Bi-directional flow
– Between 3.5 ft/s (1.1 m/s) and 150 ft/s (46 m/s)

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 Installation

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 Pipe Geometry
Minimum Straight Run:
– 10 to 20 (preferred) diameters upstream
– 5 to 10 (preferred) diameters downstream
– Minimum of 20 diameters between circumferential welds

20D 10
D

P T

Flow

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 Pipe Survey
Thickness Variation
– Measure the thickness at 5 points 1 2 3 4 5
along the axis of the pipe
– Maximum variation should be less
than 0.01 in. (0.25 mm)
W1
Pipe Cross-section
– Measure the average OD W8 W2
– Measure the thickness at 8 points
– Program the meter with the average
thickness value

W7 W3
Transducer Location
– Nearest the horizontal plane
– Location with the greatest thickness
difference of the opposing walls (W3
and W7 ) W6 W4
– Away from circumferential weld(s) or
seam W5

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 Pipe Preparation
Fixture Location
– Remove 30 inches (750 mm) of insulation if any
– Remove any loose paint and/or rust
– Do not alter the curvature of the pipe if using a grinder

Transducer Location
– Mark two correctly spaced areas on either side of the pipe, 4
inches (100 mm) long by 2 inches (50 mm) wide
– Grind off paint if it is thick or uneven without altering the pipe
curvature
– Polish with fine sand paper

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 Dampening Installation
Wrapping DMP-1 (Maximum Temperature 150 ºF, 65
ºC)
– Warm up the DMP-1 if the pipe surface is below 45 ºF (7 ºC)
– Apply the DMP-1 starting at the bottom
– Align it parallel to the axis of the pipe
– Pull DMP-1 while wrapping, taking care to minimize air pockets by
pressing it and sliding back and forth with the free hand

Removing DMP-1 from Transducer Locations

– Temporarily install the clamping fixture with the yokes correctly spaced
– Install the transducers without any couplant and mark their locations
– Remove the transducers and cut off the dampening material from
marked locations

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High Temp. Dampening Installation
Safety Equipment and Precautions
– Wear high temperature gloves and goggles
– Use hardhat to avoid head injuries and burns from overhead pipes
– The area must have good ventilation because of fumes and smoke during
installation

Installing the Pipe Dampening Jacket (PDJ)

– Orient the PDJ to allow clearance for transducers and junction boxes
– Remove the paper liner from the inside of the PDJ
– Wrap the PDJ around the pipe with the fasteners close to the bottom
– Place a metal bucket and a drop cloth under the PDJ to collect the hot fluid
runoff

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 Final Installation
Clamping Fixture
– Replace any plastic parts with metal versions for high temperature
– Adjust the transducer yoke positions to correct spacing
– Align fixture correctly during installation by maintaining equal distance
between pipe brackets on top and bottom and placing yokes over transducer
openings

Transducers
– Screw the transducers into the junction boxes and verify the orientation
– Apply a thin layer of couplant to the whole face of each transducer
– CPL-01/CPL-04 for temporary normal/high temperature installations
– CPL-16 for permanent normal and high temperature installations
– Allow the CPL-16 to “skin” on the pipe for 15 minutes before fully tightening
the transducer hold down bolts and locking nuts

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 System Wiring
Wiring the Preamplifier(s)
– Connect the preamplifier cable in the junction box to the Channel 1
receive or upstream transducer of the upstream path
– The Channel 1 Transmit cable from the flowmeter should be
connected to the downstream transducer of the upstream path
– Repeat connections for the Channel 2 (downstream path) transmit
and receive cables

Wiring the Flowmeter

– If used, wire the pressure and temperature transducers to the
Analog/RTD inputs
– Hook up the Analog or Frequency output and Alarms, if required
– Verify that the power source is not energized and connect the power
to the CTF878 flowmeter

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 Wiring Diagram
X Tag
1 Path
X2
P
DigiFlow CTF878

Ch. 1 TX

Ch. 2 TX g

Ch. 2 RX Ch. 1 RX

Flow Preamplifiers (1080) installed on receiving transducers

Transducer Spacing = X1 – X2

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 Flowmeter Programming
DigiFlow CTF878

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 Pipe and Transducer Parameters
• Transducer Selection
– Number 312/310 for 0.2/0.5 MHz up to 266°F (130 °C)
– Number 318 for 0.2 MHz up to 350°F (176°C)
– Number 307 for 0.5 MHz up to 450°F (232°C)
– Wedge temperature is an average of ambient and gas temperatures
• Pipe Properties
– Select the pipe material from the list
– Program OD and wall thickness measured in “Pipe Survey”
• Gas Properties
– Select the type of Fluid being measured
– Use Sonicware™ or the NIST website for Kinematic Viscosity
• Transducer Spacing
– Physical transducer spacing for each path must be the same as calculated by the
CTF878
– Up to 0.25 inch (6.4 mm) difference from calculated spacing is allowed
• Tag Path
– Tag Path or the distance between paths must be the same as calculated by the
CTF878
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Based on atpipe ID with minimum 5-inches (125 mm) and maximum 10-inches (250 mm)
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Standard/Normal Flow Parameters
• Enabling Analog/RTD Inputs
– Enable Analog inputs in the “Analog I/O” menu

• Temperature Input
– Program correct “Base” temperature (check with customer)
– Measure the “Fixed” temperature as close as possible to the
measurement location and under the insulation, if used
– Program “Active” temperature input with appropriate limits for the
probe

• Pressure Input
– Program correct “Base” pressure (check with customer)
– “Fixed” pressure must be obtained from a probe as close as
possible to the measurement location without pressure drops
(elbows, tees, valves or reducers) in between
– Program “Active” pressure input with appropriate limits for the
probe
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 Error Limits
• Diagnostic Parameters
– SNR Min. sets Low SNR Error (E8) trigger point, default is
10
– Carrier Limits set Carrier Under (E4) and Over (E5) trigger
points, defaults are 75 mV and 1200 mV
– DMod Limits set Modulation Under (E6) and Over (E7)
trigger points, defaults are 75 mV and 1500 mV

• Flow Parameters
– Velocity Limits set Velocity Range Error (E9) trigger point
which should be programmed to application maximum and
minimum
– Acceleration Limit sets Acceleration Error (E10) trigger point,
decrease if flow will not change a lot and increase otherwise
to improve response
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 Signal Setup Parameters
• Signal Menu
– Reverse Flow should be checked to reverse the flow reading
– Zero Cutoff is the lowest measured velocity, lower values will be displayed as zero
– Velocity Averaging is the number of readings that are averaged together, the
greater the number, the slower the response
– Errors Allowed sets the number of errors that is allowed before an error message
is displayed, the default is 2

• AGC/MGC Menu
– Gain control should always be set to AGC or automatic, manual control or MGC is
used for diagnosis of problems
– Carrier set point limits HFHI and HFLO for AGC should be set to 1000 mV and
200 mV
– Modulation or low frequency set point LFSP should be set to 590 mV

• Cross-Correlation (CC) Averaging

– CCorr Average should be set to 75%, increase to improve SNR for low flow

• Low Pass (LP) Filter

– Electrical (Elec.) System should be set to the frequency of the AC power system
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 Calibrating Analog I/O
• Calibrate Analog Output(s) for Data or Input
Calibration
– Connect DMM or Calibrator to the Output being calibrated
– Select “Main Board (0)” or Slot # corresponding to the Analog
Output option card in the “Calibrate/Test” submenu from the
“Service menu”
– Calibrate upper and lower limits then repeat for the other output(s)
• Calibrate Analog Input(s)
– Connect a Calibrator or Analog Output A to Input (A)
– Select the appropriate Slot number
– Select the appropriate Analog Input in the “Calibrate/Test” submenu
from the “Service menu”
– Calibrate upper and lower limits then repeat for the other input(s)
• Calibrate RTD Input(s)
– Connect RTD Calibrator to the appropriate RTD Input on the Option
Card
– Select the appropriate Slot # and Input in the “Calibrate/Test”
e submenu
– Calibrate upper and lower limits for each RTD Input GE
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 Operation Verification and
Troubleshooting

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 Signal Verification
• Cross-Correlation SNR (CC SNR)
– CC SNR should be greater than 10
– If not, the flow is too low

• Carrier Amplitude and Gain

– Carrier Amplitude should be between 75 mV and 1200 mV
– If Carrier Gain is close to –6 dB and Amplitude is high, the carrier may
be saturated – remove the preamplifiers and disable preamplifier power
– If Carrier Amplitude is below 75 mV and Gain is 31 dB, the carrier is too
weak, add preamplifiers or use 0.2 MHz transducers and receiver card

• Modulation (Mod) Amplitude and Gain

– Mod Amplitude should be between 75 mV and 1500 mV
– If Mod Amplitude is below 75 mV and Gain is 31.5 dB, the Carrier is
weak
– If Mod Amplitude is above 1500 mV and Gain is –16.5 dB, there is
inadequate straight run upstream or high liquid content in the gas
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 Flow Measurement Verification
• Delay (Tau)
– Tau should be stable and reasonable
– Unstable Tao could be caused by low CC SNR

• Velocity/Volumetric Accuracy
– Check the physical Tag Spacing and programmed setting
consistency
– Check the Temperature and Pressure settings or probe parameters
– Check whether there is enough straight run of pipe and no
disturbances upstream

• Sanity Check
– Reverse the transducer cables between channels
– Verify that Tau and velocity/volumetric are negative with the same
magnitude
– The sum of Carrier and Demodulation gains for Channel 1 should
be equal to Channel 2, which indicates that the cross-talk is
cancelled out
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 Troubleshooting Flow Chart
LOW SNR (E8) CARRIER UNDER (E4) CARRIER OVER (E5) MOD UNDER (E6) MOD OVER (E7)

CARRIER GAIN < 0? XDCR SPACING? TAG PATH?

No Yes

MOD GAIN < 0? COUPLANT? DAMPENING? COUPLANT? DAMPENING?

No Yes

STRAIGHT RUN? GAS DENSITY LOW? REMOVE PREAMPS LOW VELOCITY? REMOVE PREAMPS

LOW VELOCITY? ADD PREAMPS CHANGE TO 0.5 MHz CHANGE TO 0.5 MHz CHANGE TO 0.2 MHz

CHANGE TO 0.2 MHz LIQUID CONTENT?

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