A co-generation plant was spending countless dollars and man hours repairing failing averaging pitot tube devices that they were using to monitor steam. They wanted to optimize performance and decrease maintenance costs. In addition to operating a 500 MW electric co-generating station for the city, the co-generation plant also provides steam service to a local manufacturing facility (steam host) in an effort to generate revenue for the co-generation facility. Providing accurate and reliable steam flow measurement was crucial.

CHALLENGE

The plant had traditionally used averaging pitot tube flowmeters and was not happy with their limitations and maintenance issues. The averaging pitot tube flowmeters were not suitable for wide rangeability measurements and could not measure the low end of the steam flow rate range.

Averaging pitot tube flowmeters require impulse lines which transmit process pressure to the DP transmitter. These impulse lines added potential leak points and were vulnerable to blockages from debris settling into them from the process fluid, resulting in inaccurate or incorrect flow measurement. Additionally, in order to calculate mass flow a separate temperature and pressure transmitter was also required and a second pipe penetration was needed to install the temperature sensor.

SOLUTION

The co-generation plant replaced their old averaging pitot tube flowmeters with Pro-V™ multivariable vortex flowmeters because they provide a wider turndown, which allowed them to accurately measure the low end of the steam flow rate range. Maintenance and installation costs were reduced by eliminating impulse lines and by the fact that the Pro-V™ multivariable vortex flowmeters offer integral temperature and pressure sensors giving them mass flow measurement through a single pipe penetration.

The Pro-V™ multivariable flowmeters were a cost-effective, reliable, low maintenance solution which improved operations and measurement accuracy.

BENEFITS

• Higher accuracy through improved measurment reliability

• Cost-effective olution

• Long Term Maintenance Free Operation