KR20230008358A - Apparatus and method for portable flowmeter calibration - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a device for correcting a movable flowmeter for performing validation and quality verification of a flow meter right at an industrial site, which comprises: a moving structure moved to and disposed in the industrial site through a movement means including a vehicle to correct the flow meter right at the industrial site; and a correction facility provided inside the moving structure to perform correction with respect to the flowmeter.

Description

Mobile flowmeter calibration device and calibration method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PORTABLE FLOWMETER CALIBRATION}

The present disclosure relates to a calibration device and calibration method for calibrating a flow meter.

In general, petrochemical companies, power plants, and other industries that use process or commerce flowmeters periodically perform maintenance and calibration on flowmeters.

As a real-time measuring instrument, calibration of the flowmeter must be performed only during the maintenance period at each site.

In the conventional case, calibration of the flowmeter was performed using a standard flowmeter at a separate calibration institution. Accordingly, numerous flowmeters had to be separated from the industrial equipment, packaged and transported, sent to the calibration institution, calibrated at the calibration institution, packaged and transported, reattached to the industrial equipment, and tested. Therefore, a lot of time and unnecessary costs are wasted in attachment/detachment, packaging, and transport before and after calibration.

Accordingly, a technology for calibrating a flowmeter directly on site by moving to an industrial site has been developed.

However, in the case of conventional on-site movable flowmeter calibration, the data comparison method uses a clamp-on type ultrasonic flowmeter attached to the outer wall of the pipe, and there is a large deviation in the measurement depending on the field situation or the level of the ultrasonic flowmeter installation skill of the tester. there is a problem. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain reliable and valid data, resulting in inaccurate measurement and poor calibration.

In addition, for a high-precision flowmeter, it is difficult to precisely calibrate the flowmeter to ensure its effectiveness, and a simple measurement is performed to check whether the flowmeter is operating normally.

This task is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method that can directly verify the validity and quality of a flowmeter in the industrial field.

The present task is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method that can more precisely and accurately perform on-site calibration for a precise flowmeter of high accuracy as well as low accuracy.

This task is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method that can secure measurement quality by setting measurement variables to satisfy the same conditions as the fixed standard room measurement environment and applying them to the system.

The present task is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method that can directly implement the reliability and effectiveness of measurements performed in a fixed standard room in an industrial field.

The present task is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method capable of directly calibrating a flowmeter on site while establishing a reference system in a limited space inside a container and maintaining a high level of accuracy in a fixed standard room.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flowmeter calibration device and calibration method capable of quickly calibrating a flowmeter by realizing stable flow rate supply and measurement even in the field.

The flowmeter calibration device of the present embodiment includes a mobile structure that is moved to an industrial site by means of transportation including a vehicle and directly calibrated for the flowmeter at the industrial site, and a calibration facility provided in the mobile structure to calibrate the flowmeter. can do.

The calibration facility may have a structure in which a flowmeter to be calibrated is calibrated by including a reference flowmeter for calibrating a flowmeter at an industrial site, using the reference flowmeter as a reference value.

The calibration facility may further include a measurement facility for validating the reference flowmeter and a calculator configured to determine validity by calculating a value measured from the measurement facility.

The measuring facility may include a volumetric flowmeter and a gravimetric flowmeter.

The measuring facility changes the reference volume or measures the reference weight according to the discharge amount of the reference flowmeter by combining reference tanks of different volumes, including a plurality of reference tanks having relatively different volumes and connectors connecting the reference tanks. It can be structured to change.

The movable structure may further include a vibration damping unit installed between a frame constituting an external frame and a floor surface on which the correction equipment is placed to reduce vibration generated during movement.

The calibration method of this embodiment may be a method of calibrating the flowmeter directly at the industrial site with the calibration equipment provided in the mobile structure by moving a mobile structure equipped with a flowmeter calibration facility from a fixed standard room to an industrial site.

The calibration method includes a first measurement step of detecting the accuracy of a reference flowmeter of a calibration facility in a fixed standard room, a step of moving and arranging a mobile structure equipped with a calibration facility to an industrial site using a vehicle, and Secondary measurement step to detect the accuracy of the standard flowmeter of the calibration facility in the current state, verification step to verify the validity of the standard flowmeter at the industrial site from the first and second measurement results, and the calibration facility at the industrial site It may include calibrating the flow meter.

The calibration method includes a step of moving a mobile structure at an industrial site to a fixed standard room using a vehicle and returning it, a tertiary measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the standard flowmeter of the calibration facility in the fixed standard room, and a standard flowmeter from the tertiary measurement result. A revalidation step of confirming the validity of may be further included.

The first measuring step and the second measuring step or the checking step may be performed through a volumetric flowmeter and a gravimetric flowmeter.

In the validation step or the re-verification step, the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter is calculated through Equation (1) below, and if the absolute value of En is less than 1, it can be determined as suitable.

Equation (1)

x: measured value at industrial sites

X: measured value in a fixed standard room

U _lab : measurement uncertainty in industrial settings (k=2)

U _ref : Uncertainty of measurement in a fixed standard room (k=2)

As described above, according to the present implementation example, as the flowmeter is calibrated within the industry, the calibration can be performed more rapidly and quickly. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by shortening the packaging/transportation time and about 4 to 5 days required for waiting for shipment, or more depending on the amount of flow metering, and the shortened maintenance period allows for faster facility operation and an increase in the number of operating days. can increase economic efficiency.

Unlike the conventional movable structure installed in on-site piping, the calibration facility itself in the fixed standard room is moved to the relevant industry for calibration. It combines the advantages of the mobile calibration method and the fixed standard room calibration method to quickly and accurately measure flow can be corrected.

Through multiple validations, the reliability of this portable calibration device is raised to the level of a fixed standard room, and measurement reliability and effectiveness are realized without distortion in the field, enabling accurate calibration of the flowmeter.

Facility failures and damages that may be caused by shocks during truck movement are buffered through the buffer-type suspension installed at the bottom of the container, minimizing equipment failures and damages, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and reliability of the equipment.

By increasing the calibration accuracy, the flowmeter can be calibrated more accurately in the field while maintaining a high level of accuracy within ±0.1%.

It can be expected to improve the efficiency of industrial facilities and realize mutual fair trade.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a moving structure of a flowmeter calibration device according to an embodiment.
2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a flowmeter calibration device according to the present embodiment.
3 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the measurement equipment of the flowmeter calibration device according to the present embodiment.
4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a process of calibrating a flowmeter according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, this is presented as an example, and the present invention is not limited thereby, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims to be described later. Embodiments to be described later may be modified in various forms without departing from the concept and scope of the present invention. Where possible, identical or similar parts are indicated using the same reference numerals in the drawings.

Terminology used below is only for referring to specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms also include the plural forms unless the phrases clearly indicate the opposite. As used herein, the meaning of "comprising" specifies specific characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and other specific characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, elements, and/or groups. does not exclude the presence or addition of

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following examples are only preferred examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

1 and 2 show a mobile flowmeter calibration device according to the present embodiment.

In the following description, the fixed standard room 400 may refer to a calibration facility that is fixedly provided in a separate calibration institution and has a reference system for calibrating a flowmeter. The industrial site 500 may mean an industrial site such as a power plant where a flowmeter, which is an actual calibration target, is being used. The reference flowmeter may refer to a flowmeter that is a standard for calibration of the flowmeter to be calibrated.

In addition, the calibration device of this embodiment can be applied to both a flow meter for liquid installed in a liquid transfer line and a flow meter for gas installed in a gas transfer line. Accordingly, the term "fluid" may include gas as well as liquid.

As shown, the mobile calibration device of this embodiment moves between the fixed standard room 400 and the industrial site 500, and is built in the necessary industrial site 500 to perform calibration of the flowmeter.

To this end, the calibration device of the present embodiment is moved to the industrial site 500 through a mobile means including a vehicle 300 and is directly calibrated for the flowmeter at the industrial site 500. 100) may include a calibration facility 200 for calibrating the flowmeter through comparison with a reference flowmeter.

In this way, by building the calibration facility 200 for calibrating the flowmeter in the inner space of the mobile structure 100 disposed in the industrial site 500, while maintaining the high accuracy level in the fixed standard room 400, the industrial site 500 ) to calibrate the flowmeter directly.

The mobile structure 100 may be, for example, a box-shaped container. The mobile structure 100 has an independent space inside. The movable structure 100 can be applied to all structural surfaces capable of performing correction by constructing the correction facility 200 in the internal space, and the size or shape can be variously modified.

The mobile structure 100 may be mounted on a vehicle 300 such as a truck and moved to an industrial site 500 .

The mobile structure 100 may further include a plurality of vibration damping units 130 installed between the frame 110 constituting an external frame and the floor surface 120 on which the correction equipment 200 is placed to reduce vibration generated during movement. can

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile structure 100 of this embodiment may be further provided with a solar cell panel 140 for supplying power by itself so that it can be operated independently in any industrial site 500. . Accordingly, it is possible to effectively cope with the main power supplied from the industrial site or a sudden power outage.

The vibration attenuator 130 absorbs shock generated from the vehicle 300 or the road surface, and attenuates transmission of vibration transmitted to the mobile structure 100 to the inner floor surface 120 .

Therefore, in the process of moving to the vehicle 300, external impact is prevented from being applied to the calibration facility 200 provided inside the moving structure 100, so that the measurement reliability and effectiveness of the calibration facility 200 can be maintained to the site do.

The mobile structure 100 is fixedly installed on one side of the industrial site 500 to perform calibration work on the flowmeter directly on site.

Accordingly, a series of operations of packing the flowmeter at the industrial site 500, transporting it to the fixed standard room 400, and packaging and transporting the flowmeter to the industrial site 500 after calibration are omitted, and the flowmeter calibration work is performed on the spot. can do. Therefore, compared to the prior art, in the case of the present embodiment, a period of 4 to 5 days can be shortened, and productivity can be increased by reducing costs as well as increasing the number of days of facility operation and operation by shortening the maintenance period.

In addition, through the calibration facility 200 installed in the mobile structure 100 on site, the flowmeter can be calibrated with the same measurement reliability and effectiveness as calibration in the fixed standard room 400.

In this embodiment, the calibration facility 200 has a structure including a reference flowmeter, and uses the reference flowmeter as a reference value to calibrate a flowmeter to be calibrated.

For example, the calibration facility 200 includes a water tank in which fluid is stored, a circulation line connected to the water tank to circulate the fluid, and a flowmeter to be calibrated and a reference flowmeter installed, and a pump that transfers the fluid of the tank for storing the fluid through the circulation line. , it may include a measurement sensor that detects the weight, temperature, and pressure of the water tank. A structure for calibrating a flowmeter by the calibration facility 200 is already known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the calibration facility 200 may be configured to satisfy the same conditions as the calibration facility 200 provided in the fixed standard room 400. Therefore, more precise and accurate calibration is possible even in the field by using a reference flowmeter with a high precision of ±0.1% or less, as in the fixed standard room 400. Therefore, it is possible to precisely calibrate the flowmeter on site while maintaining a high accuracy level (±0.1%) in the fixed standard room.

Here, in the calibration facility 200 moved to the industrial site 500, validation of the reference flowmeter is required in order to implement measurement reliability and effectiveness as in the fixed standard room 400 without distortion in the field.

Accordingly, the calibration facility 200 of the present embodiment may further include a measurement facility 210 for validating the reference flowmeter and a calculation unit 220 that calculates the value measured from the measurement facility 210 and determines validity. can

The measuring facility 210 may include a volumetric flow rate meter and a gravimetric flow rate meter. Therefore, it is possible to check and verify the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter in the industrial field by measuring the standard flowmeter with the volumetric flowmeter and the gravimetric flowmeter and calculating the measured value through the calculation unit 220.

The volumetric flow rate meter may have a structure that measures, for example, the volume of the fluid supplied to the reference tank 212 having a predetermined volume for a certain period of time, and compares and inspects the flow rate calculated therefrom with the indicated value of the reference flow meter. there is.

The gravimetric flow rate measuring device may have, for example, a structure in which weight is measured by lifting the reference tank 212 on a crane installed on the ceiling of the mobile structure 100 and using a tension type load cell or weight scale. It may be a structure in which the weight of the fluid supplied to the reference tank 212 having a predetermined volume for a certain period of time is measured, and the flow rate calculated therefrom is compared with the indicated value of the reference flow meter.

Accordingly, it is possible to more objectively and reliably verify that the reference flowmeter is effective in the actual industrial site 500 by comparing and inspecting the reference flowmeter through volumetric flow rate measurement and gravimetric flow measurement.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the measurement facility 210 of this embodiment may include a plurality of reference tanks 212 having relatively different volumes and a connector 214 connecting the reference tanks 212. .

The connector 214 connects the inlet and outlet of the reference tank 212 to allow fluid to move. The connector 214 may be applied to both structural surfaces connecting the two reference tanks 212 .

Reference tanks 212 having different volumes may be combined and connected into one through the connector 214 . Accordingly, the reference volume can be changed according to the discharge amount of the reference flowmeter according to the combination of the reference tank 212 . For example, by preparing a 60-liter reference tank 212 and a 120-liter reference tank 212 and connecting them, the reference volume can be easily changed to 60 liters, 120 liters, or 180 liters according to the discharge amount of the standard flowmeter. .

In this way, since the volume of the reference tank 212 can be combined with various volumes, the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter can be verified more reliably by inspecting the reference flowmeter with a plurality of volumes.

Accordingly, in the industrial site 500 through validation of the standard flowmeter, it is possible to more accurately calibrate a flowmeter of 100m3/h or less while maintaining a high accuracy level of ±0.1%.

The calculation unit 220 may store a calculation formula for a reference flowmeter comparison calculation as data. The calculation unit 220 compares and calculates the value measured from the measurement facility 210 through a pre-stored calculation formula to determine whether the standard flowmeter is effective in the industrial site.

For example, the calculation unit 220 compares the measured value of the reference flowmeter measured in the fixed standard room by the measuring facility 210 and the measured value of the reference flowmeter measured at the industrial site through an arithmetic expression to determine validity. there is. This comparison operation structure will be described in detail later.

Hereinafter, the calibration process of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4 .

The calibration method of the present embodiment includes a primary measurement step of detecting the accuracy of a reference flowmeter of a calibration facility in a fixed standard room, a step of moving and arranging a mobile structure equipped with calibration facilities to an industrial site using a vehicle, and an industrial site. Secondary measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the reference flowmeter of the calibration facility while placed in the calibration facility, verification step of verifying the validity of the reference flowmeter at the industrial site from the primary and secondary measurement results, and calibration at the industrial site It may include calibrating the flow meter through a facility.

Accordingly, the flowmeter can be directly calibrated at the industrial site by moving the movable structure equipped with the flowmeter calibration facility from the fixed standard room to the industrial site. In addition, by reliably verifying the effectiveness of the standard flowmeter of the calibration facility provided in the mobile structure, it is possible to implement measurement reliability and effectiveness at the same level as in the fixed standard room without distortion in the field.

The first measurement step can be made in a fixed standard room.

The first measurement step may be performed through, for example, a volumetric flow rate measurement method and a gravimetric flow rate measurement method. Through the first measurement step, the accuracy of the reference flowmeter in the stationary standard room can be confirmed. The volumetric flow rate measurement method may have, for example, a structure in which the volume of fluid supplied to a reference tank having a predetermined volume for a certain period of time is measured, and the flow rate calculated therefrom is compared with the indicated value of the standard flow meter.

The gravimetric flow rate measurement method may have, for example, a structure in which the weight of the fluid supplied to a reference tank having a predetermined volume for a certain period of time is measured, and the flow rate calculated therefrom is compared with the indicated value of the reference flow meter.

Through the primary measurement process, the measured value for the reference flowmeter in the fixed standard room can be obtained.

When the primary measurement is completed, the mobile structure equipped with calibration equipment is moved to the industrial site using a vehicle.

During the moving process, the vibration energy applied to the calibration equipment can be blocked by the vibration attenuator provided in the moving structure, thereby minimizing the influence of vibration.

The mobile structure moved to the industrial site may be fixedly installed in an appropriate location.

When the mobile structure is installed at the industrial site, a secondary measurement is performed.

The secondary measurement step may be performed through, for example, a volumetric flow rate measurement method and a gravimetric flow rate measurement method, in the same manner as the primary measurement. The measuring instrument used for the second measurement is the same as for the first measurement.

Through the secondary measurement process, the measurement value for the standard flowmeter at the industrial site can be obtained.

In this way, if the measured values for the standard flowmeter in the fixed standard room and the measured values for the standard flowmeter in the industrial field are obtained, the validity of the standard flowmeter in the industrial field can be determined from the primary and secondary measured values. can be verified

In this embodiment, the effectiveness of the reference flow meter can be determined through Equation (1) below.

Equation (1)

En: validity evaluation value

X: measured value in a fixed standard room

x: measured value at industrial sites

U _lab : measurement uncertainty in industrial settings (k=2)

U _ref : Uncertainty of measurement in a fixed standard room (k=2)

X means the measured value in the fixed standard room for the reference flowmeter, that is, the primary measured value. x means the measured value at the industrial site for the standard flowmeter, that is, the secondary measured value.

The En value can be calculated through Equation (1) above. In this embodiment, when the absolute value of the calculated En value is less than 1, the effectiveness of the standard flowmeter may be judged to be suitable.

When the validity of the standard flowmeter is verified, the flowmeter is calibrated through the calibration equipment provided in the mobile structure right at the industrial site.

If the absolute value of En is greater than 1, the effectiveness of the standard flowmeter in the industrial field is unreliable, and the cause can be identified and recalibration can be performed.

In this way, the present embodiment verifies the validity of the reference flowmeter, so that the flowmeter can be calibrated with the same reliability as the fixed standard room in the industrial field.

In addition, the calibration method of the present embodiment includes the step of moving the movable structure to the fixed standard room using a vehicle at the industrial site and returning it, the third measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the reference flowmeter of the calibration facility in the fixed standard room, and the third measurement. A revalidation step of confirming the validity of the reference flow meter based on the result may be further included.

When the calibration work for the flowmeter is completed at the industrial site, the mobile structure can be transported using a vehicle and returned to the fixed standard room.

With the mobile structure returned to the stationary standard room, a third measurement is made for the reference flowmeter.

The tertiary measurement may be performed through, for example, a volumetric flow rate measurement method and a gravimetric flow rate measurement method in the same manner as the first measurement. The measuring instrument used for the 3rd measurement is the same as for the 1st measurement.

Through the tertiary measurement process, a measurement value for a reference flowmeter that has been calibrated for a flowmeter at an industrial site and returned to a fixed standard room can be obtained.

When the tertiary measured value for the reference flowmeter in the fixed standard room is obtained, the validity of the reference flowmeter can be reconfirmed by comparing and calculating the tertiary measured value with the first measured value and/or the second measured value.

In this embodiment, reverification of the reference flowmeter can also be performed by comparing with the first measured value or the second measured value through Equation (1) above.

In Equation (1), X means the measured value in the fixed standard room for the reference flowmeter in the returned state, that is, the third measured value. x means a primary measurement value or a secondary measurement value.

The En value can be calculated through Equation (1) above. In this embodiment, if the absolute value of the calculated value of En is less than 1, the effectiveness of the standard flowmeter may be determined as still suitable.

In this way, by confirming the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter through the measurement results taken in the third order, it is possible to maintain the reliability of the measurement results in the industrial field.

If the absolute value of the En value for the tertiary measured value is 1 or more, it can be determined that the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter has fallen at some point in the process of calibrating the flowmeter in the industrial field. Accordingly, it is possible to respond effectively by reviewing the inspection results at the corresponding industrial site.

In this way, the present embodiment can further increase the reliability of the flowmeter calibration work by re-verifying the validity of the reference flowmeter after completion of the flowmeter calibration work at the industrial site.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described as described above, various modifications and other embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art. All of these modifications and other embodiments are considered and included in the appended claims without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

100: mobile structure 110: frame
120: bottom surface 130: vibration damping unit
140: solar panel 200: calibration equipment
210: measuring facility 212: reference tank
214: connector 220: calculation unit
300: vehicle 400: fixed standard room
500: industrial site

Claims (6)

A movable structure that is moved and arranged to an industrial site by means of transportation including a vehicle and directly calibrate the flowmeter at the industrial site, and a calibration facility provided in the movable structure to calibrate the flowmeter,
The calibration facility is provided with a reference flowmeter for calibrating flowmeters in industrial sites,
The calibration facility further includes a measurement facility for validating the reference flowmeter and a calculation unit for determining validity by calculating a value measured from the measurement facility. According to claim 1,
The measuring facility includes a volumetric flowmeter measuring device and a gravimetric flowmeter measuring device, and has a structure for checking the effectiveness of the reference flowmeter at the industrial site through volumetric flow rate measurement and gravimetric flow rate measurement. According to claim 2,
The calculation unit calculates the validity of the reference flowmeter through Equation (1) below, and the mobile flowmeter calibration device having a structure in which the absolute value of the En value is less than 1 is judged to be suitable.
Equation (1)

x: measured value at industrial sites
X: measured value in a fixed standard room
U _lab : measurement uncertainty in industrial settings (k=2)
U _ref : Uncertainty of measurement in a fixed standard room (k=2) A flowmeter calibration method in which a mobile structure equipped with a flowmeter calibration facility is moved from a fixed standard room to an industrial site, and the flowmeter is calibrated directly at the industrial site with the calibration facility provided in the mobile structure.
The calibration method includes a first measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the reference flowmeter of the calibration facility in a fixed standard room;
Moving and arranging a movable structure equipped with correction equipment to an industrial site using a vehicle;
A secondary measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the reference flowmeter of the calibration facility in a state deployed at the industrial site;
A verification step of verifying the validity of the standard flowmeter in the industrial field from the primary measurement result and the secondary measurement result, and
Stages of calibrating flowmeters through calibration facilities in industrial sites
Flowmeter calibration method comprising a. According to claim 4,
After completing the calibration of the flowmeter at the industrial site, the moving structure is moved to the fixed standard room using a vehicle at the industrial site and returned, the 3rd measurement step of detecting the accuracy of the standard flowmeter of the calibration facility in the fixed standard room, and the 3rd measurement A flow meter calibration method further comprising a revalidation step of confirming the validity of the reference flow meter from the result. According to claim 4 or 5,
In the verification step, the validity of the reference flowmeter is calculated through Equation (1) below, and when the absolute value of En is less than 1, the flowmeter calibration method determines that it is suitable.
Equation (1)

x: measured value at industrial sites
X: measured value in a fixed standard room
U _lab : measurement uncertainty in industrial settings (k=2)
U _ref : Uncertainty of measurement in a fixed standard room (k=2)

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