Coriolis Mass Flow Meters

For
Natural Gas Measurement

KARL STAPPERT
Global Business Development Manager – Natural Gas
Emerson Process Management - Micro Motion, Inc.
9906A 43rd St.
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146

Abstract Experiment Station Inc. (CEESI), Southwest

Research Institute (SwRI), and Pigsar (Germany).
Coriolis meters have gained worldwide acceptance
in liquid applications since the early 1980’s with an
installed base of more than 400,000 units. Newer Introduction
designs have increased low-flow sensitivity, lowered
pressure drop, and increased noise immunity Coriolis is one of the fastest growing technologies in
enabling performance characteristics that are similar the Oil and Gas market. Newer designs and
or better than traditional metering technologies. technology developments since the early 1990’s
Coriolis also has attributes that no other fluid have enabled Coriolis to measure gases that are
measurement technology can achieve. Some of extremely light, heavy, dirty, clean, sweet, sour, hot,
these attributes are the meter’s immunity to flow cold, and/or in a partial two phase state. AGA Report
disturbances, fluid compositional change, and it Number 11 specifically concentrates on the
contains no wearing parts. With more than 25,000 measurement of natural gas mixtures within the
meters measuring gas phase fluids around the normal and expanded compositional ranges called
world, many national and international measurement out by AGA Report Number 8, Compressibility
organizations are investigating and writing industry Factors for Natural Gas and Other Hydrocarbon
reports and measurement standards for the Gases.
technology.
The low flow sensitivity of Coriolis meters has been
In December of 2003 the American Gas Association dramatically improved in recent years allowing the
and the American Petroleum Institute co-published technology to easily achieve flow turndowns of 30:1
AGA Report Number 11 and API Manual Petroleum or more at pressures of 300 psi with turndown
Measurement Standards Chapter 14.9, increasing as pressure increases.
Measurement of Natural Gas by Coriolis Meter.
All in all, it can be argued that Coriolis technology
solves more problems and offers even more value
for gas than liquid measurement. This is because
gases are compressible, and with more traditional
gas technologies (orifice, turbine, rotary, and
ultrasonic) process pressure, temperature, and gas
composition must be accurately measured or
controlled, the devices regularly maintained (Orifice
plates, flow tubes, and transmitters checked;
Turbine bearings, flow tubes, transmitters, and gear
oilers checked; rotary gears, particle jamming, and
gear oilers; Ultrasonic flow tubes, flow conditioners,
An overview of theory, selection, installation, and transmitters checked) and adequate gas flow
maintenance, and benefits of Coriolis meters will be testing performed on the technologies that are
presented. Application details will be presented to sensitive to gas density and flow profile. Since
illustrate both the range of natural gas applications, Coriolis measures the flowing mass of fluids its
including production, fuel flow control to gas power accuracy is independent of fluid composition, flow
turbines, master metering, city/industrial gate pulsations and flow profile/swirl. The meter is more
custody transfer, and third-party test data. accurate over a wider range of operating conditions
Laboratories include the Colorado Engineering and is less costly to install and maintain and many
applications and especially in 300 ANSI applications • Measurement locations where high regulator
and higher. or flow controller noise is a concern
• Line sizes 150mm and smaller
Coriolis is a smaller line-size technology: the largest • High turndown requirements (20:1 up to
offering from any vendor for gas applications is a 50:1 is common), eliminating parallel
150mm (6”) pipe diameter. The pressure drop and metering runs of differential head meters or
flow range of a Coriolis meter draws a direct having to change orifice plates.
relationship to the actual flow area through the meter • Dirty or wet gas where maintenance is an
when comparing it to other metering technologies; issue and the “wet” which is liquid
i.e. the flow area trough a turbine meter is area not hydrocarbons are considered highly
displaced by the turbine internals and rotor, the flow valuable.
area of an orifice meter is that of the orifice diameter. • No room for adequate straight-runs (re:
Because of this relationship a Coriolis meter will Turbine, Orifice, and Ultrasonic)
typically be one pipe size smaller than a turbine • Changing gas composition and flowing
meter and several sizes smaller than an orifice while density (Turbine)
having similar pressure drops at flowing pressures in • Critical phase fluids such as Ethylene (C2H4)
the 300 ANSI class and above. Therefore it is typical or Carbon Dioxide (CO2), where fluid density
to see a 150mm (6”) Coriolis meters installed in up in nearly impossible to determine accurately
to 200mm (8”) line sizes. on-line.
• Custody transfer, process control, or system
balances where mass based measurement
provides a lower uncertainty.

Theory of Operation

A Coriolis meter is comprised of two main

components, a sensor (primary element) and a
transmitter (secondary). Coriolis meters infer the gas
mass flow rate by sensing the Coriolis force on a
A 2”meter installed in a typical gas installation vibrating tube or tubes. The conduit consists of one
or more tubes which are vibrated at their resonant
Coriolis meters are very cost competitive with other frequency. Sensing coils located on the inlet and
metering technologies on an installed cost basis, outlet sections of the tube(s) oscillate in proportion
where installed cost includes: to the sinusoidal vibration. During flow the vibrating
tube(s) and gas mass flow couple together due to
- Instrument purchase price the Coriolis force causing a phase shift in the signals
- Instrument laboratory gas calibration produced by the sensing coils. The phase shift,
- Temperature and pressure compensation which is measured by the Coriolis meter transmitter,
- Flow conditioning and meter flow tube is directly proportional to the mass flow rate.
requirements
Drive Coil
and Magnet

- Engineering and Procurement of these Leftt Pickoff Coil

and Magnet Case
Right Pickoff Coil
and Magnet

instruments Flow Tubes RTD

- Labor to install metering equipment Process Connection

Flanges
Process Connection
Flanges

When operating costs are included into the

evaluation of Coriolis compared to traditional
technologies high turndown technologies, Coriolis is
the undisputed fiscally responsible meter choice in Left

the 300 to 900 ANSI class in line sizes of 200 mm

(8”) and below. ∆t

Right

Note that the vibration frequency is proportional to

Application “Sweet Spots” the flowing density of the fluid. For gas applications,
the flowing or “live” density is not used for gas
• Gas delivery locations/Pressure cut measurement, but can be used as an indicator to
locations change in a Coriolis meter’s flow factor.
For a more complete discussion of the Coriolis
theory of operation, please contact the author.

Standards work, approvals, and research

Coriolis meters have long been used for process

control, and a number of worldwide approvals and
reports or recommended practices exist for fiscal
(custody) transfer. These include: Laboratory is Pigsar-Dorsten, with natural gas at 725
psi. Flow rates ranged from 21 to 438 MSCFH (0.5
AGA Report Number 11 to 10.5 MMSCFD). Accuracies were better than +/-
API MPMS 14.9 0.2% over the 20:1 test range.
API MPMS Ch. 5.6
NIST (USA) C.O.C. Installation effects testing performed by Southwest
German PTB Research Institute (SwRI) and sponsored by the
Dutch NMi Gas Research Institute (GRI) in 2002 confirmed bent
tube Coriolis meters to be immune, within the
Numerous other countries, including Canada, China, uncertainty of the SwRI flow lab, to upstream
Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, and Russia installation effects. The test results can be found in
GRI Topical Report GRI-01/0222. Some of the
Dutch weights and measures (NMi) has performed installation effects test data is shown below.
testing and published a statement that the flow
calibration factor established on water transfers
without field calibration to gas phase applications,
within a tolerance determined in their testing relative
to the transferability of a water calibration to a gas
calibration.

In spring of 2001, Measurement Canada granted

type approval to Micro Motion Coriolis meters for use
in fiscal transfer of natural gas.
In 2004 the Colorado Engineering Experiment
Station Inc. (CEESI) performed testing on the
Shown below are two recent calibration curves on 3”
transferability of water calibration data to the
custody transfer meters. These are being used in
measurement of gases under the sponsorship of the
“Industry Gate” applications in Australia and the
Gas Research Institute (GRI). Their findings shown
U.S.A.
below lead CEESI to conclude that “The single fluid
calibration tests show that a water calibration of a
Coriolis mass flow meter can be used for natural gas
applications without loss of accuracy.”
Vibration and fluid pulsation highly dependent on natural gas pressure and the
maximum flow velocity where measurement is lost
During product development, extensive analysis and and/or flow damage occurs to the meter. The two
testing have resulted in meter designs that are major considerations when sizing a Coriolis meter
inherently stable under a wide range of mechanical are:
vibration and fluid pulsation conditions. Although
Coriolis meters are for the most part immune to • Pressure Drop @ Maximum Flow
mechanical vibration and fluid pulsations, they are • Accuracy @ Minimum Flow
sensitive to vibrations or pulsations at the resonant
frequency of the flow tubes. The resonant frequency A Coriolis meter’s minimum flow is dictated by the
of the flow tubes is meter design and fluid density meter’s zero specification and the minimum
dependent. Testing of a Coriolis meter subjected to acceptable accuracy for a particular application. The
mechanical vibrations is show in the graph below. following equation is the most utilized method for
Note that the area of sensitivity is only at the determining the minimum flow rate of a Coriolis
resonant frequency of the meter’s flow tubes. meter.

1 .5
ZeroStabilty
1
MinFlow =
Accuracy
Mass Flow Signal Noise, SCFM

0 .5

0 The maximum flow through a Coriolis meter is

- 0 .5
dictated by allowable pressure drop across the
meter, fluid density, and a set of reference test
-1
conditions often found in the manufacturers
- 1 .5
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
specifications. The equation for calculating the
S h a k e r T a b le F r e q u e n c y , H z maximum allowable flow rate relative to allowable
pressure drop is as follows.
Testing of a Coriolis meter subjected to fluid
pulsations is shown in the following graph. Note that
the area of sensitivity is only at the resonant  ∆PAppGas ρ f 
frequency of the meter’s flow tubes.  Re fGas
QvfRe fGas ρ f AppGas
Effect of flow pulsations on a Micro Motion meter
 ∆P ρ
Re fGas f AppGas 
= QvbAppGas
frequency "swee p" at 2700 kg/h
2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50 ρb
Error (%)

0.00 AppGas
-0.50

-1.00

-1.50

-2.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Frequency (Hz )

In applications where mechanical vibration or fluid

pulsations are present it is recommended that the
manufacturer be consulted to determine the
resonant frequency of the flow tubes at operating
conditions.

Sizing and Selection.

Selection of a Coriolis meter for gas application is Coriolis meters can be installed upstream of a
quite straight forward, but different than traditional pressure regulator, resulting in a smaller and less
technologies. The flow range of a Coriolis meter is expensive primary (sensor) and increased turndown.
determined on the low end by how much error is in A good example of the relationship of line pressure
its weight measurement and on the high end by the to turndown is shown in the chart below, where the
maximum allowable pressure drop across the meter change in turndown with pressure for multiple
up to a maximum velocity limit called out by the meters is graphed.
manufacturer where measurement becomes
unstable, but does not damage the meter. This is
quite different from traditional flow technologies
where the specified minimum and maximum flow is
 Turndown All Meters from .75% up to 15 psid

120
The zero stability value defines the limits within
115
110
105
which the meter zero may drift during operation and
100
95
is constant over the operating range. It may be
T
90
85
80
given as a value in flow rate units, or a percentage
u
r
75
70
of a stated nominal mass flow rate. The zero
65
n
d
60
55
stability value is the limiting factor when establishing
o
w
50
45
meter turndown ratio. The stated zero stability value
n 40
35
30
is achievable when the Coriolis flow meter is
25
20 installed, and re-zeroed at operating conditions.
15
10
5
Because process temperature will affect the meter
0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400
zero stability, the estimated value of the zero
Pressure
stability is usually limited to meters at thermal
equilibrium. The affect of changes in this value is
Coriolis flow meters for gas measurement are typically stated by the manufacturer. In most gas
currently available in line diameters from 2.5mm applications changes in process temperature are
(1/10”) to 150mm (6”) inches. negligible, but to minimize the effect it is
recommended that a Coriolis meter be zeroed at
normal process temperature conditions.
Velocity in the Coriolis Meter

Some Coriolis meters have performance limitations Temperature and Pressure Compensation
at high gas velocities due to noise imposed on the
meter signal. Such signal noise can affect meter Both pressure and temperature affect the meter
accuracy and repeatability. The gas velocity at vibration characteristics, hence the magnitude of the
which signal noise becomes a problem is design sensed Coriolis force. In comparison to zero
(vendor) specific. Seldom is signal noise a concern stability, these effects are small, but should be
when the gas velocity in the meter is below compensated for to achieve optimum meter
approximately 200 ft/sec. Some manufacturer’s can performance.
achieve much higher gas velocities with the use of
advanced signal processing techniques. To define Most meter designs compensate for temperature
the maximum recommended velocity a Mach limit is effect automatically by monitoring the temperature of
usually provided by the meter manufacturer. the flow tube(s).

From the standpoint of a high velocity gas eroding The pressure effect can be continuously monitored
the metal of the flow tubes, high gas velocities are and corrected for using an external pressure
not an issue. The reason for this is that Coriolis transmitter, or by entering a fixed adjustment for the
meters are made of nickel alloy metals. For gas to known average pressure.
erode metals, the metal must oxidize from moisture
in the gas and the high velocity gas then erodes the Some Coriolis meter designs periodically check
oxide layer. This is why erosion on carbon steel pipe meter sensitivity by applying a waveform reference
is of concern for many piping engineers. Carbon force to the tube(s), during field operation, and
steel is susceptible to oxidation from the moisture in compare the system response to that achieved
the gas and therefore is susceptible to erosion from under reference flowing conditions. This system will
high velocity gas. A Coriolis meter’s immunity to high compensate for both pressure and temperature
velocity gas erosion is similar to that of and orifice effects.
plate or sonic nozzle, in that they are made of
stainless steel or other nickel alloys. Errors and compensation methods for pressure and
temperature effects should be stated in the
If abrasive contaminants are present in the gas flow manufacturer’s meter performance specifications
stream, erosion of the wetted meter components and included, if necessary, when establishing meter
may be a concern when the meter is exposed to performance.
high gas velocities. This concern is application
specific and when present filtration is recommended. Installation (Mounting)

Proper mounting of the sensor is required.

Zero Stability Consideration should be given to the support of the
sensor and the alignment of the inlet and outlet barrels of oil at 60 deg F using API volume
piping flanges with the sensor. A spool piece should correction methods.
be used in place of the meter to align pipe-work prior
to welding the Coriolis sensor mating flanges if For gas applications, the meter output can be
piping is constructed in the field. configured for standard or normal volumetric flow
units, such as MMscfd or NM3/hr. Since the
Piping should follow typical industry piping codes. measurement accuracy of fluid density by a Coriolis
Meter performance, specifically zero stability, can be meter is relative to a liquid densitometer’s accuracy,
affected by axial, bending, and torsion stresses. this measurement does not meet the accuracies
When these stresses exist they can be amplified by required for gas measurement. Therefore the on-line
pressure, weight, and thermal expansion effects. density from the meter is not used for flow
Although Coriolis meters are designed to be measurement with gas; rather the relative gravity or
relatively immune to these effects, utilizing properly base density of the gas is entered into a flow
aligned pipe-work and properly designed piping computer as determined from either sampling
supports insures these effects remain minimal when methods, or on-line gas analysis. It should be noted
present. that the gas physical property information (AGA8
Gross Method 1, Gross Method 2, or Detail Method)
It is recommended that users of Coriolis meters and procedural methods required by a Coriolis meter
perform a mounting inspection test before approval are identical to that which is required by volumetric
of a Coriolis metering installation. The inspection meters; i.e. Turbine, Orifice, Rotary, and Ultrasonic.
test consists of unbolting one set of Coriolis meter Coriolis technology uses the following calculations to
flanges along with the piping support fasteners on output a highly accurate standard or normal
either side of the Coriolis meter. If a shift is seen in volumetric output.
the alignment between the unbolted Coriolis meter’s
flange and piping flange, the installation should not Mass (gas)
NCM ( gas ) =
be approved and the metering system fabricator ρ b(Gas )
should be directed to take corrective action.
Mass (gas)
NCM ( gas ) =
Installation (Orientation) Gr(Gas ) x ρ b ( Air )

As a rule the Coriolis sensor should be oriented in

such a way as to minimize the possibility of “settling” ρ b = P b x M r (Gas)
Z b x R x Tb
heavier components in the sensor flow tube(s), such
as condensate, in the vibrating portion of the sensor.
Solids, sediment, plugging, coatings or trapped Where :
NCM = Volume at T b and P b
liquids can affect the meter performance, especially Mass = Weight of gas (Coriolis Output)
when present during zeroing of the meter. ρb = Density at T b and P b
Allowable sensor orientations will depend on the T b = Temperatur e at Base (Standard) Conditions
application and the geometry of the vibrating flow P b = Pressure at Base (Standard) Conditions

tube(s). In gas service the ideal orientation of the Z b = Compressab T b and P b

ility Factor at
G r ( Gas ) = Gravity Real at T b and P b
sensor is with the flow tubes in the upright position. R = Universal Gas Constant
N
M r = ∑ xi M r i

i =1
Standard or Normal Volume
In the accounting of flow volumes with a Coriolis
Coriolis technology measures the mass of fluids meter, flow computers should log flow weighted
(gas, liquid, or slurries) flowing through the primary specific gravity or base density. The purpose for
element. The Coriolis meter also has the ability to doing so allows for simple gas compositional
measure fluid densities comparable to the accuracy recalculation of logged volumes using the following
of a liquid densitometer. Mass flow and density are equations.
separate measurements for a Coriolis meter and
their accuracies are not inter-related. For liquid
applications, the on-line density from the Coriolis Gr (Old )
meter is used to output flowing or actual volume. NCM Gr ( New) = NCM Gr (Old ) *
This is useful for fiscal transfers of liquid petroleum, Gr ( New)
and is often corrected to base conditions, such as
Relative Density Recalculation Method
 of a Coriolis meter due to vibration during the stated
meter lifetime is not of concern, and does not need
ρ b (Old ) to be considered when inspecting a meter.
NCM ρb ( New) = NCM ρb (Old ) * However, operating the meter in more extreme
ρ b ( New) corrosive or erosive applications will shorten the
meter’s expected lifetime.
Base Density Recalculation Method

Secondary Element (Transmitter)

A diagnostic LED(s) and display may be provided to

indicate operating status of the primary and
secondary elements. See the manufacturer’s
documentation for detailed description of secondary
element diagnostic and trouble shooting procedures.

Density Checks

Operation and Maintenance Considerations As of this writing, operating density measured by the
meter should not be used to convert mass flow rate
Other than the vibrating sensor flow tube(s), Coriolis to volume flow rate when measuring gases.
meters have no moving parts, requiring minimal However, it is useful as a diagnostic tool to monitor
maintenance. changes in meter performance, corrosion, erosion,
or change in operating conditions.
There are three common types of field verification
checks, which include meter zero verification, sensor
diagnostic checks, and transmitter diagnostic Checking and Adjusting Meter Zero
checks. Performing these verification procedures will
confirm accurate performance of the Coriolis meter Improper zeroing will result in measurement error.
and when an out of tolerance condition exists where In order to adjust the zero of the meter there must
re-calibration of the sensor maybe required. be no flow through the flow sensor and the sensor
must be filled with gas at process conditions. The
meter zero must be established at process
Meter Zero Stability conditions of temperature, pressure and density.
Even though the stream is not flowing, the flow
Should be checked periodically and reset if it does meter may indicate a small amount of flow, either
not meet the manufacturer’s specifications. positive or negative. Causes for the zero error are
usually related to the differences between the
calibration conditions and the actual installation,
Drift in Zero Reading which include the following:

Product buildup, erosion or corrosion will affect the • Differences between the calibration media
meter performance. Product buildup (coating) may density and the gas density
bias the meter zero. It should be noted that a zero • Differences in temperature
shift will affect a Coriolis meter’s accuracy more at • Differing mounting conditions
low flows than at high flows. This is dictated by the
“MinFlow” equation called out in the previous “Sizing The meter should read a mass flow rate that is less
and Selection” section of this document. If the than the manufacturer’s zero stability specification
buildup is causing a zero drift, cleaning and re- under the no-flow condition.
zeroing the meter should bring performance back to
its original performance specification. If coating of The zeroing of the meter must be performed at
the sensor continues, the zero will continue to drift. nominal operating condition with no flow through the
Although rare, erosion or corrosion will permanently meter. Once it has been confirmed that there is no
affect meter calibration and will compromise sensor flow through the meter, the zeroing procedure
integrity. When used within the specified fluid and specified by the meter manufacturer should be
ambient condition limits, fatigue of the sensing tubes followed.
Application Examples Fuel Control: A major US vendor of gas turbines
designs a high-efficiency, low emissions offering.
Coriolis meters have been used in a wide variety of This design utilizes a trio of Coriolis meters to
applications, from the “wellhead to the burner tip”. measure the natural gas burned in each of three
Coriolis meters are primarily a smaller line size combustion zones (fuel “rails”). The combination of
meter, ideally suited to these “sweet spots”: high turndown, high accuracy, immunity to vibration
in a very high vibration environment, along with ease
• Line sizes 200mm (8”) and smaller of installation due to no straight pipe run
• 300 ANSI through 900 ANSI requirement, makes Coriolis technology a perfect fit.
• High turndown requirements
• Dirty, wet, or sour gas where maintenance
can be an issue with other technologies
• There is no room for long straight-runs
• Changing gas composition and density
• Sudden changes in gas flow velocity (fuel
gas applications)
• Pulsating gas flows (fuel gas and
compression gas in the use of reciprocating
compressors)
• Applications were abnormally high flow rates
can occur.

Coriolis meters can be sized for very low-pressure

Natural Gas Fiscal Transfer: One specific example
drop (100” H2O), but can also be installed upstream
of gas measurement capability is at a natural gas
of the pressure regulator with high pressure drop for
utility in Western Australia. Two 3” meters are used
increased useable turndown without concern of
in parallel with a third used as a “hot spare”.
damage or malfunction due to regulator noise. For
instance, in one application for custody transfer of
The justification for using the Coriolis meters was
nitrogen, a 50-psid drop (1390” H2O) was allowed
based on installed and calibration/maintenance cost
across the Coriolis meter and the pressure regulator
improvements over the more traditional turbine
adjusted accordingly. This allowed the use of a 1”
metering systems. Since Coriolis meters require no
Coriolis meter instead of a 3” meter downstream of
straight runs or flow conditioning the installed costs
the regulator and a 40:1 useable turndown (Better
were reduced by five times, even with the parallel
than 1% accuracy at minimum flow and an average
meters required to handle the highest flows.
0.45% base volume accuracy over 95% of the upper
flow range).
Additionally, periodic maintenance costs were much
reduced due to the intrinsic reliability of Coriolis
meters (i.e. no moving parts). Similarly, reliability
Saudi Aramco Separator gas: Saudi Aramco uses a
improvements had a very positive effect on
number of Coriolis meters on both the liquid and gas
calibration and proving costs.
side of separators. This application is of particular
note because the gas stream is wet, with entrained
Internal checks by the customer have shown
hydrocarbon condensates. Measurement of this
agreement to better than 0.1% on all gas transfers
stream is within a few percent over a wide range of
over a 6 year period.
conditions, greatly enhancing separator operation
and accurately quantifying the value of the
gas/entrained liquid hydrocarbon stream.

Western Australia: Previous installation using turbine

meters for 50:1 turndown
 Proving: The data shown below was taken on
natural gas, but the meter was calibrated (i.e. the
meter factor was established) on water at the
factory. Based on an extensive database of water
vs. gas calibration data, there is no change in
“After” installation since 1996, with two operating calibration between water and gas. In addition, a
and one “hot spare” meter for 80:1 turndown. history of over 400,000 installed meters on liquid
Custody transfer between a utility and cogeneration and gas indicates no change in meter factor over
plant at 0.3 – 24 MMSCFD at 500 psia. time (barring corrosion or erosion issues).

Natural Gas Storage: A storage field in Hungary

utilizes 27 Coriolis meters for the injection and
withdrawal measurement of natural gas. The storage
reservoir consists of a multilayer sandstone
formation with an aquifer flowing through it. Due to
the complexity of managing the water level in a
sandstone formation on the injection and withdrawal
of natural gas, multiple small wells are required. The
withdrawal gas is also fully saturated, contains H2S
and during high flows the wells produce sand. In this
difficult application only Coriolis meters can provide
bidirectional measurement, long-term accuracy, and
achieve the wide turndowns required for reservoir
management. Since proving any gas meter in-situ is difficult, the
stability of Coriolis meters makes them ideal for use
on gas. By utilizing the transferability of water
calibration to gas and the meter stability over time,
an extremely accurate and stable metering system
can be established. The following methodology was
proposed by the Australian utility in the previous
example to establish traceability for high-value gas
transfers:

• Establish the meter factor on water

• Validate the meter factor on gas (i.e. natural
gas at Pigsar)
• Periodically remove the meter from service
and verify the meter factor on water

The graph below shows performance testing on a Although this methodology requires that the meter
Coriolis meter from an identical metering application be removed from service, it defines very accurately
in Redfield, Iowa; where the meter tested was the in-situ performance of the meter. Since steps 1
subjected to saturated gas laden with H2S, sand, & 2 establish the meter traceability between water
and iron sulfide over a 9 year period. The post 9 and gas, verifying water performance in step 3
year data shows the meter is maintaining an automatically validates the meter in-situ (gas)
accuracy of 0.5% or better and still performing within performance and eliminates the high cost of gas
the manufacturers specifications. validations. After some experience, it is likely that
the period to repeat step 3 would be lengthened
DS150S Compressed Air Test, 250 psia, 70°F
S/N 138085, Installed 1991
Natural Gas Cavern Storage (bi-directional use)
from every year to every two or three years.
3

2
A variation of this proving methodology is to use a
1
Coriolis meter as a master meter. By establishing
error, %

-1

-2
the traceability between water and gas
-3
0 50 100 150 200 250
lbs/min

spec spec Air cal (May 2000) Water cal (May 2000) Water cal (Sept 1991)
measurement on the master meter, it can be used to
prove other meters (of any type).
Ethylene gas transfer: Ethylene is commonly viewed
as a difficult to measure gas, due to its highly non-
Energy Metering: Coriolis meters can be an ideal nature. In this application, Coriolis meters are
excellent reality check on energy consumption. used for intra-plant transfers attaining accuracies
unattainable by volumetric meters, helping to meet
Energy per SCF can vary as much as 10 times that both unit mass-balance goals, as well as reactor
of energy per a unit weight for natural gas mixtures. feed rate requirements. Ethylene is fed continuously
If composition varies and an average relative density to a polymerization reactor, where various grades of
and/or heating value is utilized for energy polyethylene (LDPE, etc) are made.
measurement Coriolis can achieve total energy
accuracies unparalleled by volumetric meters
utilizing the same average values. A Coriolis meter
by itself offers a very affordable method of inferring
energy flow rates.

Summary

Although a relatively new technology for natural gas

applications outside of compressed natural gas
(CNG), Coriolis meters have gained worldwide
acceptance for other fluids and in other industries.
With a worldwide installed base of around 400,000
units, Coriolis technology is seeing expanded use for
both liquid petroleum and natural gas. A number of
countries and groups have published standards or
are in the process of studying the technology. Most
notably is AGA and API who have jointly published
AGA Report No. 11 / API MPMS Chapter 14.9,
Measurement of Natural Gas by Coriolis Meter.

Technology limitations of earlier designs have been

largely overcome, with high accuracy measurement
now possible at low-pressure drop, typically 150” wc.
Coriolis “sweet spots” are mainly in lines of 200mm
(8”) and smaller, where high turndown is needed,
Combustion control to boilers: In this application, a flow conditioning with other technologies to meet
Pulp mill in Quebec sought a more reliable way to new AGA requirements is costly, and/or the gas is of
meet EPA emissions requirements. Combustion dirty, sour, or of changing composition. Also, good
control was easier, based on the mass (standard potential exists for “simple” energy metering, using
volume) ratio between the natural gas and the Coriolis meter output directly, scaled for energy
combustion air, over wider turndowns with no flow units.
conditioning.
Coriolis technology merits serious consideration as a
bona fide contender to complement Ultrasonic in low
cost of ownership metering for natural gas
applications. These two technologies overlap in the
100mm (4”) to 200mm (8”) line size range.
 A ½” Coriolis and 12” ultrasonic in a fuel gas
metering installation.
Third-party data from CEESI, Pigsar, SwRI, and
others show little if any effect of flow profile, and
transferability of a factory water calibration to natural
gas measurement applications.

Common Coriolis gas applications range from

wellhead separator, medium to high pressure
distribution metering, and fuel gas to power turbines,
reciprocating engines, and boilers for combustion
control. As users of gas meters investigate Coriolis
they are finding it to be a fiscally responsible choice
for gas measurement in today’s competitive
business environment.