Q.Sonic®plus

Description:

Applications

• Custody transfer measurement of natural gas
• Gas exploration, transmission and distribution

Brief information

The ultrasonic gas flow meter Q.Sonicplus is a six-path meter covered by an ‘enhanced’ Elster-Instromet patent, with extended functionality, bringing about new benefits for the end user, along with greater processing power that yields a lower measurement uncertainty.

The patented path configuration – a fully symmetrical layout of four swirl paths with double reflection and two single reflection paths – enables the measurement of both swirl and asymmetry, resulting in hitherto unequalled profile recognition and diagnostic possibilities.

Another innovation of the Q.Sonicplus is that it can be equipped with an internal pressure and temperature measurement function. This means that the device measures both the gas pressure and temperature of the measuring tube. On the one hand, these measurements allow for a more accurate calculation of the Reynolds number for the flow profile analysis and on the other, they can be used to correct the meter body diameter and path geometry. This is useful if the process conditions differ massively from the conditions during the calibration process since both high pressure and high temperatures result in an increase in the tube cross-section and a change in path lengths and angles.

The electronics unit is a completely redeveloped modular hardware and software platform, which will be used in many Elster-Instromet devices in the future. It also provides sufficient computing power reserve to meet future requirements. The real-time operating system used in the device, INTEGRITY from Green Hills Software, is regarded as one of the most secure and reliable systems in the world.

The electronics are located in a flame-proof housing (Ex d) with a separate connection compartment for field wiring. Thanks to its modular hardware design with a free slot, the device is also prepared to tackle future requirements. For user operation the system is equipped with a graphical user interface with touch screen functionality.

The Q.Sonicplus is supplied with SonicExplorer, an all-new PC software package for configuration, diagnostics and health care.

One of the unique features of SonicExplorer is the “Create Customer Service Pack” function. SonicExplorer collects a short log of the entire state of the ultrasonic flow meter including the device configuration, a present diagnostic snapshot, a pass/fail report, all diagnostic values as well as analyses of all acoustic signals and the noise spectrum. This information is sent to the Elster-Instromet support team for detailed investigation so that the on-site service engineer can be given efficient support.

Options

• VDSL range extender for high-speed communication (TCP/IP)
• Pressure sensor (retrofit)
• Retraction tool for transducer exchange ‘under pressure’