Measurement of cooling water for power plants
ultrasonic transit-time flowmeter
deltawave
Measurement of cooling water in partially filled pipes
This modern power plant generates 800 million kilowatt hours of electricity. Blast furnace gas is used as primary energy. The necessary cooling water is being taken out of a river via two pipes (diameter 1.60m) and is subject to charge. Therefore, the main demand on the flowmeter is high measurement accuracy and a standardized measurement method. At this measurement site, deltawave replaced the former used magnetic inductive flowmeters.
Case story: Balancing of cooling water for 2 DN1600 pipes
Two DN1600 pipes feed the power plant with ca. 15000 m3 cooling water per hour.
Both measurement sites are located in block 4 which generates electricity for public mains supply. 8 paths (4 paths crossed) are used with each site because of the short inlet ways (app. 5xD). Each measurement site is equipped with 4 ultrasonic paths in two measurement levels (“crossed installation”) in order to reduce effects of transverse flow components.
Uninterruptible mounting and maintenance-free operation
The transducers are inserted into the pipe via welding studs. Advantage: Due to a hot tap ball valve system transducers can be removed during normal operation conditions. A great plus for your process reliability and operational costs. The flow-measurement is completed by a dp-based level measurement in order to monitor the case of a partially filled pipe.
Standardized measurement method
This arrangement is according to the recommendations of the IEC41 and the ASME PTC 18. A measurement accuracy of 0.5% of reading can be guaranteed by this arrangement in case of a filled pipe. The ISO6416 is valid for the flow calculation in case of partially filled pipes. An accuracy up to 1% of reading is possible depending on the number of surcharged paths.
The result: Reduce the uncertainty of your water fee by about 100,000€ per year
The plant pays about 2.5 millions of Euros each year for their cooling water. Reducing the uncertainty of the flow measurement from formerly 5% (with the magmeters) to deltawave’s brilliant 0.5% means also reducing the billing uncertainty from 125,000€ (5%) to 12,500€ (0.5%).
Measurement parameters
- Flume type: 2xDN1600 (filled / partially filled)
- Medium: Cooling water (river water)
- Number of paths: 2×4 (crossed installation) for each site
- Transducer type: 1 MHz
- Transducer mounting: Quick-lock (ball-valve) for uninterruptible installation
- Level-metering: Differential pressure transmitter
- Typical flow: 15000 m3/h
