Numerical Simulation of Flow in Flowrate Measurement Section of Natural Gas Pipelines

The orifice-plate flowmeter and ultrasonic flowmeter are used widely for natural gas flowrate measurement, and the measurement accuracy is affected greatly by flow state. Numerical simulation was used to study the flow of natural gas in the diffusion pipe, and the length of the irregular flow induced by the diffuser or rectifier was computed. Simulation results indicated that the flow in the diffusion pipe was three-dimensional turbulent flow and the steady state flow was restored at 17 pipe-diameters downstream of the diffuser. The rectifiers equipped in the diffusion pipe showed good rectification effect, notwithstanding the induced irregular flow. Downstream the rectifier, the flow became symmetrical and uniform in a shorter length than the case without a rectifier. For the diffusion pipe equipped with plate rectifier, tube rectifier and tube-plate rectifier, the lengths at which uniformly distributed flow was restored were 12, 6 and 5 pipe-diameters downstream the rectifier respectively. On the basis of simulation results, the minimum installation length for flowmeters equipped in the diffusion pipe was determined. This provides a new method for improving natural gas measurement accuracy.