CLAMP-ON flowmeters are to be independently evaluated by TUV NEL in a joint industry project (JIP) funded by major companies in the oil & gas sector.
The use of non-invasive flow metering (NIFM) techniques potentially offers significant benefits to the oil&gas industry, but there is currently little data available to confirm the claims of accuracy and suitability being made by meter manufacturers.
The TUV NEL-led JIP will address this and companies are being encouraged to become partners in the project. A wide range of non-invasive flow metering technology is being applied in many industry sectors, but it seems that, so far, there has been very little done in terms of independent comparison of the different meters and technologies. There are six key technologies being applied in NIFM that the JIP will examine: ultrasonic, sonar, nucleonic, acoustic emission, pulse echo and tomography.