welcome to
Ultrasonic Working Group
Last February I was the chairman of an Ultrasonic Workshop in Houston that was attended by a number of major ultrasonic flowmeter suppliers and end-users. The purpose of the workshop was to bring end-users together with suppliers to discuss matters of common interest. Many of the main
ultrasonic flowmeter suppliers were there..
At
the Ultrasonic Workshop, I suggested the formation of a
working group on ultrasonic flowmeters. The purpose of the working
group would be to serve as a bridge between suppliers and
end-users, to reach consensus on critical issues that are of
concern to end-users, to spearhead standards-related activity, and
to serve as a vehicle to move research ahead in critical areas.
Flow
Research would like to now move ahead with the formation of
an Ultrasonic Working Group. The purposes of this group would be
as follows:
1.
To gather information about the use of ultrasonic flowmeters
and make it available to members.
2.
To work with standards organizations to gain approval for the
use of ultrasonic meters for custody transfer and billing
applications where this approval has not already been given.
In some cases, existing standards may need to be updated.
3.
To make information available to end-users about the
applications that ultrasonic flowmeters are suited
for.
4.
To publicize success stories about ultrasonic flowmeters for
both liquid and gas applications.
5.
To facilitate research into the creation of more
accurate, stable, and better ultrasonic flowmeters, within the
competitive limits of different manufacturers.
6.
To serve as a clearinghouse for information about ultrasonic
flowmeters for end-users.
I
envision that this Group would be composed of representatives
of the ultrasonic suppliers and end-users. I believe it
would make sense to have two groups: one for gas
flow measurement and one for liquid flow measurement.
The Ultrasonic
Working Group would be sponsored by Flow Research. If funding
is needed, we could perhaps create a system of dues on the
part of members. However, the purpose of the group is not to
make money but to facilitate the use of ultrasonic meters
and increase awareness of ultrasonic. I don't envision that
there would be a lot of cost associated with this group,
especially in the startup phase. Also, the emphasis would be
on communication by email and phone, so that people don't have
to take time to go to meetings.
It was
clear from the discussion at the Ultrasonic Workshop in
Houston that there are a number of outstanding issues relating
to the use and application of ultrasonic flowmeters. These
include issues relating to calibration, standards,
commissioning, etc. There are some issues on which there is no
clear industry consensus, like what the acceptable standards
are for calibration, etc. The Ultrasonic Working Group could
potentially provide a vehicle for addressing some of these
issues, and, hopefully, reaching a consensus that could then
be used on an industry-wide basis. This could end up saving
some companies a lot of money, and reduce or eliminate the
confusion that currently surrounds those issues.
The only
negative I heard at the meeting was "Who needs another
organization or committee? We already have enough of
them." But there is currently no organization or
committee whose job it is to address these issues. If they are
not addressed, we could have another Workshop in a year from
now and we would essentially be going over the same ground
again.
I
would like to hear what you think of this idea, and hope
you would be interested in joining the Ultrasonic Working
Group. Please send me any
comments to jesse@flowresearch.com. For
more information on Flow Research, please visit www.flowresearch.com.
Jesse Yoder
Flow Research, Inc.
27 Water Street
Wakefield, MA 01880
(781) 245-3200
(781) 224-7552 (fax)
jesse@flowresearch.com
www.flowresearch.com