Flow Equipment Testing

Flow measurement devices. Oil and gas flow measurement, water flow measurement. UKAS accredited laboratory. Our comprehensive flow equipment test facilities operate with water, gas, oils and combinations of all three fluids. They are used by a wide range of industries.

Our accredited UKAS facilities are able to test flow equipment in a wide range of operating conditions which they may encounter during service.

As a UKAS accredited laboratory, our meter calibration instrumentation ensures the highest levels of accuracy - which can result in significant economic and process improvements for our clients.

We have:

Gas flow test and measurement facilities
Multiphase test and measurement facilities
Wet gas test and measurement facilities
Oil flow test and measurement facilities
Water flow test and measurement facilities
Heavy oil flow test and measurement facilities
Cryogenic test facilities
Complex fluids test facility

Our UKAS accredited laboratories are widely recognised as one of the foremost of their kind in the world. They are particularly highly regarded by the global oil and gas industry where measurement issues are particularly challenging.

Flow meters with flow measurement devices such as: pumps, valves, actuators and other pieces of flow equipment can be installed in our extensive flow measurement facilities for test and development.

Our flow measurement facilities are operated by highly skilled operators, supported at all stages by technical experts to ensure that our clients receive the best possible service.

Product Integrity testing services
Within the world's known oil and gas reserves, 70% is classed as unconventional. This means that traditional oil & gas exploration equipment faces new challenges when locating and transporting the hydrocarbon fluids. Higher temperatures, higher pressures, coupled with a complex mixture of fluids within the pipeline, mean that traditional flow products such as valves, separators, meters, and instrumentation all need to be rigorously tested to ensure that they meet or exceed operational requirements. This will help ensure safety is met and production targets can be maintained thus avoiding costly breakdown/shutdown time.

NEL has been testing a wide variety of products for many years. Utilising the latest investigative tools, such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and backed up by the National Flow Measurement facilities, manufacturers and users can benefit from guidance on the expected performance of the products they have, or intend to purchase.

Key facts such as flow patterns, flow coefficients (Cv) and cavitation (Fl) problems, can be highlighted during the intensive testing programmes. Complex fields can contain aggressive substances such as sand. NEL can test wet or dry sand mixtures indicating potential weaknesses within a product and giving a strong indication of life expectancy of a particular component.

Cryogenic Test Facilities
The cryogenic flow test facility is a purpose built research and test facility designed to test the capability of instruments in the challenging conditions experienced in cryogenic fluids.

High value cryogenic fluids like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are presently used in various industries in the UK. In most of these industries measurement of the quantity of cryogenic fluid stored, distributed or consumed is an essential part of their use.

The growth of the LNG and cryogenic fuel industries has led to new challenges associated with measurement at cryogenic temperatures. Previous research at NEL has shown that the benefits of moving from volume measurement to inline flow measurement are being restricted by the lack of cryogenic flow facilities. This new cryogenic facility uses liquid nitrogen to test instruments under the challenging conditions experienced at such low temperatures.

Services offered include

Durability, repeatability and reproducibility tests at cryogenic conditions
Research and development work in cryogenic fluids
Installation effects testing
Evaluation of insulation effects
Flow control valve characterisation

Please contact us for further information.

Complex Fluids Test Facility
The complex fluids test facility is a purpose-built flow meter calibration and research facility. The facility will be used to test and evaluate flowmeters and other measurement instruments in the challenging conditions posed by complex fluids, including non-Newtonian fluids and high viscosity oils.

Non-Newtonian fluids are a very common type of fluid used in a wide variety of industries including food, chemical, personal care and oil industries. Flow meters used in non-Newtonian applications are generally calibrated in Newtonian fluids such as water. Research has shown however, that the performance of flow meters can be adversely affected by the non-Newtonian behaviour of the fluid.

The new facility at NEL will have the capability of performing traceable calibrations and research in fluids with similar rheological properties to industrial non-Newtonian fluids. The result of this will be reduced calibration uncertainty leading to improved accuracy of measurement of non-Newtonian fluids in industry.

Complex Fluids Services include:

Flow meter calibrations in non-Newtonian shear thinning polymer solutions and high viscosity oils
Research and development work in complex fluids
Installation effects testing
Evaluation of temperature effects
Evaluation of ΔP through meter/components
Offline rheological characterisation
Flow control valve characterisation

Please contact us for further information regarding our UKAS Accredited Laboratory facilities, compex fluids services and the testing of flow measurement devices.