Latest News

NEL to host the Certification Advisory Committee Meeting
NEL is delighted to host the next meeting of the TC 88 CAC (Certification Advisory Committee) Test Laboratory Subgroup. The meeting at NEL’s East Kilbride Offices will be held next week. Delegates will attend from testing organisations around the globe including Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, India, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, USA and Argentina.

The purpose of this meeting is for those test organisations who are offering testing services for the purposes of certification to address any areas of ambiguity in the test standards, and feed back to the various maintenance teams where improvements in future editions of Standards may be made. The meeting will cover many aspects of wind turbine testing including acoustics, power performance, power quality, loads measurement and blade and drive train testing.

This will be the third meeting of the Group and it is hoped the outputs will lead to better international co-operation and a greater awareness of the requirements of testing to ISO 17025 and the levels of accreditation that bodies have for their testing. The CAC main committee next meets in Florida in the US where the decision from the Glasgow meeting will be discussed.
17 May 2012

Improving Confidence in Measurement
Density measurement is a key element of both mass and volume flow measurement in the global oil industry.

There is a growing body of anecdotal evidence that the performance of commonly used oscillatory densitometers can be adversely influenced by installation stress effects, including mechanically induced torsion, bending and shear. These effects, if verified, are potentially of major significance for fiscal and operational metering applications. However there is a lack of openly available objective evidence that these effects are significant enough to merit a thorough and methodical investigation.

Supported by the UK's National Measurement System, NEL is undertaking a feasibility study to establish through simple experimentation whether this issue warrants further comprehensive research. Click here for more details of this work.

This builds on a recent Joint Industry Project investigating the influence of operating conditions on densitometer performance. The most significant finding is that densitometers should be calibrated at their anticipated operating conditions. DECC, the UK regulator, subsequently issued policy guidance proposing that densitometers used in fiscal applications should be calibrated following the procedures identified through the study.

NEL is now offering a service for the calibration of densitometers to this recommended procedure. A number of calibrations have already been performed; errors of between 0.05 and 0.25 per cent have been found with the mean being 0.1 per cent.

With oil at $120/barrel, even for a small field producing only 5,000 barrels/day, this amounts to an annual mis-measurement of over $200,000. For a large field producing 200,000 barrels/day, the mis-measurement is almost $9 million per annum.

Contact us for more details of our densitometer calibration service.
24 April 2012

NEL wins major contract for erosion testing
NEL has been awarded a contract from a major oil & gas operator, to carry out an erosion test programme to support a natural gas project.

NEL will deliver both erosion testing and computer modelling on a series of pipework configurations to assess the performance of subsea pipes in the gas field. Physical testing will be performed on three separate pipework configurations using a variety of sand types. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations will also be used to create a model to predict the erosion effects of the sands. Results from the physical tests will be used to validate the CFD simulations.

As leaders in this field, NEL will combine physical tests with CFD modelling to predict erosion effects of the sand. This contract award is testament to NEL’s pedigree in providing reliable and timely test solutions that lead the industry in helping companies maximise flow assurance.

Click here for further information on our erosion testing and CFD modelling capabilities, or contact us directly.
3 April 2012

Jim Baillie joins NEL's Business Development Team
NEL is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Baillie to the position of Business Development Manager, with particular responsibility for oil and gas. Jim brings with him over 25 years' experience in measurement and instrumentation, and extensive experience of offering client solutions to companies from the oil, gas and energy industries. He has previously worked for various corporations including Emerson and GE.

Jim is looking forward to his new role: "NEL is a world-class organisation with a track record of providing independent measurement and testing, and consultancy services to many clients. I am looking forward to meeting our customers and finding out how we can further assist their business."

"We are delighted to welcome Jim to the company. He will complement the team and with his experience and expertise, he will make a significant contribution to growing our business globally," said Phil Mark, NEL's Director of Sales and Marketing.
26 March 2012

Apache awards NEL contract for calibration
Apache has awarded NEL a contract to carry out its turbine meter calibration programme. The contract will see NEL deliver regular meter calibrations supported by its new online database service. This will provide Apache with immediate access to the meter calibration certificates and will alert them to when re-calibrations are due.

Please contact us for more details of our flow metering calibration service.
23 March 2012

Working to improve the efficiency of wind farms
NEL is currently undertaking research, supported by the UK’s National Measurement System, to examine the downstream factors influencing large wind turbine power performance and mechanical fatigue. A key benefit will be an improved level of understanding of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, including the influence of the tree canopy combined with actual wind flow measurement.

Measurement of wind speed and direction from anemometers with traceable calibration and a state-of-the-art Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system sited at the National Wind Energy Metrology Centre at Myres Hill, will be used to validate the CFD model. A novel technique to measure blade tip deflection will add to the understanding of the mechanical stresses on the turbine drive mechanism. The knowledge and experience gained through this research will advance understanding and provide traceability of wind data measurement and determine the uncertainties arising from the use of Lidar instruments. Benefits to be achieved will include an improved understanding of the optimal spacing of wind farm turbines to increase energy yield per unit of real estate, and methods to minimise mechanical stresses without compromising power generation.

Please contact us for further information regarding our work to improve the efficiency of wind farms.
9 February 2012

Proven P35-2 Small Wind Turbine- MCS Certification: Update
NEL can announce that following an extensive investigation of the Proven P35-2 wind turbine shaft failure, undertaken by the Energy Technology Centre, that a way forward has been agreed that allows the MCS Certification suspension to be lifted with effect Tuesday 7 February 2012.

The details of the remedial actions required before the P35-2s can be installed/ be taken off brake will be available from:
VG Energy, Waterside Farm, Glasgow Road, Galston, KA4 8PB. Tel: 01563 829990.

It is suggested that all owners make direct contact with VG Energy who will advise on the arrangements for these remedial actions .
Update 9 February 2012

Investing in the Future of Multiphase
Oil is extracted in the form of a multiphase fluid which includes water and gas but accurately measuring a mixture of oil, water and gas in field conditions is a major challenge. Over the past 20-30 years, the use of multiphase flow meters has become more popular as they are less expensive to purchase and operate, compared with test separators.

Multiphase meters are now reasonably well-accepted for allocation and reservoir control purposes when installed on surface wellheads. However, the use of multiphase meters subsea is a more challenging proposition as subsea operations require higher pressures.

A programme of work, supported by the UK’s National Measurement System, will upgrade the multiphase flow measurement facility at NEL to allow higher operating pressures and expand the high-pressure testing capability. Multiphase technologies can then be tested in conditions closer to those found in the field, opening the door to the development of marginal assets and promoting more efficient exploitation of larger fields.
For further information please contact us.
15 Dec 2011

Small Wind Turbine Standards
The UK’s ambitious climate change agenda will only be achieved with a focus on well engineered, efficient, renewable energy technologies. Wind turbine technologies are a key element of this strategy and improved metrology underpins technology developments.

NEL continues to be active in its support to the development of national and international standards in the wind energy sector.

Alistair Mackinnon, NEL’s Wind Energy Manager, attended the final meeting of an IEC Standards Committee in Ningbo, China earlier this month. The meeting (Technical Committee 88 – Maintenance Team 2 - design of small wind turbines) was combined with IEA Task 27 (small wind turbine labelling and the setting up of Small Wind Association of Testers).

The purpose of this final IEC meeting was to agree the text for a new edition of a draft standard (Committee Draft for Voting Edition 3). This new edition, amongst other issues, revisits the simplified load models of the previous edition and provides guidance on more complex wind regimes including those experienced in Asia where typhoons are prevalent.

The main changes between Edition 2 and this new Edition 3 are highlighted below:

Now restructured into two parts – design evaluation and testing which harmonises with IEC 61400-22 (conformity testing and certification)
Caution on the use of simplified loads – none for VAWTs but an Annex on ‘other wind conditions’
Annex on tropical storms
Annex on extreme environmental conditions
Annex on EMC testing
Annex on dynamic behaviour
Annex on standardised consumer label
Changes to duration testing requirements

In addition, work on the new UK Medium Wind Standard is nearing completion with a final draft being presented to the RenewableUK Board early in December 2011.
For further information please contact us.
22 Nov 2011

Working to improve the efficiency of wind farms
Many factors can be optimised to improve wind turbine performance and maximise yield of a wind farm. One of these factors is the characterisation of the flow regime in the wake of a turbine rotor which is seen as one way to increase energy yield by optimum spacing of turbines.
NEL is currently undertaking research, supported by the UK’s National Measurement System, to examine the issue and to help improve the power performance and fatigue lifetime of large wind turbines.
The projects will use Lidar (Light detection and ranging), a remote sensing technology, to measure the wind field, both upstream and in the wake of a large MW sized wind turbine. Measurements gathered in the wake will be used to validate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models designed to determine the required spacing of wind turbines for both wind farm installations and test purposes.
The combination of LIDAR with CFD in wind flow metrology is novel and will lead to a more of complete understanding of the flow regime in the wake of a turbine rotor. The knowledge and experience which will be gained through this research will advance methodology of the technique, and will help to provide traceability on wind data measurements and determine the uncertainties arising from the use of Lidar instruments.
Following completion of the projects, wind farm developers should have a greater insight into optimal spacing of wind turbines in order to ultimately increase efficiency and profitability of wind farms. To find out more please contact us.
20 Oct 2011

Save the Date!
NEL announces a major two-day energy and low carbon technology conference, "Measurement Makes Business Sense", taking place 18-19 September 2012 in London. The event is being organised in conjunction with technical partners including NMS, BMTA, EI, GAMBICA, IET, InstMC, IMechE and IOP. To find out more about participating in this key event, please click here.

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