Method of determining the quality of steam for stimulating hydrocarbon production
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the mass flow rate and the quality of pressurized steam flowing through a conduit which comprisesa choke member in said conduit having a flow passage of a diameter to constrict the flow of steam in the conduit to critical flow,an orifice plate in said conduit positioned upstream of said choke member to define an intermediate passage, and having an orifice diameter therethrough,means for measuring the pressure differential across said orifice plate,means for measuring the steam pressure in said intermediate passage, andmeans for determining the mean flow rate and the quality of the steam in said conduit in accordance with said pressure differential across the orifice plate and the pressure in said intermediate passage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The use of an orifice plate in series with a critical flow choke provides a method of measurement for both steam quality and mass flowrate. Neither the orifice plate or the choke alone can be used to measure steam quality and mass flowrate. However, an expression for steam quality through both devices is obtained by solving an independent mass flowrate equation for each device--an equation for wet steam through the critical flow choke and an equation for wet steam through a sharp edged orifice plate.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining the mass flow rate and the quality of pressurized steam flowing through a conduit which comprises
a choke member in said conduit having a flow passage of a diameter to constrict the flow of steam in the conduit to critical flow, an orifice plate in said conduit positioned upstream of said choke member to define an intermediate passage, and having an orifice diameter therethrough, means for measuring the pressure differential across said orifice plate, means for measuring the steam pressure in said intermediate passage, and means for determining the mean flow rate and the quality of the steam in said conduit in accordance with said pressure differential across the orifice plate and the pressure in said intermediate passage.
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4. Method for determining the quality and the mass flow rate of pressurized steam moving through a conduit, which conduit includes a choke having a constricted passage of sufficient size to give the pressurized steam critical flow characteristics, which method includes the step of
positioning an orifice plate in said conduit upstream of the choke to define a space therebetween, determining a first pressure value in said conduit in said space between the orifice plate and choke, determining a second pressure value indicative of the differential in pressure across said orifice plate, and computing said mass flow rate and said steam quality as a function of said first and second pressure values.
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5. In the method as defined in claim 6 wherein said computing step is achieved through application of the equation ##EQU10## x is the steam quality and wherein:
- w is mass rate of flow
Co =discharge coefficient of orifice plate d=diameter of orifice plate (inches) c=choke bore diameter (inches) Y=steam vapor expansion factor φ
=differential pressure across the orifice plate (in. of water)D=inside diameter of meter run (inches) P=absolute pressure upstream of choke (psig) x=steam quality upstream of choke.
- w is mass rate of flow
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeTexaco Incorporated (Chevron Corp.)
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Original AssigneeTexaco Incorporated (Chevron Corp.)
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InventorsChien, Sze-Foo, Redus, Clifford L., Sigwardt, Peter L.
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Primary Examiner(s)Goldstein, Herbert
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Application NumberUS07/164,682Time in Patent Office456 DaysField of Search73/29, 73/861.04, 73/195, 73/196, 73/861.61US Class Current73/861.04CPC Class CodesG01F 1/36 the pressure or differentia...G01F 1/40 Details of construction of ...G01F 1/74 Devices for measuring flow ...G01N 25/60 for determining the wetness...
