GL Flow Centre Flow Meter Calibration, Instrument Calibration, Valve Testing, Erosion Testing, Flow Testing and Development

The GL Flow Centre provides testing, calibration and qualification services to customers in the oil and gas, offshore and pipeline industries.

The former Bishop Auckland test facility has gained an international reputation for technical expertise, quality of service and in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the flow measurement and control industry. Their range of services include:

Flow meter calibration

With a particular emphasis on calibrating at or near the operating pressure and with the actual working fluid, the GL Flow Centre can undertake natural gas flow meter calibrations throughout the year on whole metering packages.

Ultrasonic, turbine and venturi flow meters are calibrated to satisfy the customer’s need to reduce the uncertainty in flow measurement. This service is undertaken for the oil and gas, offshore and pipeline industries

The UKAS accredited calibrations cover flow meters from 2in (50mm) to 24in (600mm), although larger flow meters can also be accommodated. In undertaking the work the GL Flow Centre ensures industry standards are complied with.

Instrument calibration

The UKAS accredited instrumentation laboratory primarily calibrates temperature, pressure and differential pressure instrumentation.

Recent improvements now allow GL Flow Centre to specialise in gas dead weight testers, absolute pressure, negative gauge pressure and resistance.

Pressures of up to 400bar can be accommodated and the GFC provides some of the lowest uncertainty measurements in the world.

Valve testing

The GL Flow Centre sub surface slam shut safety valve (SSSV) test facility is used by many operators and manufacturers. They use the facility to assess the performance of a wide range of these safety critical devices.

The facility can test valves under realistic conditions and can achieve flow velocities of over 120m/s.

Erosion testing

The GL Flow Centre erosion testing facility is used for undertaking tests on components and equipment over a range of controlled operating conditions.

The flow through facility utilises sand injection into the high-pressure gas. This ensures a much more accurate assessment of erosion compared to using re-circulation systems.

Sand can be injected into the gas flow at rates of up to 100kg/hr enabling accelerated testing to be undertaken. The facility has undertaken a wide range of qualification testing on valves for many offshore and onshore operators and manufacturers.

Flow testing

The large facility enables a wide range of other flow testing to be undertaken. These include inspection pig blow over testing and, valve leakage assessments. This process can be used to ascertain pressure drop measurements in pipelines.

Accurate assessment of the pressure drop in pipelines can save operators money by optimising pipe diameters and compressor requirements. Experimental work at the GL Flow Centre has led to substantial cost savings for a number of offshore operators.

Development

The GL Flow Centre also works with meter manufacturers to undertake development and type approval testing. The large facility and the ensured confidentiality of the work are an attractive proposition for manufacturers.

As an ISO 17025 UKAS accredited calibration facility (Lab: 0555) the GL Flow Centre ensures the trace ability and quality of its measurements.

The GL Flow Centre

The strategic position of the GL Flow Centre provides a wide range of pressures (up to 60bar) and flow rates (up to 30mscmd) throughout the year. Extensive pipe work arrangements can be accommodated in the 90m-long test area. Full size components such as meters, regulators, valves and filters can be calibrated and tested under realistic operating conditions.

Of increasing importance to operators is the ability of the GL Flow Centre to undertake qualification testing of components such as valves, using realistic operating conditions.

Modelling and small scale testing can play their part but experience has shown that ultimately full scale testing provides the greatest confidence.

In addition to flow calibration, the GL Flow Centre also offers UKAS accredited calibration of pressure and temperature instruments.