Application note

Panametrics' technology proves key in supporting
Serbia’s successful flood prevention strategy
Benefits:• No pipe modification• No process interruption• Reliable measurement• Good enough accuracy underchallenging straight run
conditions

Summary
Serbia has been impacted several times in recent years with severe flooding.
In order to prevent flooding damage to some local communities, a project wasinitiated by a water management company. The strategy involved diverting thewater from a nearby river through a ‘flood prevention channel’ using a lake as atemporary buffer/auxiliary relief when required.
The flood prevention channel is used to capture the excess water from the river toavoid flooding.
Critical to the success of the operation was the reliability of the pumps. To ensure
the safety of the operation and ensure the flood prevention channel itself did not
overflow, the customer required an accurate and reliable means of checking
the actual volumetric flow of the pumps against their nominal height value, ie:centrifugal pump curve which is the head (or pressure) from the pump discharge
versus its volumetric flow rate.
At the same time the customer also had to monitor the water transfer to properly
control the overall water balance.
The water management company was therefore in the market for ultrasonic flow
meter technology and turned to Panametrics for assistance.

Application
Medium:			rain/surface water
Pipe size and material:

DN800 (32”) Carbon SteelFlow rate:		

2000-5000 l/s (31700-79250 GPM)

Temperature:		

12°C (54°F)

Requested accuracy:<±5% of readingChallenges

Solution

The open channel had three submersible pumps placed in
an intermediate station where the measurement had to beperformed.

Single Traverse 3xAT600.

The space available to install the flow meter was very tight
due to the lack of straight run, so the customer had to makea trade-off between the possible measurement technologies
options and achievable accuracy.
On one side there was a 90° elbow and on the other side agate valve with very little spacing between them (around
500mm (20”) of straight run), equivalent to less than 1D.
Normally 10D upstream/5D downstream of the measurement
point is recommended.

Despite the challenging conditions of less than 1D available
straight length, Panametrics’ clamp-on ultrasonic AT600™
flowmeter was able to determine the pump curves witha deviation of less than 5% compared to the pump’s
theoretical curve.
Three AT600s are now permanently installed for live
monitoring of the water transferred between the river/channel/lake. The customer is benefiting from an accurate
and reliable solution, despite the harsh environment, helping
to prevent flooding in Serbia.

Pipe modification was not an option.

Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, provides solutions in the toughest
applications and environments for moisture, oxygen, liquid and gas flowmeasurement.
Experts in flare management, Panametrics technology also reduces flareemissions and optimizes performance.
With a reach that extends across the globe, Panametrics’ criticalmeasurement solutions and flare emissions management are enablingcustomers to drive efficiency and achieve carbon reduction targets acrosscritical industries including: Oil & Gas; Energy; Healthcare; Water andWastewater; Chemical Processing; Food & Beverage and many others.
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BHCS39496		

(12/2023)

panametrics.com