Water content monitor apparatus

Abstract: A petroleum stream microwave water content monitor comprises a test cell (53) which receives the flow and a reference fluid, first and second antennas (63,65,67,70) for irradiating and receiving microwave energy through the fluid in the cell, a detector (22) to detect the received microwave intensity, means (5,34) to determine the phase difference between the irradiating and the received microwave energy, means (40) to provide a water percentage signal in accordance with the intensity and the phase difference, the test cell (53) having fluid passage channels (136,140,142) and microwave energy channels (130,132), and temperature control means (105) to circulate fluid through one of the test cell channels (142) to tend to maintain the test cell at a predetermined temperature.

Description: The present invention relates to water cut monitors in general and, more particularly, to microwave water cut monitors. A device as claimed in claim 1 but without the means to control the temperature of the sample is disclosed in EP-A-384 593. DE-A-39 02 755 discloses the use of a flow cell for optical absorption measurements of samples, which are solid or highly viscous at room temperature and particularly for the determination of oleochemical numbers like acid number or iodine number. The cell body comprises a fluid passage for the sample fluid, a chamber for the reference fluid and fluid passage for a hot fluid of 85°C, which is fed through the cell in order to avoid contamination of the walls of the sample fluid passage by heating these. An article of J. Kalinski in MIKROWELLENMAGAZIN (no.6, 1978, p.441-452) discloses various features useful in the determination of water content, for example in a mixture of dielectric fluids and water. Disclosed are an appropriate flow cell, the technique of detection of attenuation and phase shift and generally means for preparing a sample such that it has the appropriate physical properties, such as density, homogeneity, granulation, thickness or temperature etc.. A petroleum stream microwave water cut monitor includes test cell means which contains a reference petroleum multiphase fluid sample and which has a sample stream of a petroleum stream passing through it. The test cell is maintained at a predetermined temperature. A source provides microwave energy to one of a first pair antennae which provides the petroleum stream flowing in the test cell or the reference sample in the test cell with microwave energy. One of a second pair of antennae receives the microwave energy that has passed through either the petroleum stream or the reference sample. A detector detects the received microwave energy and provides a signal corresponding thereto. An indicator provides an indication of the water cut of the petroleum stream in accordance with the received signal power and a phase difference between the source provided microwave energy and the received microwave energy. The objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawing wherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention. Figure 1 is a partial simplified block diagram and a partial schematic of a microwave water cut monitor constructed in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a simplified block diagram of the test apparatus shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a drawing of the test cell shown in Figure 2. Figures 4 and 5 are cross-sectional drawings of the test cell shown in Figure 3. The water cut monitor shown in Figure 1 includes a microwave transmitter 3 providing electromagnetic energy, hereinafter referred to as microwave energy, at a microwave frequency. Transmitter 3 is low powered and may use a microwave gun source. Transmitter 3 provides microwave energy to directional coupler 4. Directional coupler 4 provides microwave energy to a conventional type voltage controlled phase shifter 5 and to test apparatus 8. All conductance or carrying of microwave energy is accomplished by using conventional type waveguides and coaxial cables. Test apparatus 8 has a line 10, carrying a sample stream of a multi-phase petroleum stream, entering apparatus 8. The sample stream leaves test apparatus 8 by way of a line 11. Apparatus 8 will be described in more detail hereinafter. Suffice to say at this point that microwave energy leaving test apparatus 8 hereinafter referred to as test microwave energy, is microwave energy that is either passed through the sample stream or has passed through a reference sample. The test microwave energy is applied to a directional coupler 18. Directional coupler 18 provides the test microwave energy to a detector 22 and to a mixer 28. Detector 22 provides a signal E1 corresponding to the power of the microwave energy received by the receiving antenna in apparatus 8. Voltage control phase shifter 5 provides microwave energy, hereinafter called the reference microwave energy, to mixer 28 which mixes the reference microwave energy and the test microwave energy to provide two electrical signals E2, E3, representative of the phases of the reference microwave energy and the test microwave energy, respectively. A differential amplifier 30 provides an output signal E0 in accordance with the difference between signals E2 and E3. Signal E0 is a function of the phase difference between the reference microwave energy and the test microwave energy and is provided to a feedback network 34. Feedback network 34 provides a signal C to voltage control phase shifter 5, controlling the phase of the reference microwave energy, and to a mini-computer means 40. Signal E0, and hence signal C, decreases in amplitude until there is substantially 90° phase difference between the reference microwave energy and the test microwave energy. Voltage control phase shifter 5 indicates the amount of phase shift required to eliminate the phase difference. Signals E1, T and C are provided to a conventional type mini-computer means 40 which contains within it memory means having data related to phase and power for various percentages of water cuts that could be encountered in the production stream. Phase Shifter 5 also provides an enable signal to computer means 40 allowing computer means 40 to utilize signals T, C and E1 as address signals to select the proper water cut value. Computer means 40 provides signals, corresponding to the selected water cut value, to readout means 44 which may be either display means or record means or a combination of the two. With reference to Figures 1 and 2, test apparatus 8 includes a test cell 53. Test cell 53 will be described more fully hereinafter. Microwave energy from directional coupler 4 enters switch means 58 which provides microwave to test cell 53 through either a line 62 or a line 64. Line 62 provides the microwave to an antenna 63 which radiates the microwave energy into the sample stream. Similarly, when microwave energy is provided by line 64, it is provided to an antenna 65. Antenna 65 radiates the microwave energy into the reference sample. Line 66 carries test microwave energy received by an antenna 67 after it has passed through the sample stream. Similarly, line 69 carries microwave energy received by an antenna 70 after it has passed through the reference sample. Switch means 72 receives the test microwave energy from either line 66 or line 67 and provides it to directional coupler 18. A reference sample source 77 provides the reference sample fluid to test cell 53 by way of a line 80 having a valve 84. A channel in test cell 53 connects line 80 to another line 88 having a valve 90. In operation, source 77 provides the reference fluid through test cell 53. A measurement could be made while it is flowing, or sample fluid could be contained in a static condition in test cell 53 by closing valve 90 until the channel within test cell 53 is completely filled. To drain the reference sample fluid from test cell 53 valve 84 is closed while valve 90 is opened. However, the temperature of the sample stream flowing through test cell 53 is important since variations in temperature will lead to different readings. The present invention controls the temperature of the sample stream flowing through test cell 53. In this regard a pump 95 pumps a fluid heated to a predetermined temperature through a line 97 to test cell 53 which leaves test cell 53 by way of line 100. The heating fluid is provided to a temperature control means 105 which heats it to the predetermined temperature and provides it to pump 95. Further, a temperature sensor 108 mounted in test cell 53, senses the temperature of test cell 53 and provides it back to temperature control means 105 so as to control the temperature of the heating fluid provided to pump 95. With reference to Figure 3, there is shown test cell 53 having microwave entrance ports 115 and 118. On the other side of test cell 53 as represented by dash lines are microwave exit ports 125 and 128. Connecting microwave entrance port 115 and microwave exit port 125 is a microwave channel 130. Similarly a microwave channel 132 connects microwave entrance port 118 with microwave exit port 128. Also shown in Figure 3 are fluid channels 136 and 140. Since fluid channels 136, 140 and 142 are in line in this view of test cell 53 only one set of dash lines represents them. This can seen better in Figure 4 which has a cut away view of test cell 53 along the line 4-4 in the direction of the arrows. There is shown a body 145 which may be made of metal having fluid channels 136, 140 and 142 passing through it longitudinally and microwave channels 130 and 132 for the microwave energy cut transversely through it. It should be noted that channels 130 and 132 are shown as being offset from each other. However this offset is not necessary to the practice of the present invention. It should also be noted that fluid channels 136, 140 have a rectangular cross-section so that the microwave energy that passes through the fluids, always has the same distance of passage. Referring to Figure 5, there is a view of test cell 53 along the line 5-5 in the direction of shown in Figure 3. Channel 130 is filled with a solid material 150, such as high density teflon, that is conductive to microwave energy, except for that portion of channel 130 that forms a cross-section of fluid channel 136. Cut into body 145 is microwave entrance port 115. Further there is another chamber 154 which connects microwave entrance port 111 and enters into material 150 in channel 130. This is for the insertion of microwave antenna 63, which may be of the commercial type made by Omni Spectra, Part No. 2057-5134-02, slightly modified for the present application. Similarly, microwave exit port 125, for antenna 67, is shown with an additional chamber 155 which enters into material 150. Again this is for the purpose of monitoring the sample stream. Basically it is the same type of antenna as is entered with entrance port 115, but again modified for the present application. As can be seen, exit port 125 is longer than entrance port 115. The microwave energy when applied to the antenna 63 enters material 150 and is directed to cross channel 136 until it reaches the antenna 67 inserted in exit port 125. Referring also to Figure 2, lines 10 and 11 are connected in a conventional manner to channel 136 so that the sample stream in line 10 will flow through test cell 53 to line 11. Similarly, lines 80 and 88 are connected to fluid channel 140 in such a manner that the sample fluid in line 80 will enter fluid channel 140 and exit test cell 53 through line 88. Similarly antenna 67 in entrance port 118 is connected to line 63 and antenna 70 in exit port 128 is connected to line 67. As can be seen in Figure 3, temperature sensor 108 which is a thermocouple, is inserted into a chamber cut into block 125 and thus reads the temperature of block 125 as the temperature of the reference sample and as of the production sample stream. With reference also to Figures 2 and 3, lines 97 and 100 are connected in a conventional manner to fluid channel 142 so that the heating fluid flows through channel 142 and heats block 145. A preferred temperature is the temperature of the sample fluid entering test cell 53 from line 10 in which case it may be desirable to also test the temperature of the sample fluid in line 10 and provide a second temperature signal to the temperature control means. This has not shown in the drawings because the sample stream temperature may also be determined beforehand and is substantially constant. In either case the heating of block 125 will not add to the heat of the sample stream unless its temperature has changed. More important, however, the temperature of the sample stream as it passes through test cell 53 will be uniform. The reference sample will also be brought up to the temperature of the sample stream so that the data gathered from testing of both the sample stream and the reference sample will have a greater degree of accuracy. Although channel 142 is shown as being located between fluid channels 136 and 140 if pressure is a problem and the strength of block 125 is suspect, fluid channel 142 may be moved with the idea in mind that it should generally be equidistant from the sample stream flowing in fluid channel 136 and the reference sample in fluid channel 140 so as to keep them at the same temperature. Basically, the reference sample's power and phase shift is used as base line data in mini-computer means 40. The base line data and the test data derived from the petroleum sample stream are temperature corrected by mini-computer means 40. Mini-computer means 40 determines the water-cut in accordance with the corrected base line data, the corrected test data and look-up table stored in its memory.

Claims: A petroleum stream microwave water content monitor comprising: a test cell (53) for positioning in a sample petroleum stream flow and for receiving a reference petroleum multiphase fluid; first antenna means (63,65) for irradiating the flow or the reference fluid with microwave energy; second antenna means (67,70) for receiving microwave energy transmitted through the flow or the reference fluid; a detector (22) connected to said second antenna means to detect the intensity of the received energy and to provide a signal representative thereof; means (5,34) to provide a signal representative of the phase difference between the irradiating microwave energy and the received microwave energy; means (40) to provide a signal representative of the percentage water content of the petroleum stream in accordance with said intensity signal and said phase difference signal; said test cell (53) comprising a body having first, second and third fluid passage channels (136,140,142) and first and second microwave energy passage channels (130,132); said first and second fluid channels (136,140) being adapted to receive respectively said flow and said reference fluid and to intersect respectively said first and second microwave energy channels; and temperature control means (105) associated with the test cell (53) and operable to provide a temperature control fluid to said third fluid passage (142) through the test cell body to tend to maintain the test cell at a predetermined temperature. A monitor according to claim 1 characterized by a temperature sensor (108) positioned to sense the temperature of said test cell body (53) and to provide a signal representative of the sensed temperature. A monitor according to claim 2 characterized in that the temperature control means (105) includes a heat exchanger (105) and means (95) operable to circulate said temperature control fluid between the test cell and the heat exchanger, said heat exchanger being responsive to said temperature signal to tend to maintain the temperature control fluid at said predetermined temperature. A monitor according to claim 2 or claim 3 characterized in that said means (40) to provide a signal is also responsive to said temperature signal. A monitor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said first and second microwave energy channels (130,132) are filled with material, except at the intersections with the first or second fluid channel (136,140), said material being impervious to fluids but allowing passage of microwave energy. A monitor according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that: said first antenna means (63,65) comprises a first antenna (63) arranged to provide microwave energy into said first microwave channel (130), a second antenna (65) arranged to provide microwave energy into said second microwave channel (132), and a first switch (58) to provide microwave energy from a source (3) selectively to the first and second antennas (63,65); said second antenna means (67,70) comprises a first receiving antenna (67) arranged to receive microwave energy from said first microwave channel (130), a second receiving antenna (70) arranged to receive microwave energy from said second microwave channel (132), and a second switch (72) to pass microwave energy selectively from said first and second receiving antennas (67,70) to said detector (22).

Inventors: DOWTY EARL LEONARD, DURRETT MICHAEL GREGORY, HATTON GREGORY JOHN, HELMS DAVID ALBERT, MARRELLI JOHN DAVID, STAFFORD JOSEPH DAVID, STAVISH DAVID JOHN, DOWTY, EARL LEONARD, DURRETT, MICHAEL GREGORY, HATTON, GREGORY JOHN, HELMS, DAVID ALBERT, MARRELLI, JOHN DAVID, STAFFORD, JOSEPH DAVID, STAVISH, DAVID JOHN
Applicants: TEXACO DEVELOPMENT CORP, TEXACO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G01N22
IPC codes: G01N33, G01N22