[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar o desempenho metrológico e o potencial de aplicação do medidor tipo v-cone para medição de vazão de gás natural em condições de gás úmido. Observa-se que os medidores do tipo placa de orifício, geralmente utilizados na medição de vazão de gás no segmento de Exploração e Produção (E e P), podem não representar a tecnologia mais adequada. O medidor v-cone representa uma tecnologia relativamente recente, que vem demonstrando bom desempenho para a medição de vazão e vem ganhando aceitação de órgãos reguladores. O interesse e a motivação do pesquisador residem na busca de maior exatidão na medição de vazão em condições operacionais adversas (gás úmido não especificado), sem impacto significativo sobre o custo do sistema. O presente trabalho, por meio de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, apresenta o estágio atual de desenvolvimento da tecnologia de medição por v-cone e detalha as características dos sistemas de medição de vazão de gás natural, além de abordar as normas e regulamentos relacionados ao tema em questão. A fase experimental busca avaliar o desempenho do medidor por meio de uma investigação empírica realizada em laboratório, simulando condições de gás úmido encontradas em campo. Essa análise envolve também a determinação de erros e incertezas de medição. A pesquisa realizada, em conjunto com a avaliação dos resultados dos testes e das correlações utilizadas, demonstra que o medidor v-cone apresenta boa confiabilidade na medição de vazão de gás natural em escoamento de gás úmido, podendo ser utilizado em aplicações encontradas no segmento de E e P. / [en] The aim of this study is to evaluate the metrological performance and potential of use of the v-cone type meter for measuring the natural gas flow rate under wet gas conditions. The orifice plate type meters, that are usually used to measure the gas flow rate in the Exploration and Production segment (E and P), may not represent the most appropriate technology. The v-cone meter represents a relatively recent technology, which has shown good performance for the flow rate measurement and is gaining acceptance from the regulators. The interest and motivation of the researcher are related to the quest for greater flow rate measurement accuracy in adverse operating conditions (unspecified wet gas), with no significant impact on the cost of the system. This work, through a literature and documentary search, presents the current stage of development of the v-cone flow rate measurement technology and details the characteristics of natural gas flow rate measurement systems, in addition to addressing the standards and regulations relating to the subject. The experimental phase aims to evaluate the meter performance through an empirical research conducted in laboratory, by simulating wet gas conditions found in the field. This analysis also involves the determination of measurement errors and uncertainties. The research and the evaluation of test results and correlations show that the v-cone meter has good reliability in natural gas flow rate measurement under wet gas conditions, allowing it to be used in applications found in E and P.

The relationship between the Reynolds number (Re) and discharge coefficients (C) was investigated through differential pressure flow meters. The focus of the study was directed toward very small Reynolds numbers commonly associated with pipeline transportation of viscous fluids. There is currently a relatively small amount of research that has been performed in this area for the Venturi, standard orifice plate, V-cone, and wedge flow meters. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program FLUENT© was used to perform the research, while GAMBIT© was used as the preprocessing tool for the flow meter models created. Heavy oil and water were used separately as the two flowing fluids to obtain a wide range of Reynolds numbers with high precision. Multiple models were used with varying characteristics, such as pipe size and meter geometry, to obtain a better understanding of the C vs. Re relationship. All of the simulated numerical models were compared to physical data to determine the accuracy of the models. The study indicates that the various discharge coefficients decrease rapidly as the Reynolds number approaches 1 for each of the flow meters; however, the Reynolds number range in which the discharge coefficients were constant varied with meter design. The standard orifice plate does not follow the general trend in the discharge coefficient curve that the other flow meters do; instead as the Re decreases, the C value increases to a maximum before sharply dropping off. Several graphs demonstrating the varying relationships and outcomes are presented. The primary focus of this research was to obtain further understanding of discharge coefficient performance versus Reynolds number for differential producing flow meters at very small Reynolds numbers.