Accurate measurement of water is becoming increasingly important for both municipal and industrial users, as growing water scarcity drives the need to manage water supplies more sustainably.
For over 45 years, ensuring that ABB’s flowmeters deliver the highest accuracy has been the goal of its flow calibration facility in the UK. With a major modernization programme at the facility in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, this objective will enable ABB to successfully meet and surpass industry demand for highly accurate and repeatable liquid flow measurement services both today and into the future.
Ongoing upgrades and refurbishments worth £2.1m at the site in Gloucestershire consolidate Stonehouse’s position as the world’s most technologically advanced continuous flow measurement and calibration facility. Enhancing ABB’s test capabilities and enabling faster project turnaround times, the investment programme also makes Stonehouse future-fit by reducing on-site consumption of electrical power and water resources.
Assuring the highest levels of calibration accuracy
As the world’s largest continuous flow calibration laboratory, measuring at 14,768 m2 Stonehouse is the UK’s only United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited flow calibration laboratory (0255)
The facility is used primary for the accurate calibration and certification of industrial flowmeters manufactured by ABB. These are produced in bore sizes from 2 mm up to 2000 mm to meet the needs of ABB’s customers that include organizations in the oil/gas, chemical and water industries.
Originally opened in 1979, the facility has performed many highly accurate calibration measurements for certification purposes of flowmeters during its 45-year history. As well as testing and validating the accuracy of ABB flowmeters prior to delivery and customer commissioning, Stonehouse also offers recalibration services for customers’ existing flowmeters produced by ABB as well as other vendors.
Calibration of a flow meter involves pumping water through a pipe containing the meter under test and comparing measured values with a reference meter. A choice of different calibration methodologies – including gravimetric and volumetric (ball prover) systems – allows ABB to use the best measurement method to suit this wide range of bore sizes.
More flow measurement capacity to meet customers’ needs
The recent addition of a fourth dedicated calibration line – suitable for meter calibration with pipe diameters in the range 300-350 mm – now gives extra testing capacity. From the perspective of ABB’s flowmeter clients, project lead times are reduced since a total of four lines are available to cater for pipe diameters from 300 mm right up to 2,400 mm. This reduces the need to keep swapping out pipes of different diameters for flow meter testing.
Meanwhile, measurement accuracy and repeatability are being enhanced by the renewal of all reference meters using ABB AquaMaster4 bidirectional electromagnetic flowmeters.
Other enhancements to the large 1000 mm line include replacement of motor operated valves (MOV) and installation of new electrical valve actuators with interlocks to provide additional safety.
The old calibration rig control system has also been replaced with ABB’s state of the art 800xA Distributed Control System (DCS), which enables the operator to quickly and easily monitor and access data on all aspects of the rig’s operation.
Variable speed drives and motors reduce energy consumption
In addition to strengthening the capacity, accuracy and resilience of its world-class flow measurement facilities, ABB has embarked on a major drive to increase energy efficiency and sustainability at the Stonehouse site.
Pumping water and other liquids is an energy-intensive activity. Until recently the use of water pumps was responsible for consuming some 3,000 kWh of electricity per week, or approximately 15% of total on-site energy consumption. During much of the facility’s lifetime pumping motors have run continuously at full speed during calibration runs, with modulation of flow rates achieved by bleeding off water from the main supply via valves that are controlled by electrical actuators.
The facility’s decades-old water pumping motors have now been replaced with latest-generation ABB variable-speed drives and motors, comprising two ABB ACS880 500kW drives plus a further two ACS880 250kW drives. This allows fine-grained adjustment of pumping motor speed – and thus water flow rates for testing purposes – via the drives themselves rather than by valve control. The changeover has delivered energy savings of around 500 kWh weekly.
Driving to greater sustainability, today and tomorrow
The electrical power consumption of other equipment and processes has been under similar scrutiny. Upgrading 270 halogen light fittings to energy-efficient LED lighting has yielded significant electricity savings, while also providing more subjectively appealing light quality for personnel working at the facility.
Installed at Stonehouse in 2023, ABB’s building analyzer monitoring platform assesses electrical energy consumption site-wide, helping to pinpoint opportunities for further energy optimization. Much like a domestic smart meter, the system gives real-time indication of power consumption at 32 measurement points across the site including motors, drives and other subsystems.
Complementing these proactive energy management measures, Stonehouse is currently installing a large PV (photovoltaic) array. It’s projected that this will supply 40% of all site power over the course of the year.
Efficient water management is also critical to optimization of the facility’s use of natural resources and overall sustainability. Located below ground level, a swimming pool-sized storage tank with a capacity of a million litres provides water for flow test measurements, with water being re-circulated after use rather than drawing on a continual supply of fresh mains water. Fitting new tank level sensors has assisted with accurate measurement and monitoring of water use.
Delivering continuous improvement
Looking to the near future, ABB is planning further initiatives to enhance process efficiency, accuracy, capacity and sustainability at its flagship Stonehouse flowmeter calibration site. These include fitting the flow rig’s variable-speed drives and motors with sensors that are connected to the ABB Ability™ platform, allowing improved maintenance monitoring and fault diagnostics. Meanwhile plans to fully automate the testing calibration cycle will further optimize energy usage at the site.
ABB is inviting water companies across the UK to challenge us to find untapped opportunities for saving energy across their facilities and operations. Request a free, no obligation, Energy and Optimization Appraisal today
