SPSE Flowmeters proving station

SPSE owns and operates a centralized flowmeter proving facility located in Fos-sur-Mer in the south of France. This accredited flow laboratory is used for SPSE's own needs and by third parties (mainly manufacturers).

History of the proving facility

This unique facility, in regard of flowrate range (up to 4000 m3/h) and available viscosities (0.5cSt to 500cSt) soon attracted flowmeter users and manufacturers.

Due to its location in SPSE's tank farm, the facility can provide at least 4 different crudes for calibration.

In the early seventies, as no existing facility fulfilled SPSE flowmeters calibration needs, it was decided to invest in an adapted flowmeter calibration laboratory. This choice of a centralized calibration guaranteed a better metrology performance and integrity of results.

Today, the Laboratory carries out SPSE's flowmeters calibrations as well as tests or expert studies for all existing flowmeters technologies. These studies and development tests have increased in number to become one of the main services provided by SPSE.

More than 30 years experience

Ever since the calibration facility beginning, employees are involved on improving their skills and been offering high quality service and technical assistance. Most of employees have been working in this department for more than 10 years. They are trained to meet all technical development in Metrology and their skills and "savoir-faire" are controlled every year.

The method

The calibrations are carried out by comparison of the volume recorded by the flowmeter to a reference volume of 15,000 litres which has travelled through a unidirectional prover loop.

For flowrates lower than 3,000 m³/h, a direct comparison is made. The flowmeter is installed in series with the prover.

The pulses created by the flowmeter between the "in" and "out" detectors of the calibration loop are added. The total of these pulses, corrected by the "beginning" and "end" pulse fractions (double chronometer method), is compared to the volume of the calibration loop.

The "meter factor" of the flowmeter is calculated at measurement conditions: flow, viscosity, kinematics, temperature, pressure.

This "meter factor" must be applied to the volume supplied by the flowmeter in order to obtain the corrected volume.

For flowrates greater than 3,000 m³/h, the flowmeter to be calibrated is compared to two previously calibrated parallel master flowmeters.

In this case, the number of pulses of flowmeter to be calibrated is compared with the total number of pulses from the two master flowmeters.

After calibration the OMNI issues calibration certificates and calibration curves that shoes the flowmeter's Meter Factor (MF) based on standard Iso 17025.

The COFRAC Accreditation

Being in relation with the manufacturers requires the strict adherence to confidentiality of the personnel performance tests, acceptance inspections, technical expertises and endurance tests in perfectly objective conditions.

The laboratory connects the flowmeters to national standards and carries out primary and periodic calibrations..

The COFRAC accreditation guarantees the calibrated flowmeters to national standards for primary and periodic tests.

To obtain the recognition of its skills and competences by the international authorities, and offer its clients the best services, SPSE decided to turn to accreditation.

The accreditation gotten in 1998 has just been renewed in January this year till 2012.

This accreditation is based on quality and technical process that proves that all calibration meanings are related to national Standards.

SPSE Laboratory guarantees:           

• Traceability of results
• Independence
• Confidentiality
• International recognition