Innovative Gas Metering Solutions

Products & Services:

Turbine Gas Meters
Rotary Gas Meters
Electronic Gas Volume Conversion Devices (MEVC)
Flow Computer Systems
Accessories for Electronic Gas Volume Conversion Devices
Modular Intelligent Station Interface (MISI)
Supervisory Control Systems and Software
Meter Calibration Installations
Complete Gas Measurement and Control Stations
Commissioning, training and servicing
Consultancy and Seminars

For your nearest Sales Office or Representative, please contact:

iMeter B.V. Turbine Gas Meter Series iMTM-CT

Snelliusstraat 24
7102 ED Winterswijk
P.O. Box 12
7100 AA Winterswijk
The Netherlands

T: +31 543 531 000

F: +31 543 550 009 FIT FOR PURPOSE,
FIT FOR FUTURE BY INNOVATION
info@[Link]
[Link]

Your sales office or representative:

iMeter has agents and representatives worldwide. iMeter has a

continuing program of product research and development.
Technical specifications and construction may change due to
improvements. This publication serves as general information only,
and all specifications are subject to confirmation by iMeter.

iMeter BV, the Creative Meter Company

The Statement By the use of a special ring, to position the cartridge in the meter
iMeter continues to improve on gas metering and flow control body, the cross-sectional area of the cartridge is significantly larger
equipment with innovative ideas, sophisticated technology and in comparison to conventional turbine meters.
modular designs resulting in reduced purchase cost and a reduced
cost-of-maintenance. This modular concept allows local This enables to manufacture these meters with an extended
manufacturing and while maintaining legal metrology. iMeter maximum capacity (extended G-rating) another unique feature.
encourages cross border joint production arrangements. As, with most of the conventional meter manufacturers e.g. a 6”
is a vailable with typically a Qmax. of 1600 m3/h, the 6” iMTM-CT
Operating Principle can handle a capacity of 2500 m3/h. The possibility to apply one size
The operating principle is based on the measurement of the gas (diameter) smaller turbine meter will not only have a positive effect
velocity. The flowing gas is accelerated and conditioned by the on the purchase price of the meter but will also allow to use smaller
meter upstream straightening section. This straightening section meter run piping, valves, etc. and thus will reduce the size of the
conditions the gas flow by removing undesired swirl, turbulence metering station and its building significantly.
and flow profile asymmetry, before it impinges on the turbine rotor.
The dynamic forces of the fluid causes the turbine rotor to rotate. All the critical components, including the turbine rotor and primary
The turbine rotor is mounted on an axial shaft with high precision gears, are housed in the cartridge (RMC), making the concept quite
low friction stainless steel ball bearings. suitable for local production and assembly. Except for the RMC, the
remaining parts like meter body, external gear box, index, etc. can
The turbine rotor has helical blades and a known angle relative to be manufactured locally, if required, in accordance to local directives
the gas flow. The turbine rotor angular velocity is proportional with and quality standards. Since the high quality RMC is the actual
the gas velocity. The rotating movement of the turbine rotor and measuring mechanism, and totally independent on the meter body
it’s primary gear train, all fitted in a pressurized body, drive an tolerances, the end quality of a local produced and assembled
externally fitted gear box. This 100% sealed gear box for the error turbine meter will still meet the highest quality requirements.
adjustment. An exchangeable eight digit mechanical counter is
fitted on top of the gear box. Standard LF pulse transmitters are Low Weight Aluminum Meter Body
fitted into the meter counter. To overcome damage of the main bearings caused by shock loads,
it is always recommended to transport turbine meters with trucks
Removable Meter Cartridge “RMC” having a dedicated air suspension. Preferably the meters must be
iMeter has developed a series of turbine gas meters, ranging from transported by a luxury car, however this is rarely common practice,
2” G40 up till 8” G 2500 for pressures up till 16 bar. All meters are simply due to the weight of the conventional steel body meters.
based on the concept of the Removable Meter Cartridge (RMC). Thus a better alternative is to use light weight materials (aluminium)
This unique feature enables the owner/operator to change the for the meter body, to enable a secure transportation by a luxury
characteristics of the meter on-site. For each meter body, four types car. Aluminium is already used in many countries where care and
of RMC’s are available to offer maximum modular flexibility in quality of transportation is not controllable due to bad road
terms of minimum capacity, maximum capacity, pressure loss, and conditions in remote areas. The aluminium bodies are, in terms of
G-rating. strength, equivalent to the iron GGG40 meter bodies and are being
certified to be suitable for all classes up to ANSI 150 or DIN PN 16.
The cartridges can be pre-calibrated by certified test institutes, and The hard anodized coating will give the meter body a superior
thus upgrades in performance or functionality of the meters can protection against corrosion.
be done easily and locally. The (re-)calibration of meters becomes
a matter of hours, since cartridges can be exchanged on site with Optimized Bearing Construction Including Axial Load Compensation
new pre-calibrated cartridges, reducing logistical efforts to a When, during transportation, the meters are subjected to shock
minimum and still keeping the quality and performance at the loads due to bad road conditions, the initial inflicted damage to
highest level. The weight of the Removable Meter Cartridge is the bearings will already have a measurement effect without notice.
clearly significantly lower than a complete meter, meaning that The shock load in combination with the weight of the turbine wheel
“courier” transportation of the cartridge can be done rapidly and will cause impacts between the tiny balls and the inner/outer ringof
safely without complex and time consuming packing and shipping the ball bearing. This is the starting point of an excessive wear,
arrangements. resulting in increased friction and consequently a shift in accuracy.
Eventually these bearings will collapse. The use of low weight plastic
The length of the cartridge is three times the diameter and complies turbine wheels is not considered as a serious engineering solution,
in full with the European directives for turbine meters. The cartridge ince their performance in relation to accurate measurement is very
as well as the turbine wheel are machined from high quality poor. In addition, the impurities within the gas will degrade the
aluminum to guarantee long term stability. Optional, the cartridge plastic wheel and thus will significantly affect the accuracy of the
can be hard-coated (anodized) to overcome wear and corrosion of meter. To reduce the forces acting on the main bearings, the front
the flow channels caused by dirt and dust. main bearing (larger than the rear bearing to overcome the axial
sload) is positioned exactly in the vertical centre line of the turbine widely used in all kind of applications (cars, compressors, etc.). As
wheel, meaning that the resulting forces on the tiny rear bearing such the iMTM-CT series meters are equipped with a refreshing and
are eliminated. This is another unique feature and major flushing oil system whereby the oil is pumped into a reservoir in
improvement. the bearing block (in which all the bearings, shafts and gears are
housed). A splash vane running at high speed (speed of the main
The initial certification of the meter is carried out with atmospheric shaft) “splashes” the oil through the bearing block, flushing, cleaning
air with a density of about 1,2 kg/m3. To be able to achieve a range- and wetting all the parts and surfaces. Tests with similar oil systems
ability of at least 1:20, the bearings must be very small in order to implemented on rotary meters, show a significant improvement of
reduce the mechanical friction. As the forces on the turbine wheel the meter’s life time.
and thus the axial load on the bearings are proportional to the
density of the gas measured, the axial load on the bearings is To improve the resistance against dirty gas even further,
significantly higher when the meter is operated at higher pressures the iMTM-CT series meters have it’s bearings mounted deep inside Multi Stage Flow Conditioner
(at 8 bar natural gas conditions the density is already 5 time higher the bearing block only accessible through a labyrinth. This means To guarantee superior meter accuracy even
which also applies to the axial load on the front bearing). that it is basically impossible for dirt particles to get into the bearings. in non-ideal metering installations, the iMeter
turbine wheel is positioned at the very rear
Consequently the bearings will be overloaded when running at One Twist And A Click Multi Functional Coupling end of the cartridge. This creates twice the
high capacities unless constructional provisions are being made. To eliminate restrictions to future upgrades both the iMeter turbine length for straightening the incoming flow
The iMTM-CT series meters are compensated for this density related meters and iMeter rotary meters are equipped with a hybrid profile compared to the conventional turbine
additional axial load. This so called Axial Load Compensation (ALC) magnetic coupling. Using a special designed magnet inside the meters. Where conventional turbine meters
will compensate for the density related axial load on the turbine meter, the reading of the meter can be changed from “mechanical” do have just four (4) active stages of
wheel by causing a slightly over pressure down stream the turbine (magnet is used to drive the follower magnet of the mechanical straightening, the iMTM-CT has six (6)
wheel. This overpressure will push the wheel backwards against index) to “electronic” (magnetic field orientation is used to activate straightening stages.
the direction of the gas flow and thus restricting the axial load
acting on the main front bearing. Unfortunately this ALC could pulse wires for detecting the rotation, direction and position of the
make the meter increasingly more sensitive for dirty gas, since dirt turbine wheel). The index and its functions can be exchanged with
tends to accumulate in the area where the pressure is increased just “one twist and a click”. This means that the most basic meter
(near the front bearing). To solve this problem, iMeter has positioned version is already prepared for upgrades to a fully sophisticated
the bearings, gears and shafts upstream the turbine wheel, meaning electronic meter including conversion (PTZ) and communication
that the ALC works well eliminating the damaging effect of dirty features (GSM, ISDN, PSTN, Ethernet, etc.).
gas on the condition of the bearings.
From a standardization point of view, the couplings of the iMeter
Dirt Protection and Full Flushing Oil System series turbine meters and the rotary meters are similar, meaning
In order to keep the bearings in proper condition, it is essential to that all the mechanical and electrical features are also similar, thus
flush out the dirt (dust) and refresh the oil on a regular time interval. reducing inventory and increasing modular flexibility to its fullest
Turbine meters, being equipped with commercially called “lubricated extent.
for life” bearings are not recommended at all – except in case of
vertical installation – since dust within the gas will slowly accumulate HF Sensor Combined With Isolated Thermowell
over time and degrade the performance of the bearing and thus Optional, the iMTM-CT meters can be fitted with a High
the accuracy of the meter. As clearly stated within the German Frequency Sensor. This sensor can also be fitted to the meter at a
law, meters without lubrication must be re-calibrated at least once later stage, without removing the meter or the cartridge from the
per 8 years, while meters fiited with lubrication require re-calibration installation. The sensor is designed and approved in accordance
only once per 12 years. with ATEX, FM and CSA. The generated output signal complies with
EN 60947-5-6 / NAMUR. The unique housing of this High Frequency
Even with relatively clean gas as available in Germany, this limitation Sensor is also suitable to be fitted with a thermo well to provide
has shown to make sense. As a consequence of the global energy accurate temperature measurement. Since this thermo well is isolated
trade, and thus the expanding infra structure of the global pipe from the meter body by means of O-rings, the traditional offset in
line network (with supplies from remote areas), the quality of the temperature reading is eliminated.
gas is changing rapidly and getting worse. For applications were
the gas is not absolutely clean, conventional oil systems injecting .The Advantages iMTM-CT
oil into the bearings by means of an oil pump, are not sufficient The advantages of the iMTM-CT are obvious:
enough. These conventional oil systems ensure only the • Reduced cost of production, resulting in a reduced product price.
“refreshment” of the oil but they will not flush the dirt/dust out • Reduced cost in station design allowing future customer increase
of the bearings. For more severe conditions, the bearings have to in gas demand with a simple RMC upgrade in G-rating within the
be flushed too. Oil systems that not only refresh the oil but also same meter body and thus avoiding the expensive and complicated
flush the bearings and wet the rotating parts (gears and shafts) are size increase of the meter runs using conventional turbine meters.
 • Easy “on-site” maintenance by replacing the RMC with a freshly High pressure calibrations at certified installations can be done as
pre-calibrated new RMC of the same G-rating or alternative well, on customer’s request.
G-rating.
• Reduced cost of repair by removing and returning-for-overhaul, Installation
the RMC only, doing away with the long and thus unacceptable Recommendations for installation:
lead times for conventional meter repair and overhaul. The integrated multi stage flow straightener of the iMTM turbine
• Increased life time by using an oil system that just not only refreshes meter eliminates effects of flow disturbances, so called perturbations
the oil in the bearings and lubricates all moving parts, but really as defined in the ISO 9951 and consequently complies with the
flushes out all the dirt and dust. European and major International Directives and guidelines such
• Reduced sensitivity to severe gas conditions by improved protection as the OIML, ISO and DVGW. The design permits very compact M/R
of the main bearings against dirt and dust. stations without sacrificing the meter’s accuracy.
Multi Functional Index • Suitable for local manufacturing, assembly and production
The standard index is an 8 digit mechanical according to local directives and quality levels while still maintaining Gas pipes must be clean and free from foreign impurities such as
index. The index is 100% sealed to avoid the highest reliability, performance and accuracy. sand, dirt, welding debris and other particles as well as liquid. In
moisture condensates within the index. This case of dirty gases, it is recommended to fit the meter with a
100% secure sealing will keep the index glass Technical Data automatic lubrication system and or a purge system.
clean inside and will Applications:
prevent the index for locking up due to frozen Media: natural gas, town gas, propane, inert gases. With the new developed lubrication system it is possible to allow
condensate or moisture during winter times. Industry: Gas supply, heating manufacturers, chemical industry. a relatively dirty gas flowing through the meter internal. In case of
The index can be rotated 350 degrees. dirty gas, the lubrication system must be operated at an increased
Pressure ratings: frequency to eliminate the effect of dirty gas on the meter bearings.
The mechanical index contains a pocket that • Pressure ratings for PN10/16 and ANSI 150.
can hold different types of LF pick-ups such • Various flanges are available on request. Although the axial compensation protects for sudden flow variations,
as reed switches, Wiegand sensors or fraud (DIN Flanges, ANSI Flanges, JIS Flanges and others it is recommended to pressurize the meter slowly to prevent over-
detection devices to generate maximum speeding and consequently damaging the meter internal.
flexibility. This ability to change sensors quickly Nominal diameters:
and easily, gives the meter maximum flexibility 50 mm (2”) to 200 mm (8”). Larger sizes on request.

Measuring range:
20 : 1 minimum or better at atmospheric conditions up to 50 : 1 at
higher densities. Meter Data

Flow rates: Pipe Size Measurement High 2 x Low Overall

Pressure Body
8 m3/h up to 4000 m3/h mm G-Rating Range (m3/h) Frequency Frequency Lenght
Rating Material
(inch) Qmin-Qmax (Hz) (Pulse/m3) (mm)

Repeatability: better than 0,1 %

50 G40 13-65 10 ANSI 150 Aluminium
G65 10-100 200-400 10 150 GGG40
(2”) DIN PN 10/16
Measuring accuracy: G100 16-160 1 Carbon Steel
0,2 Qmax to Qmax : ± 1 % or better G100 16-160
Typical Calibration Curve 1 Aluminium
Qmin to 0,2Q max : ± 2 % or better 80 G160 25-250 ANSI 150
200-300 1 240 GGG40
The iMTM turbine meters are all fitted with (3”) G250 20-400 DIN PN 10/16
1 Carbon Steel
precise machined aluminum turbine wheels G400 32-650
Temperature range:
to provide the necessary stability to guarantee Standard : -25°C to + 60°C G160 25-250 1
Aluminium
the accuracy over the entire pressure range. 100 G250 20-400 1 ANSI 150
On request : -40°C to + 80°C 200-300 300 GGG40
(4”) G400 32-650 1 DIN PN 10/16
2% Carbon Steel
G650 50-1000 1
1% Calibration G400 32-650 1 Aluminium
iMeter series iMTM or the RMC’s are each supplied complete with 150 G650 50-1000 1 ANSI 150
100-200 450 GGG40
a calibration certificate. The initial verification and the calibration (6”) G1000 80-1600 0.1 DIN PN 10/16 Carbon Steel
10% 20% 40% 70% 100%
G1600 130-2500 0.1
-1% are done at the iMeter factory on an NMi and/or PTB approved
Low Pressure calibration bench. When a “pre-calibrated meter internal only” is G650 50-1000 0.1 Aluminium
High Pressure 200 G1000 80-1600 0.1 ANSI 150
-2%
supplied, the final verification and calibration will be done at the 75-150 600 GGG40
(8”) G1600 130-2500 0.1 DIN PN 10/16 Carbon Steel
premises of the local assembly company, using a similar approved G2500 200-4000 0.1
calibration bench.