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Abstract
The purpose of this project was to design and model a large custom meter set for a new industrial
customer. This project was assigned from We Energies which is a company that provides natural
gas to customers in the state of Wisconsin. Natural gas delivery from producing well to
consumers runs based on the fundamental understanding that natural gas flows from high to low
pressure. This means that a customer has a lower delivery pressure than the upstream gas. In fact,
customer delivery pressures are often much smaller than the upstream pressures. This decrease in
pressure is one of the reasons there is a need for natural gas meter sets.
The three main functions of a natural gas meter set are to reduce pressure, regulate pressure, and
measure gas usage. The two main system components necessary to achieve those three functions
are regulators and meters. Regulators reduce and regulate pressure by controlling flow based on
a set point on the regulator. That set point is used to cut pressure to a specific outlet pressure.
Meters are critical for fiscal purposes as they record gas usage. Both regulators and meters along
with additional components including valves, heaters, and filters were analyzed for use in this
customer's meter set design.
The design process began with determining specific customer needs and desires. These
considerations along with gas safety, gas standards, fluid characteristics, and system information
all played a role in the design. The project scope included preliminary component selection and
sizing, preliminary drawing, preliminary modeling, specific component selection, manufacturer
verification, and final drawing and modeling. AutoCAD software was used in the design process
to draw and determine a layout that would fit customer and maintenance needs. A robust
modeling software, Synergi Gas 4.9, was used to model and simulate the meter set throughout its
design phases. At the conclusion of the project there was a meter set design ready for the next
step of high-pressure design specification and material acquisition. The overall cost estimate for
the meter set was $313,000.