Numerical Modeling of Black Powder Contamination Effects on Turbine Gas Meter Accuracy

Esmaeili, Mahdi; Sardashti Birjandi, Mohammad Reza; Shahraki, Farhad; Khosravi-Bizhaem, Hamed

doi:10.22075/jme.2026.39075.2909

Numerical Modeling of Black Powder Contamination Effects on Turbine Gas Meter Accuracy

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mahdi Esmaeili ¹

Mohammad Reza Sardashti Birjandi ¹

Farhad Shahraki ¹

Hamed Khosravi-Bizhaem ²

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Shahid Nikbakht Faculty of Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birjand University of Technology, Birjand, Iran

10.22075/jme.2026.39075.2909

Abstract

Black powder, as one of the most critical solid contaminants in natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, can significantly affect the accuracy of metering equipment. In this study, the influence of black powder particles on the performance of a 2-inch turbine gas meter was investigated through numerical modeling of gas–particle two-phase flow. Simulations were conducted for three types of gas measurement and pressure reduction stations (CGS, TBS, and HM) under summer and winter conditions, and the developed model was validated against laboratory data. The results indicate that, within the typical mass loading range observed in transmission pipelines (10-7 to 10-5), the presence of black powder has a negligible impact on meter accuracy. However, the sensitivity analysis revealed that at mass loading values above approximately m ≈ 1.25, the velocity profile deviates by more than 5%, leading to a noticeable deterioration in meter performance. These findings provide practical guidance on setting contamination limits as well as planning maintenance and monitoring strategies for turbine gas meters.

Keywords

Turbine gas meter

Black powder

Two-phase flow

Critical mass loading

Subjects