Tank Gauging and Tank Farm Management Systems

M.Suresh
Chief Research Engineer

Introduction

Refineries and plants keep track of levels of products contained in bulk storage tanks for
operations, inventory control, custody transfer, etc. For operations, level measurement is
important to avoid overfilling or complete emptying of tank while for inventory control, level
measurement aims at stock accounting and loss-control programs. Custody transfer requires
level measurement to the best accuracy on account of the number of transactions and the large
volume sale/purchase of products, billing and state regulations (e.g. excise/ legal metrology,
etc).

Traditionally tank gauging

involves manual dipping of a
calibrated dip-tape covered with
oil-paste from a reference point at
the tank-top. The innage is
determined as the location of
change of colour of the oil-paste on
the tape. This level gauging
technique is still the accepted fiscal
metering method in many countries
on account of good accuracy ( 2
mm). The manual level gauging
methods are tedious and prone to
measurement errors, uncertainties / repeatability problems, etc. especially since they are based
on skill and physical conditions of the gauging personnel besides being affected by
environmental conditions (say rain, sun, wind, vapours, etc). Thinking beyond the actual
disadvantage that level measurement is not obtained online or on continuous basis, the need
to employ a large number of Gauging Personnel for large Tank Farms with about 60 to 200
tanks for round the clock monitoring is also a reason that justifies automation in Tank Farms.

Custody transfers involve measurements at high accuracy and are done by means of
flowmeters or gauging systems approved by Legal Metrology. FCRI has been conducting Model
approval testing of flowmeters, associated systems, Tank gauging systems, etc. on behalf of
Department of Legal Metrology (Weights and Measures). The model approval exercises are
conducted as per procedures/norms recommended by Organization International Metrology
Legal (OIML).

In this lecture, we shall discuss on core activities performed in a Tank Farm

Management System in Refinery / Petrochemical Plant. This session will also look into the
principles and operational aspects related to three most common types of Tank Gauging
Systems seen around namely, Hydrostatic Tank Gauging, Ultrasonic and Radar based Gauging
and Servo-Gauge System.
Tank Farm Management System:

Tank Farms Management systems are nowadays increasingly being automated with
Automatic tank gauging (ATG) systems such as those based on Servo-gauge, Radar gauge and
hydrostatic tank gauge. The major focus has been on eliminating manual errors, facilitate
contractual obligations to be met automatically, allow for sealing of calibration adjustments,
prevent tampering / unauthorized configuration changes, etc.

Schematic showing typical TFM field and Control Room connectivity

These are features beyond the traditional thinking of continuous level monitoring only
done by ATGs. These tank gauging instruments in conjunction with sensors for measurement of
product temperature, and density are used along with tank calibration information and volume
correction software on the DCS/Computer form the complete Tank Farm Management (TFM)
system.

Typical Screen shots from a TFM Operator workstation

It has been generally understood in Process Instrumentation parlance that a Level

Gauging System comprises of the basic level sensor (Gauge) and a host of other
instrumentation/associated equipment that measure product temperature, density, etc. as well
as facilitate transmission of data from field to the control room. The Tank Farm Management
comprises of communication / interface equipment, DCS / Computer System, etc. in the Control
Room along with the Farm Management Software that help monitor/store/alarm on the
various field parameters, compute/process the data, generate historical trends/reports, provide
Operator interfaces for control of product transfers, etc.

The Hydrostatic Tank Gauging (HTG) system

The HTG systems generally comprise of cylindrical storage tanks each with two
Hydrostatic Pressure transmitters, a Spot temperature measurement probe (generally a 3-wire
Pt-100 element inserted into the media from tank-side) or a multiple-element temperature
Probe (suspended into the tank from tank-top) and a capacitance type or other type of water-
oil interface probe. These measurement sensors are interfaced to a microprocessor based Tank
side indicator generally called the Field Display Unit (FDU).

The architecture of a typical HTG system is shown in schematic above. The hydrostatic
transmitter, P1, is mounted at the bottom of the tank (above water level) and transmitter, P 2, is
mounted above at a fixed known distance (typically 2.5 m or more) from P1. The transmitters
P1, P2 and the Water-Probe are interfaced to FDU by means of digital communication link. The
FDU computes density using pressure values sensed by the hydrostatic transmitters and also
derives tank level.

P1  P2  L x  x g , where g = local gravity, and   density.

P1
Level =  L , where L p = distance of P1 from datum (zero point).
 x g  p
 The FDU units from the various tanks in the farm are fieldbus networked to
communicate level, temperature and density data to a Computer or DCS system. The Tank
Calibration information for the various tanks stored in the PC/DCS are used along with tank
level information to derive the observed volume for each tank. The DCS uses Volume Correction
Factors (VCF) for the tanks and applies product density at reference density to the corrected
tank volume to compute mass contained in the tanks. The DCS software uses ASTM Table-54 to
convert observed density to density at reference conditions.

Ultrasonic and Radar Level Gauging

Ultrasonic and RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) based level gauging systems are
becoming popular in Petrochemical and Refinery sector due to their non-contact mode of
operation as well as absence of moving parts. These level gauges detect and measure the ullage
to product surface by emitting a high frequency ultrasonic or RF
pulse respectively and recording the echo reflected from the liquid
surface. A pulse emitted from the radar antenna, is received and
reflected back to the same antenna by the liquid surface. The
resulting time-of-flight is a parameter defining the distance
between the top of the tank and the liquid surface (ullage/outage),
or the liquid level.

In Radar Gauges which are termed Synthesized Pulse Radar (SPR), a

modulated frequency is used for comparison of emitted and received signals to
determine the frequency difference and compute distance traveled (twice the
ullage depth), and therefore the
liquid level (innage). Most of the
modern ultrasonic and Radar based
systems are based on
microprocessors with good algorithms for multiple
echo cancellation, self teach functions for
noise/echo elimination when installed at actual
tank conditions.

Besides the basic level gauging, the Tank

Gauging system is complete only if product temperature and density measurement are
incorporated into the system. The associated Tank-side Indicator (FDU) or its functions built-in
to the microprocessor based Radar Gauge itself handles the computations and interfacing to
Temperature probe, additional hydrostatic pressure transmitter and the oil-water interface
level sensor. The data from the Radar Gauge / FDU is
communicated by digital Protocol (RS485 or other Fieldbus) to
the Control Room Computer / DCS.

Servo Type Automatic Level Gauging

In servo-gauge, a displacer is
suspended by wire into the liquid inside
the tank. This wire is wound around a
drum, turned by means of a drive motor connected to two coupling magnetic rings so that the
wire-drum and the drive motor are isolated but coupled. As the inner ring turns, its magnetic
attraction causes the outer to turn as well, thus turning the entire wire drum. The weigh on the
wire puts torque on the outer ring. This torque is detected by a load-cell device on the inner
ring. Using information from the mass of the displacer, and the specific gravity of the fluid, the
microprocessor calculates the exact torque that determines if the displacer is in contact with
the fluid surface.

FG = m g, acting vertically downwards

FB
=A L  D g
L FB = A X L g + (L-X) A A g , Buoyancy upwards.

X Where
A = Area of the displacer
 D = Density of diplacer
FG
L = Density of Liquid
A = Density of Air

As the displacer touches the liquid surface, the slack in the wire line reduces the torque
on the wire drum. The drive motor then takes up the slack to the point where the drum torque
equals that which the microprocessor has calculated. As the liquid level rises or falls, the drive
motor takes up or lets out wire to maintain the desired torque reading. This change in the
torque is due to the change of buoyancy force acting on the displacer. In Effect the stepper
motor action would be to maintain a constant dip for the displacer and hence keep the
buoyancy force constant.
Besides the basic level gauge (the Servo-gauge), the Tank Gauging system comprises of
product temperature sensor (Spot or Multi-element type) and additional hydrostatic pressure
transmitter (for density measurement). No separate oil-water interface level sensor is needed.
The associated Tank-side Indicator (FDU) handles the computations and interfacing sensors and
the DCS / Computer at Control Room.

Other Measurement Principles, Combinations

Many manufacturers have evolved Products for level Gauging that

operate by combining a number of technologies. This is especially so when the
product is intended for Tank Farm Management where besides basic product
level in the tank, it is also must that the system compute or display other info
such as Product volumes (Gross and Net) at actual and base
temperature/pressure conditions, Product temperature, Product density at
actual and base conditions, Product Mass, water and sediment quantities, etc.

One of the products from a specific manufacturer is a Servo-Gauge with

built-in density measurement incorporated in the displacer itself. This model has
a displacer with integrated vibrating mechanism and sensor that is designed to
measure liquid density by sensing change in its resonant frequency. This
methodology is different from the technique adapted in most Servo Gauge
Models where density is normally measured by means of a hydrostatic pressure transmitter.
With the Pressure transmitter sensing the hydrostatic pressure and displacer measuring the
product level, density is computed by the Servo-Gauge for the user-configured value of
acceleration due to gravity.

New Tank level gauges based on high frequency impulse-transmission through a vertical
cable or wire held under tension (by means of anchoring weight at bottom) have also been
introduced in the market in the recent years. These are similar to radar gauges in that they
measure the ullage and water levels by time-of flight determined between the transmitted
impulse and the received impulses (echoes) from the vapour-oil and oil-water interfaces.

*********************