A flow computer is an electronic computational device which implements the required algorithms using the analog and digital signals received from flow meters, temperature, pressure and density transmitters to which it is connected into volumes at base conditions.
A flow computer also audits changes that have been made to any of the parameters required to turn the raw flow meter data into volumes. It records events and alarms related to the flow meter (for example, loss of flow, loss of required electrical signals from measurement transducers, or transition of these electrical signals near their upper or lower range). It will keep a running tally of the volume for each flow meter it monitors and will create a record of this volume on an hourly, daily, batch or monthly basis. The flow data is made available externally through an electronic interface so that other computers can download the information for the purposes of supervision, accounting and auditing.
Flow computers are specifically used for custody or fiscal transfer. Most notably, field-mounted gas RTUs from ABB Totalflow and Emerson, and panel-mounted, control room flow computers for liquid and gas from OMNI Flow Computers and Emerson.
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