ABB SpiritIT Flow-X Series – High-Accuracy Custody Transfer Flow Computers

Overview

The ABB SpiritIT Flow-X series is an Electronic Flow Measurement (EFM) platform engineered for custody transfer (fiscal metering) of natural gas, crude oil, refined products, NGLs, LPG, petrochemical fluids, steam, and multi-product pipelines. Developed for long-term lifecycle reliability, the Flow-X architecture combines certified hardware, modular design, advanced calculation standards, and secure digital auditability, ensuring full traceability and compliance with global legal metrology requirements.

The Flow-X series includes multiple enclosure options—panel-mount, rack-mount, and field-mount—so it can be deployed both in control rooms and hazardous industrial zones. With wide temperature tolerance, strong EMC immunity, and global certifications, it is designed to perform in harsh industrial environments without compromising measurement accuracy or traceability.

Technical Specifications

Why Flow-X Is Used for Fiscal Metering

Flow-X was engineered with a singular purpose: deliver the highest possible measurement integrity for fiscal metering applications.Seven Star LLC supplies this item on request with the manufacturer documentation, and availability and lead time are confirmed at quotation.

It is used for custody transfer metering and provides:

• Legal metrology certifications

• Audit-ready data logs

• Highly stable and noise-resistant I/O

• Advanced calculation libraries

• Modular architecture suitable for any metering scenario

• Cybersecure remote access and configuration

• Support for both gas & liquid fiscal standards

Core Architecture – Flow-X/M Module (Building Block of All Systems)

At the heart of the Flow-X platform is the Flow-X/M module.

Each module includes:

Analog & Temperature Inputs

• 6 × High-accuracy analog inputs (4–20 mA)

• 4 × HART-enabled inputs (AI 1–4)

• 2 × PT100 RTD inputs

Analog & Digital Outputs

• 4 × Analog outputs

• 16 × Digital I/O channels (fully assignable)

Assignable Digital Channels

Each of the 16 digital channels can act as:

• Pulse input (turbine / PD meters)

• Density time-period input

• Prover detector input

• Status input or output

• Pulse output

• Prover bus output

Communication Ports

• 2 × Ethernet (RJ45)

• 2 × RS-232/RS-485 ports

• X/C enclosure: 3 serial ports

• X/P enclosure: additional RS-232/RS-485 ports

Computational Core

• High-speed processor

• Dedicated metrology engine

• Secure real-time operating system

• Fully redundant power options (model-dependent)

Enclosures & Deployment Options

Flow-X supports multiple industrial installation methods:

Flow-X/S

– Wall or DIN-Rail Enclosure

Holds one Flow-X/M module with direct field wiring on screw terminals; suited to small stations.

Flow-X/C

– Compact Panel Enclosure

A compact panel unit with one integrated module and a 7 inch touch screen for control room installation.

Flow-X/P

– Panel Enclosure for up to Four Modules

A panel-mounted enclosure for up to four Flow-X/M modules, supporting multiple streams and provers; the hazardous-area rating applies to the Flow-X/M, /S and /K only.

Flow-X/K

– Compact DIN-Rail Enclosure

Designed for distributed measurement points with reduced footprint.

Hazardous Area Certifications (Flow-X/M, X/S, X/K)

Fully certified for installation in hazardous industrial environments:

North America

• Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, T4

ATEX / IECEx

• Zone 2

• Ex ec IIC Gc

Environmental Ratings

• Operating temperature: –40°C to 75°C

• Humidity: 5%–95% (non-condensing)

• Strong EMC immunity per industrial standards

The Flow-X/M, /S and /K carry these hazardous-area certifications; the /C, /P and /R enclosures are for panel or rack installation.

Measurement Standards & Fiscal Calculations (Extremely Comprehensive)

Flow-X includes a library of fiscal calculation standards.

Below is the full supported list:

Liquid Property Calculations

API 11.1 (2004 + Add 1/2007 + Add 2/2019)

Tables 5,6,23,24,53,54,59,60

API 11.2.1 / 11.2.1M / 11.2.2 / 11.2.2M

API 11.2.4 LPG/NGL Table E

API 11.3.2.1 Ethylene (API-2565)

API 11.3.2.2 Propylene

API 11.4.1 Water

API 2540

ASTM D1550 Butadiene

ASTM D4311 Asphalt

GPA TP15 / TP25 / TP27

GOST 8.595

IAPWS-IF97 (water/steam)

IUPAC Ethylene

ISO 91-1 / ISO 91-2

NIST 1045 CO₂ / Ethylene

OIML R22

STO 5.9 B1/B2/B3

Gas Property Calculations

AGA5 / AGA8 (Part 1 & GERG-2008) / AGA10

AGA NX19-Mod

GERG-2008 (full)

GPA 2145 / GPA 2172

ISO 5167 / ISO 6976 / ISO 12213 / ISO 20765

GOST 30319 / GOST 31369

MI 3213

S-GERG

“Wet Gas” (De Leeuw, Reader-Harris)

Flow Rate / Differential Calculations

AGA3 / AGA7 / AGA9 / AGA11

ISO 5167 (1–4)

V-Cone

GOST 8.586.2

STO 5.2

MI 3213

Reporting, Logging, Auditing Standards

AGA 13

API 12.2.1 / 12.2.2 / 12.2.3

API 21.1 / API 21.2

Control & Automation Functionality

Flow-X can directly control and automate:

• Sampling systems

• Prover sequences

• Batching and pipeline product movement

• Block valves

• LACT units

• Loading/unloading systems

• Automatic density/time-based measurement

• Multi-stream switching and selection

This eliminates the need for a dedicated PLC in many applications.

Software Platform & Engineering Tools

Flow-X Standard Application

• No programming required

• Metric & US customary unit support

• Fully configurable measurement & control blocks

Flow-Xpress Engineering Suite

• Advanced graphical configuration

• Unlimited customization

• Trending, diagnostics, and simulation

• Secure configuration management

Touchscreen + Secure Web Access

• Local color touchscreen HMI

• Full configuration via secure HTTPS web server

• Audit trails

• Event logs

• Password-protected engineering access

Integration & Third-Party Compatibility

Flow-X integrates seamlessly with:

• ABB SpiritIT supervisory systems

• SCADA/DCS/PLC (Modbus etc.)

• Gas chromatographs

• Density meters & viscosity meters

• Coriolis, ultrasonic, PD, turbine, vortex & differential meters

• Provers & sampling equipment

• Enterprise reporting systems

Installation & Commissioning Best Practices

To ensure full fiscal compliance, follow:

• Verify temperature, pressure, and density wiring and ranges

• Validate flow meter type and K-factors

• Check HART inputs and PT100 calibrations

• Ensure grounding & shielding for EMC immunity

• Configure all API/AGA/ISO standards per contractual requirements

• Perform proving, comparison tests, and loop checks before commissioning

• Enable HTTPS and admin credentials before site handover

Measurement Hardware Performance

The accuracy of any fiscal calculation is ultimately limited by the front-end hardware that acquires the raw signals, and the ABB SpiritIT Flow-X front end is specified accordingly:

• Analog inputs: 24-bit resolution, 0.002% of full scale at 21°C, 0.008% across the full 0–60°C ambient range, long-term stability 0.01% per year

• 4-wire PRT inputs: 0.02°C resolution at 100 ohms, error below 0.05°C over 0–50°C and below 0.5°C over –220 to +220°C

• Pulse inputs: up to 10 kHz single and dual pulse, with true Level A and Level B pulse integrity checking per ISO 6551, IP252 and API 5.5

• Power: external 24 V DC ±10%, with redundant supply connections available

Enclosure Formats, Stream Capacity & Cybersecurity

Each Flow-X/M module handles up to four gas or four liquid meter runs. The compact Flow-X/S (142 × 250 × 164 mm, 2.5 kg) and Flow-X/K (60 × 353 × 131 mm, 1.7 kg) carry a single module, the panel-mount Flow-X/P accepts up to four modules operating independently, and the 19-inch Flow-X/R rack unit accepts up to eight. Local indication is provided by a dimmable 196 × 64 pixel graphical LCD on the /S, /K and /R, or by a built-in 7-inch colour touchscreen on the /C and /P, with optional external IP65 panel displays at 1024 × 600 or 1280 × 800 resolution.

On the security side, the ABB SpiritIT Flow-X provides HTTPS secured by a public key infrastructure, named personal user accounts so that the audit trail identifies the actual individual rather than a shared login, and a mechanical tamper switch on the display module. This combination is what legal metrology authorities expect of a fiscal device certified under the Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU, the EMC Directive 2014/30/EU and OIML R117-1.

Flow-X/M Module I/O and How the Five Enclosures Differ

ABB uses one module, the Flow-X/M, in every enclosure, and it has no hardware switches: all signal types are set in software. Each module carries 6 analog inputs (the first four with independent HART loops), 2 four-wire PRT inputs, 4 analog outputs of 14-bit resolution, 2 serial ports and 2 Ethernet ports. A further 16 digital channels are shared between functions, so the sum of pulse inputs, density inputs, status inputs, digital outputs, pulse outputs, sphere detector inputs, prover bus output and frequency outputs cannot exceed sixteen.

The enclosures differ mainly in mounting and connection. Flow-X/S is a DIN-rail or wall unit with two 39-way screw terminal strips for direct field wiring. Flow-X/K is a narrow DIN-rail unit with two 37-pin D-sub connectors. Flow-X/C is a compact panel unit with one integrated module and a 7 inch touch screen. Flow-X/P is a panel unit for up to four modules that adds three serial ports of its own, and Flow-X/R is a 19 inch rack for up to eight modules, each separately powered and individually exchangeable.

Ratings are not identical across the family. The Class I Division 2 and Zone 2 hazardous-area rating applies to the Flow-X/M module and to the Flow-X/S and Flow-X/K enclosures only. The -40 to +75 °C ambient range applies to Flow-X/S, /K and /R, while the touch-screen units Flow-X/C and /P are limited to -30 to +75 °C. All enclosures are IP20, with IP41 on the front of the /C and /P panels. A module draws 0.3 A nominal at 24 V DC, and redundant supply connections are provided.

Proving, Station and Batch Functions of the Flow-X Standard Applications

ABB supplies four standard applications: liquid and gas, each in US customary or metric base units. A station can combine up to 8 meter runs, of which at most 4 are local to the flow computer. Two provers can be configured with one active at a time, using up to 4 detector inputs, and all sphere and compact prover types are covered. Proving follows API MPMS 4.8 with volumetric, direct mass and inferred mass methods, and master meter proving follows API 4.5 for liquids and AGA 6 for gas. Up to 30 stream flow computers can share one prover I/O module.

Meter factor and K-factor curves accept up to 12 points, in forward and reverse direction. For liquid service the batch stack holds 6 batches for run and station, and the last 4 batches of a meter run can be recalculated. Meter tickets and proving reports follow API MPMS 12.2, and hourly, daily and two configurable period reports are produced for run and station. Differential pressure meters may use up to 3 dP inputs per meter. The product list includes hydrogen and natural gas blends, CO2 in dense or supercritical phase, LNG, LPG/NGL, ethylene and steam.

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