Stacked modular conditioning system and method

摘要

A system for sampling and/or conditioning a process gas such as natural gas or the like utilizing two or more modular components, each having unique conditioning or monitoring features or the like, which components are formed to be slidingly received in a receiver so as to be stacked one upon the other for sealed engagement, forming a serial flow-through passage to provide conditioning, monitoring, or other features as the gas flows therethrough. An embodiment of the present invention is designed to receive multiple conditioning components, each of which may have diverse functionality such as, for example, one or more stages of pressure reduction, monitoring, particulate and/or liquid droplet filtering, etc. The invention is designed for easy configuration customization so as to provide a readily customizable solution for each application, with an embodiment which may be incorporated into a probe or the like or at its tip, and thereby operate at the prevailing pressure and temperature of the process gas.

主权项

1. A modular conditioning apparatus for use with a pressurized fluid stream, comprising:
a first modular component comprising an outer wall, first and second ends, an inlet flow passage, and an outlet flow passage; a housing having a receiver having an inner wall formed therein to receive and envelope said outer wall of said first modular component, said housing having first and second ends, said first end of said housing formed to engage a probe and provide outlet flow therefrom; and a seal associated with said first modular component formed to prevent leakage between said outer wall of said first modular component and said inner wall of said receiver; wherein said first modular component is formed to be placed into said receiver of said housing so that said receiver envelopes same, said housing with modular component then inserted into the pressurized fluid stream via said probe so as to receive flow from said pressurized fluid stream via a flow path formed in said housing, said housing and first modular component therein formed to interact with said pressurized fluid stream at the prevailing pressure and temperature of said pressurized fluid stream to provide interacted gas from said first modular component.