High Accuracy Ultrasonic Flow Meter Liquid Meter

How Ultrasonic Flowmeters Work

Ultrasonic flowmeters use sound waves to determine the velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe. At no flow conditions, the frequencies of an ultrasonic wave transmitted into a pipe and its reflections from the fluid are the same. Under flowing conditions, the frequency of the reflected wave is different due to the Doppler effect. When the fluid moves faster, the frequency shift increases linearly. The transmitter processes signals from the transmitted wave and its reflections to determine the flow rate.

Transit time ultrasonic flowmeters send and receive ultrasonic waves between transducers in both the upstream and downstream directions in the pipe. At no flow conditions, it takes the same time to travel upstream and downstream between the transducers. Under flowing conditions, the upstream wave will travel slower and take more time than the (faster) downstream wave. When the fluid moves faster, the difference between the upstream and downstream times increases. The transmitter processes upstream and downstream times to determine the flow rate. They represent about 12% of all flowmeters sold.

How to Use Ultrasonic Flowmeters

Ultrasonic flowmeters are commonly applied to measure the velocity of liquids that allow ultrasonic waves to pass, such as water, molten sulfur, cryogenic liquids, and chemicals. Transit time designs are also available to measure gas and vapor flow. Be careful because fluids that do not pass ultrasonic energy, such as many types of slurry, limit the penetration of ultrasonic waves into the fluid. In Doppler ultrasonic flowmeters, opaque fluids can limit ultrasonic wave penetration too near the pipe wall, which can degrade accuracy and/or cause the flowmeter to fail to measure. Transit time ultrasonic flowmeters can fail to operate when an opaque fluid weakens the ultrasonic wave to such an extent that the wave does not reach the receiver.

Clamp on type Ultrasonic flowmeters are available in sizes to 72 inches and larger.