Advantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter | Disadvantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter
This page covers advantages and disadvantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter and its basics. It mentions benefits or advantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter and drawbacks or disadvantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter.
What is Ultrasonic Water Meter?
It uses ultrasonic transducers which emit ultrasonic sound waves. These transducers are either inserted inside or attached outside of the pipe line. The sensor measures water velocity in the pipe and converts the same into flow rate. Ultrasonic meters are used to measure velocity of liquids (e.g. water and few chemicals) which allow ultrasonic waves to pass through them.
There are two main types of ultrasonic flow meters viz. transit time based and doppler frequency based.
Transit Time based flow meter : In this type, transit time from transmitting sensor and
receiving sensor is measured. Under no flow conditions, travel time remains same for upstream and
downstream. Under flowing conditions, upstream waves travel slower and take more time than
downstream waves. When fluid moves fast, difference between upstream and downstream
time increases. This information is used to determine flow rate.
Transit time meters are used to measure gas and vapor flow.
Doppler flow meter : In this type, ultrasonic frequency waves are transmitted
towards flowing liquid. The frequency of reflected waves are measured.
Under no flow conditions, transmitted and reflected frequencies remain same.
Under flowing conditions, frequency of the reflected waves are different than
transmitted waves. When fluid moves faster, the shift in frequency increases linearly.
The algorithm has been developed to determine flow rate from this
shift in the frequency.
Benefits or advantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter
Following are the benefits or advantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter:
➨It offers high reliability, long term stability and accuracy.
➨It requires very less maintenance.
➨It does not require external power sources.
➨It provides fast response to flow transits.
➨It has long battery life (usually 5 years min.).
➨The self adjusting sensors adapt with change in pipe diameters due to corrosion or scaling.
➨Modern ultrasonic water meters use cellular technologies such as GSM or GPRS to deliver meter readings to centralized server.
Drawbacks or disadvantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter
Following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of Ultrasonic Water Meter:
➨The meter cost is higher than other meter types.
➨It performs better in clean and rust free pipe walls.
➨It requires pipe to be full of water to provide accurate flow measurement.
➨It requires fluid which conducts sonic energy.
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