10/5/2024

Lecture 11 : Flow Sensors: Ultrasonic

Assistant Prof. Dr. Mahmood Aldobali

EMI DR. ADEL RAWEA

Ultrasonic Flow Meter: Types and Its Applications

• The first ultrasonic flow meter was invented by Japanese physicist namely
“Shiego Satomura” in the year 1959.
• This flow meter uses Doppler technology and the main intention of this meter
is to deliver the analysis of blood flow.
• After four years, the earliest flow meters have appeared in industrial
applications. At present, many manufacturing companies are designing different
types of clamp-on flow meters to measure the liquid flow within a pipe.
• These meters use high-frequency sensors by penetrating through the pipe wall
as well as the liquid by using Doppler otherwise transit time propagation
method. So that fluid velocity and flow rate can be determined.

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Ultrasonic Flow Meter

➢ Definition: An ultrasonic flow meter can be defined as, a meter that is used to measure liquid
velocity with ultrasound to analyze the volume of liquid flow. This is a volumetric flow meter
that needs bubbles or minute particles within the liquid flow.
➢ These meters are suitable for the applications of wastewater but they will not work with
drinking/distilled water.
➢ So this type of flow meter is ideal for applications wherever chemical compatibility, low
maintenance, and low-pressure drop are required.

➢ These meters will affect the audio properties of the

liquid and also impact through viscosity, density,
temperature, etc. Like mechanical flow meters, these
meters do not include moving parts.
➢ The price of these meters will change greatly so
frequently it can be used and maintained at a low cost.
Ultrasonic-flow-meter

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Ultrasonic Flow Meter Working Principle

• An ultrasonic flow meter construction can be done by using upstream and downstream
transducers, sensor pipes, and reflectors.
• The working principle of ultrasonic flow meter is, it uses sound waves to resolve the velocity
of a liquid within a pipe. There are two conditions in the pipe like no flow and flowing. In the
first condition, the frequencies of ultrasonic waves are transmitted into a pipe and its
indications from the fluid are similar.
• In the second condition, the reflected wave’s frequency is dissimilar because of the Doppler
Effect.

Ultrasonic-flow-meter-construction

➢ Whenever the liquid flows in the pipe quickly, then the frequency shift can be
increased linearly. The transmitter processes the signals from the wave and its
reflections determine the flow rate.
➢ Transit time meters transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in both directions
within the pipe. At no-flow conditions, the time taken to flow in between
upstream and downstream in between the transducers is the same.
➢ Under these two flowing conditions, the wave upstream will flow with less speed
than the downstream wave. As the liquid flows faster, the distinction between
the up and downstream times rises. The times of the upstream and downstream
are processed by the transmitter to decide the flow rate.

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Types of Ultrasonic Flow Meter

Ultrasonic flow meters available in the market are radar, Doppler
velocity, ultrasonic clamp-on, and ultrasonic level.
➢ Doppler velocity type meters use reproduced ultrasonic noise to
calculate the liquid’s velocity.
➢ Radar type meter employs microwave technology for transmitting
small pulses to reflect off a flowing surface back to the sensor for
deciding velocity.
➢ Ultrasonic clamp-on type meter is ideal for applications wherever
accessing the pipe is difficult otherwise not possible.
➢ Ultrasonic level type meter is ideal for determining the fluid level in
both open and closed channels.

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Doppler Principle
The Doppler type of ultrasonic flow meter measures the Doppler frequency shift of
the sound waves scattered by particulate matter in the fluid. The frequency shift
provides information on the velocity of the fluid. The Doppler form of ultrasonic
flow meter can be used in open channels to measure the flow of waste matter,
water, and other open channel liquids.

Transit Time Measures

Transit time ultrasonic flow meters measure flow speed by calculating the time it
takes for ultrasonic pulses to travel through the fluid. The received rate of the
ultrasonic pulses is then converted into flow rate. The unique nature of transit
time ultrasonic flow meters is their ability to measure the flow rate regardless of
the direction of the flow.

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Types of Ultrasonic Flow Meters

• Ultrasonic flow meters are among the more popular flow meters due to the
exceptionally accurate data they provide and being noninvasive, not requiring the
placement of an instrument in the flow of the material. The variations in types of
ultrasonic flow meters are determined by where the sensors are placed, how they
attach to the pipe, and the type of material being monitored.
❑Ultrasonic Flow Meter Types
➢ Dual and Single Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meters.
• A clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter is the least invasive of the various types of flow
meters. They are attached to the outside of the pipe and are available in single and
dual versions. With the single-sensor version, the transmit and receive crystals are
placed in the same sensor body and are clamped at a single point of the pipe
surface.
• The dual version of clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter has a separate body for the one
sensor and another for the receiver sensor.
• Whether the clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter is a dual or single version, they can only
work with certain types of pipe and will not work if the pipe is lined or insulated.

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Hybrid Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Hybrid ultrasonic flow meters are the most versatile of the various types of flow
meters. They can measure the flow of any type of fluid and are considered hybrid
because they contain both Doppler and transit time methods. With Doppler and
transit time systems available, the hybrid ultrasonic flow meter allows the user to
select the method for flow measurement. If the fluid flow has particulate matter, the
Doppler system is used while the transit time method is used with clean fluids.

Radar Flow Meters

❑ Radar flow meters are not ultrasonic flow meters since
they use microwave radar signals to measure flow,
mass, and volume. If a substance has a dielectric
constant that is greater than two, such as water or
ammonia, it can deflect radar signals.
❑ The higher the dielectric constant, the greater the
signal that is deflected. Though radar flow meters are
ideal for dielectric materials greater than two, they
cannot be used with substances that are below that
constant, such as air, vapors, gasses, or foam.
❑ The concept behind a radar flow meter is the same as
the one used by legal authorities when determining
the speed of a vehicle. When the beam is sent into the
flow, reflected signals are sent back at a slightly
different frequency. The shift in frequency is a measure
of the velocity and direction of the flow.

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Ultrasonic Blood Flow Meter

❑ Blood flow is an essential physiological parameter but is difficult to measure. The flow
velocity of blood varies widely and depends on the diameter of the blood vessels. The
principle of an ultrasonic blood flow meter is based on the echo signal from erythrocytes in
the blood. The ultrasound signal is scattered by the blood cells before being received by the
receiver. The frequency shift of the scattered wave provides an image of the velocity of the
scatterers. The Doppler shift is used to measure the size and direction of the flow velocity. To
ensure the accuracy of the Doppler shift readings, the ultrasound signal is pulsed. By range
gating the return signal, the diameter, and velocity of the blood stream can be measured.

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Advantages of Ultrasonic Flow Meter

❑ It does not block the path of liquid flow.
❑ The o/p of this meter is different for density, viscosity & temperature of the liquid.
❑ The flow of liquid is bidirectional
❑ The dynamic response of this meter is good.
❑ The output of this meter is in analog form
❑ Conservation of energy
❑ It is appropriate for huge-quality flow measurement
❑ It is handy to fit and maintain
❑ Versatility is good
❑ There is no contact with liquid
❑ There is no leakage risk
❑ There are no moving parts, pressure loss
❑ High accuracy

Disadvantages of Ultrasonic Flow Meter

❑ It is expensive compared with other mechanical flow meters.

❑ The design of this meter is complex
❑ Auditory parts of this meter are expensive.
❑ These meters are complicated as compared with other meters, thus it
requires specialists to maintain and repair these meters.
❑ It cannot measure cement or concrete pipes once they rusted.
❑ It doesn’t work once the pipe contains holes or bubbles in it.
❑ Can’t measure cement/concrete pipe or pipe with such material lining.

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Applications
The applications of ultrasonic flow meters include the following.
❑ These meters are used in wastewater and dirty liquid applications
❑ These meters are used wherever chemical compatibility, less maintenance, and
low-pressure drops are required.
❑ These meters are used to measure the velocity of a liquid through ultrasound to
analyze volume flow.
❑ These meters measure the disparity between the transit time of ultrasonic
pulses which transmits with the direction of liquid flow
❑ The applications of these meters range from process to custody flow
❑ This is one kind of device for volumetric flow measurement for liquids as well as
gases.
❑ These are excellent alternatives for both vortex and electromagnetic
flowmeters.

FAQs
• 1). What is ultrasonic measurement?
• Ultrasonic measurement is the contactless principle and used for measuring the levels of
corrosive, boiling, and hot liquids.

• 2). How accurate are ultrasonic flow meters?

• These meters provide extremely good accuracy and work well for dirt-free flow otherwise
liquid flow with small particles.

• 3). What is the most accurate flow meter?

• Coriolis mass flowmeters generate the most precise for most liquids but they are costly.

• 4). What is a Doppler flow meter?

• The Doppler flow meter uses reflected ultrasonic noise to determine the liquid velocity.

• 5). Who invented the ultrasonic flow meter?

• It was developed by Shigeo Satomura in the year 1959 for analysis of blood flow and in 1963,
the first meter was developed for industrial applications.

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