Ultrasonic flowmeters are volumetric flow devices that use sound waves to measure fluid velocity as it moves through a pipe. These flow instruments contain no moving parts and provide consistent accuracy at low and high flow rates. Ultrasonic flowmeters are also non-invasive and offer external clamp-on or integral flow-through designs, making them ideal for corrosive and abrasive fluids and sanitary applications. They also work well for wastewater, slurries, gases, and other dirty liquids. . 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 flow meters, opaque fluids can limit ultrasonic wave penetration to near the pipe wall, which can degrade accuracy and/or cause the flow meter to fail to measure. Transit time ultrasonic flow meters can fail to operate when an opaque fluid weakens the ultrasonic wave to such an extent that the wave does not reach the receiver
Additional advantages of ultrasonic flowmeters include:
- Operates in forward and reverse directions
- Low maintenance solution with no moving parts
- No pressure drops
- Clamp-on style requires no pipe cutting, which eliminates leakage issues
- Cost-effective solution for applications with large pipe sizes
