Acoustic Limescale Layer and Temperature Measurement in Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Abstract

Guided acoustic waves are commonly used in domestic water meters to measure the flow rate. The accuracy of this measurement method is affected by factors such as variations in temperature and limescale deposition inside of the pipe. In this work, a new approach using signals from different sound propagation paths is used to determine these quantities and allow for subsequent compensation. This method evaluates the different propagation times of guided Lamb waves in flow measurement applications. A finite element method-based model is used to identify the calibration curves for the device under test. The simulated dependencies on temperature and layer thickness are validated by experimental data. Finally, a test on simulated data with varying temperatures and limescale depositions proves that this method can be used to separate both effects. Based on these values, a flow measurement correction scheme can be derived that provides an improved resolution of guided acoustic wave-based flow meters.