Electronic – Ultrasonic Sensor to detect water flow

flow-sensorultrasound

I am trying to build a small DIY kit that can detect water flow in a pipe using ultrasonic sensor. I have found Ultrasonic Distance Sensor but not Ultrasonic Flow Sensor. Would really appreciate any advice or guidance on this.

I have explored many options including liquid flow meter but they don't fit my purpose. In my case both ends of the pipe are inaccessible apart from a few meters of the pipe in the middle. I cannot make any modifications to the existing configuration apart from strapping on a sensor that can detect water flow.

Upon researching I've learnt that an ultrasonic sensor can do a reliable job. There are commercial sensors that are way too expensive and above my requirement.

Best Answer

There are many types of ultrasonic flow flow meters such as in-line, clamp-on and Doppler flow-meters. As you cannot make any modification to your pipe, Clamp-on type is a good choice for your application. Ultrasonic flow metes have three main part which are sensors (ultrasonic transducers), electronic part (it includes the MCU and Time to digital converter) and the spool piece. In clamp-on type, first you must find suitable ultrasonic transducers that fit your requirements, and the rest is all about good measurement and processing of time difference between upstream and downstream signal from sensors (AMS, Maxim, TI and some Chinese company have special designed ICs for this purpose). You can mount sensors on your pipe, depend on the pipe size, one of the following configuration may be suitable for your application. enter image description here To have an accurate flow meter, apart from designing process, you need to calibrate it and calibration systems are two much expensive.