Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Flow meters have proven excellent devices for more accurate measure of the flow of

water. With most liquid flow measurement instruments, the flow rate is determined

inferentially by measuring the liquid's velocity or the change in kinetic energy. Velocity

depends on the pressure differential that is forcing the liquid through a pipe or conduit.

Because the pipe's cross-sectional area is known and remains constant, the average velocity is

an indication of the flow rate. Technological improvements of flow meter must also be

considered. It is always considered about the needs of the flow meter. According to Snells

principle the ultrasonic transmission property can be obtained on the basis of incidence angle,

acoustic impedance, basic frequency of ultrasound, and material and thickness of metallic

plate. However this principle cant be applied to certain cases where an ultrasonic incident

wave propagated through a metallic plate turns into a longitudinal wave, a shear wave and a

Rayleigh wave. Consequently the ultrasonic propagation paths were investigated

experimentally at various angles of incidence. While ultrasonics exhibit good immunity to

background noise, these sensors are still likely to falsely respond to some loud noises, like

the hissing sound produced by air hoses and relief valves. The study is tending to be more

focused on this problem and shall develop further ideas relating on how to compensate its

imperfections regarding on Doppler effect.

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1.2 Background of the Study

Ultrasonic flow meters use sound waves to define the velocity of a fluid flowing in a

pipeline. At zero flow circumstances, the frequencies of an ultrasonic wave transmitted into

a pipe and its reflections from the fluid are the same. Ultrasonic flow meters are gaining wide

usage in commercial, industrial and medical applications. Major benefits of utilizing this type

of flowmeter are higher accuracy, low maintenance (no moving parts), noninvasive flow

measurement, and the ability to regularly diagnose health of the meter. This application note

is intended as an introduction to ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) flow sensing using the

TDC1000 ultrasonic analog-front-end (AFE) and the TDC7200 picosecond accurate

stopwatch. Information regarding a typical off-the-shelf ultrasonic flow sensor is provided,

along with related equations for calculation of flow velocity and flow rate. Included in the

appendix is a summary of standards for water meters and a list of low cost sensors suitable

for this application space.

System requirements, standards, and cost dictate the choice of flow meter sensors. Water is a

good medium for propagating ultrasonic pressure pulses, and the most common sensors for

water applications have a resonance frequency in a MHz range, such as 1 MHz.

Published documents related to this field tackles on how the conventional system can

be improved by automating the system and implementing a new way of getting accurate

results in a fast yet reliable manner. In 2015, a study Development of an Ultrasonic Airflow

Measurement Device for Ducted Air by Andrew B. Raine, et al., used the ultrasonic device

for heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, which are difficult and costly to observe

for energy efficiency output and consistency. The proponents used pressure differential type
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devices such as Pitot tube/arrays, orifice plates and Venturis which is according to experts,

lasting for at least 60 years which are commonly used to measure fluids such as exhaust

gases. Another study, entitled A study of ultrasonic propagation for flow rate measurement

using ultrasonic flowmeter by Yuto Inoue, et al., uses a new flow metering system in a

circular pipe, an ultrasonic velocity profile (UVP) method for ventilations on nuclear

facilities. This method can measure instantaneous velocity profiles in a pipe over a diameter

directly, so flow rate is calculated using the integration of the averaging velocity profile. This

study stated that the standard ultrasonic sensors, such as s Oriffice, Nozzle and Venturi have

been used for industrial tubing flow rate measurements from the view point of low cost and

global standard. Conversely, these methods have a problem of measurement errors which are

caused by changes in flow conditions under aging occurrences, e.g. surface wear, oxidization

and metal deposition inside pipes. Another study, entitled Sensor Configuration and Flow

Rate Characteristics of Ultrasonic Flowmeter for

Very Low Liquid Flow Rate by H. Ishikawa et al., used small disk ultrasonic transducers

were used to develop a very small ultrasonic flowmeter with a pipe diameter of 0.53 mm ID

for experimental purposes only. One of the conclusions shows that low flow rate

measurement results of the developed flow meter were almost all scattered within the range

predicted from the standard deviation of measurements. The result suggests that it can

measure a very low flow rate range rendering it useful for semiconductor industry.

1.3 Objectives
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1. To measure flow rates with high accuracy by using ultrasound.

2. An automatic measurement system which can measure three-dimensional sound field

has been developed.

3. to measure the velocity of liquids that allow ultrasonic waves to pass, such as water.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Major benefits of utilizing this type of flowmeter are higher accuracy, low

maintenance (no moving parts), non-invasive flow measurement, and the ability to regularly

diagnose health of the meter.

1.5 Scope and delimitation

This technology can be very accurate and is used for custody transfer (meaning accounting

accurately for an expensive fluid) of natural gas and petroleum liquids. High turndown (can

read low as a percentage of the full scale or top reading), handles high pressures, is

repeatable (consistent), handles extreme temperatures, can be used clamped to the outside of

a pipe without penetration, is low maintenance, highly reliable and self diagnosing.

Disadvantages can include high cost, sensitivity to stray process vibrations, problems with

pipe diameter change due to buildup and clamp-on units have lower accuracy.

Ultrasonic flowmeters do not obstruct flow so they can be applied to sanitary, corrosive and

abrasive liquids. Some ultrasonic flowmeters use clamp-on transducers that can be mounted

external to the pipe and do not have any wetted parts.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Principle of Ultrasonic

Ultrasonic waves are sounds which cannot be heard by humans and are normally,

frequencies of above 20kHz. To measure the distance of a sound signal transmitted, it needs

to be reflected. This sound signal is a longitudinal sound wave that strikes a flat surface.

Sound is then reflected, provided that the dimension of the reflective surface is large

compared to the wavelength of the sound. There are four factors to consider in reflection of

ultrasound- surface, distance, size and angle. An ideal target surface is hard and smooth. This

surface reflects a greater amount of signal than a soft, rough surface. A weak echo is the

result of a small or soft object. This reduces the operating distance of an ultrasonic sensor and

decreases its accuracy. The shorter the distance from the ultrasonic sensor to an object, the

stronger the returning echo is. Therefore, as the distance increases, the object requires better

reflective characteristics to return a sufficient echo. A large object has more surface to reflect

the signal than a small one. The surface area recognized as the target is generally the area

closest to the sensor. The inclination of an objects surface facing the ultrasonic sensor affects

how the object reflects. The portion perpendicular to the sensor returns the echo. If the entire

object is at a greater angle, the signal is then reflected away from the sensor and no echo is

detected (Palma, 2008). When a disturbance occurs at a portion in an elastic medium, it

propagates through the medium in a finite time as a mechanical sound wave by the vibrations

of molecules, atoms or any particles present. Such mechanical waves are also called elastic

waves (Ultrasonic Sensing: Fundamentals and Its Applications to Non-destructive Evaluation

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Ikuo Ihara). The velocity of the sound wave may vary depending on the temperature of the

surrounding.

2.2 Time of Flight

The speed of ultrasonic wave may vary in the direction of the fluid where it travels.

In theory it is much slower if it travels against the direction of the fluid and faster through the

direction of the liquid. Using the formulas:

D+ L
TOF AB=
c +v

D+ L
TOF BA =
c v

TOF=TOF BA TOF AB

Where;

D is the diameter of the pipe

L is the length between the transducers

c is the speed of sound in water

v is the flow rate

TOFAB is the velocity through the water

TOFBA is the velocity against the water

It is possible to compute for the velocity of the liquid (Ultrasonic Sensing Basics for

Liquid Level Sensing, Flow Sensing, and Fluid Identification Applications, 2015).
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2.3 Software

Arduino Software

Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use

hardware and software. Developed at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute as a tool

for prototyping, the Arduino software is published as an open source tools and is

available for extension.

2.4 Gizduino

Figure 2.1 Gizduino

The Gizduino is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328 and ATmega168. It

has 14 digital input/ output pins, 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscilla- tor, a USB

connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.

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2.5 Ultrasonic Transducer

Figure 2.2 Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04

Ultrasonic transducers is a type of transducer that converts ultrasound waves to

electrical signals or vice versa. Ultrasound transceivers are transducers that both transmit and

receive. Active ultrasonic sensors generate high-frequency sound waves and evaluate the

echo which is received back by the sensor, measuring the time interval between sending the

signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object. Passive ultrasonic

sensors are basically microphones that detect ultrasonic noise that is present under certain

conditions, convert it to an electrical signal, and report it to a computer.

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Chapter 3

Methodology

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Knowledge Hardware
Requirement: Development:
Knowledge Design and
in Electronic construction Microcontr
Communicat of flow rate
ions sensor oller-
Arduino Software based flow
Programmin Development: rate
g Development sensor
Hardware of circuit
Requirement: microcontroll
Ultrasonic er program
sensor and
gizduino
Software
Requirement:
Arduino
Programmin
g Software

Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework of the Study

This project is aiming to determine the flow rate of a liquid through the measurement

of its velocity. By further research upon the hardware and software needed to obtain the

output. As the conceptual framework of the study shown in Figure 3.1, the input variables of

the system, the process to be done and the desired output.

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The liquid flowing in the designated diameter of the tube is the input of the system. There

will be a conversion from sound signal to electrical signal to measure its velocity in a given

diameter of tube. By the process of Arduino Programming it is the responsible for the sensor

to provide the flow rate of the liquid and will get the necessary output. The step-by step

construction of the whole project is shown in a process flowchart in Figure 3.2

Figure 3.2 Process Flowchart of the Study

Figure 3.3 shows the general block diagram of the system. The input of the system

will be in any form of liquid. The liquid will flow into the tube and the ultrasonic sensor will

measure its transit time how fast or slow is a certain liquid flow in a given diameter of tube.
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From the gathered data from the sensor it will be transferred to the microcontroller for the

analysis. The expected output will be in terms of the velocity.

Figure 3.3 Block Diagram of the System

Hardware Development

The objective of this study is to develop a device that is capable of measuring the

average velocity along the path of an emitted beam of ultrasound, by averaging the transit

time between the pulses of ultrasound propagating into and against the direction of the flow.

Ultrasonic sensor

An ultrasonic sensor detects the presence of a target object and measure the

distance between the sensor and the object by sending a beam of ultrasound from its

emitter and detecting a reflection of the beam from the object with its receiver. The

sensor calculates the exact distance between the sensor and the target object by

computing the time that the beam has traveled, at the speed of sound, between the

emission and detection. A through-scan model has an independent emitter and

receiver that together detect the presence of a target object when the ultrasonic waves

are either decreased or blocked by a target object.

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Transit Time Flow Meter

Figure 3.4 Transit-time Flow Meter, Z Model

The time which is travelling between two sensors is different due to the fluid

flowing through the pipe. The measurement of the time difference gives the flow

velocity.

L
tf=
c +Vcos

L
t r=
cVcos

Where, tf is the time that sound beam takes to travel to the second sensor, and

tr is time that sound needs to be received by first sensor ,c is the velocity of sound in

the fluid, V is the velocity of the fluid, L is the distance between ultrasonic transmitter

and receiver , and is the angle between the ultrasonic beam and axis of the fluid

flow.
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The time difference T is equal:

2 VLcos
T =t f t r =
c 2V 2 cos

If the receipt pulse is used to trigger the transmitter to emit the sound beams;

therefore, the frequency of the forward and return pulse trains are given by:

c +Vcos
Ff=
L

cVcos
Fr =
L

2Vcos
f =F f Fr =
L

Therefore,

Lf
V=
2 cos

Figure 3.5: The circuit that generates trains of forward and return pulse
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In order to use the above equations, this circuit, which generates the forward

and return pulse trains should be designed.

Software Development

The process flowchart is shown in Figure 3.6. Data coming for the sensors are fed to

the microcontroller for analysis and comparison. The output of the microcontroller will be

sent to the screen.

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Figure 3.6 Process Flowchart

Testing

To verify the proper operation of the prototype, a saline solution with similar

properties with urine will be used as samples. Also, a model of a human urinary track

systems will be designed to be used as starting point of testing.

Results and Discussion

Expected output will be tabulated in Tables 3.1 to 3.3, subsequently percentage of

accuracy will be computed.

Table 3.1 Proposed result of experiment for Flowrate measurement

Table 3.2 Proposed result of experiment for Current measurement

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Table 3.3 Proposed Table for Measured Flowrate and Computed Volume and Turbidity