Typical problems with ultrasonic flow meters can include:
- Strong wind
- Foam
- Turbulence
- Surge / slug flows
- Solar heating of the sensor
- Insufficient / failure / lack of temperature compensation
- Primary device sidewall echos
- Signal crosstalk
- Signal leakage (due to spliced cables)
- Sensor drift
As with bubbler meters, there are definite advantages to ultrasonic flow meters and, applied correctly, they can be accurate and useful in measuring flow.
Image: Hach Flow
