Clamp‑On Ultrasonic Flow Measurement with Fixed Measurement Geometry Applying Phase Shift Method

Mika Huovinen; Timo Kananen; Sari Kuure; Richard Högström

Clamp‑On Ultrasonic Flow Measurement with Fixed Measurement Geometry Applying Phase Shift Method

Mika Huovinen^*
, Timo Kananen
, Sari Kuure
, Richard Högström

^*Corresponding author for this work

SU1203 Process metrology

Research output: Contribution to conference › Conference article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

This study presents the development and performance evaluation of a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter designed for industrial scale water flow measurement in full, pressurized pipelines. The measurement principle is based on the phase shift method, utilizing two piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers mounted externally on a DN150 steel pipe.
The measurement is based on two commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors that have a fixed distance. The measurements were performed in the flow calibration laboratory of VTT MIKES, the National Metrology Institute of Finland, part of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The reference equipment was an electromagnetic flow meter in size DN150 in a loop type test rig.
The results demonstrate a strong linear correlation between the measured ultrasonic phase difference and the reference measurements across a flow range of 20 – 127 L/s. According to the preliminary uncertainty analysis, the expanded
measurement uncertainty for the developed clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter is 1.66 % (k = 2). This is comparable to commercial clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters. The developed device, featuring a fixed distance between sensors, offers
potential for adaptation to various pipe sizes and applications.

Original language	English
Number of pages	4
Publication status	Published - 2026
MoE publication type	Not Eligible
Event	20th International Flow Measurement Conference, FLOMEKO 2026 - Nara, Japan Duration: 17 May 2026 → 20 May 2026 https://flomeko2026.sice.jp/

Conference

Conference	20th International Flow Measurement Conference, FLOMEKO 2026
Country/Territory	Japan
City	Nara
Period	17/05/26 → 20/05/26
Internet address	https://flomeko2026.sice.jp/

Funding

This research was co-funded by the European Union via the Regional Council of Kainuu, Finland.

Keywords

Ultrasonic
flow measurement
phase shift
fixed geometry

CEMIS MESI: Biokiertotalouden jalostusarvon ja teollisuuden mittaustekniikan kehittämishanke
Kuure, S. (Manager), Huovinen, M. (Participant) & Kananen, T. (Participant)
Euroopan Unioni - Euroopan Unionin osarahoittama
1/10/25 → 31/12/27
Project: EU project

Cite this

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title = "Clamp‑On Ultrasonic Flow Measurement with Fixed Measurement Geometry Applying Phase Shift Method",

abstract = "This study presents the development and performance evaluation of a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter designed for industrial scale water flow measurement in full, pressurized pipelines. The measurement principle is based on the phase shift method, utilizing two piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers mounted externally on a DN150 steel pipe. The measurement is based on two commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors that have a fixed distance. The measurements were performed in the flow calibration laboratory of VTT MIKES, the National Metrology Institute of Finland, part of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The reference equipment was an electromagnetic flow meter in size DN150 in a loop type test rig. The results demonstrate a strong linear correlation between the measured ultrasonic phase difference and the reference measurements across a flow range of 20 – 127 L/s. According to the preliminary uncertainty analysis, the expanded measurement uncertainty for the developed clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter is 1.66 \% (k = 2). This is comparable to commercial clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters. The developed device, featuring a fixed distance between sensors, offers potential for adaptation to various pipe sizes and applications.",

keywords = "Ultrasonic, flow measurement, phase shift, fixed geometry",

author = "Mika Huovinen and Timo Kananen and Sari Kuure and Richard H{\"o}gstr{\"o}m",

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TY - CONF

T1 - Clamp‑On Ultrasonic Flow Measurement with Fixed Measurement Geometry Applying Phase Shift Method

AU - Huovinen, Mika

AU - Kananen, Timo

AU - Kuure, Sari

AU - Högström, Richard

N1 - no issn/isbn number, "ll accepted papers will be made available on the FLOMEKO 2026 website during the conference period with password protection. 7. Papers for which the Copyright Agreement has been completed will be transferred to the IMEKO website for open-access publication."

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - This study presents the development and performance evaluation of a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter designed for industrial scale water flow measurement in full, pressurized pipelines. The measurement principle is based on the phase shift method, utilizing two piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers mounted externally on a DN150 steel pipe. The measurement is based on two commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors that have a fixed distance. The measurements were performed in the flow calibration laboratory of VTT MIKES, the National Metrology Institute of Finland, part of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The reference equipment was an electromagnetic flow meter in size DN150 in a loop type test rig. The results demonstrate a strong linear correlation between the measured ultrasonic phase difference and the reference measurements across a flow range of 20 – 127 L/s. According to the preliminary uncertainty analysis, the expanded measurement uncertainty for the developed clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter is 1.66 % (k = 2). This is comparable to commercial clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters. The developed device, featuring a fixed distance between sensors, offers potential for adaptation to various pipe sizes and applications.

AB - This study presents the development and performance evaluation of a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter designed for industrial scale water flow measurement in full, pressurized pipelines. The measurement principle is based on the phase shift method, utilizing two piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers mounted externally on a DN150 steel pipe. The measurement is based on two commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors that have a fixed distance. The measurements were performed in the flow calibration laboratory of VTT MIKES, the National Metrology Institute of Finland, part of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The reference equipment was an electromagnetic flow meter in size DN150 in a loop type test rig. The results demonstrate a strong linear correlation between the measured ultrasonic phase difference and the reference measurements across a flow range of 20 – 127 L/s. According to the preliminary uncertainty analysis, the expanded measurement uncertainty for the developed clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter is 1.66 % (k = 2). This is comparable to commercial clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters. The developed device, featuring a fixed distance between sensors, offers potential for adaptation to various pipe sizes and applications.

KW - Ultrasonic

KW - flow measurement

KW - phase shift

KW - fixed geometry

M3 - Conference article

T2 - 20th International Flow Measurement Conference, FLOMEKO 2026

Y2 - 17 May 2026 through 20 May 2026

ER -

Clamp‑On Ultrasonic Flow Measurement with Fixed Measurement Geometry Applying Phase Shift Method

Abstract

Conference

Funding

Keywords

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CEMIS MESI: Biokiertotalouden jalostusarvon ja teollisuuden mittaustekniikan kehittämishanke

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