Water Flow Sensor: An Overview, Uses, and How it Works?

Are you looking for water flow sensors for commercial or residential use? In this article, we will highlight an overview of water flow sensors, their services, and how they operate.

A water flow sensor helps measure the volume of water in commercial or residential buildings. Typically, the water will be supplied to homes and offices using the public water supply.

Water flow sensors are also used at water sources or throughout the water system to determine the flow rate of part of the system. They also determine the flow rate of slurries or fluids in closed pipes. The flow rate of fluids is typically defined in cubic meters.

This device can determine the amount of water passing through the tube. Flow sensors come in different types, and each type operates differently. Their working principle depends on the volume of water usage, economic terms, and keeping conditions.

Water flow sensors can measure hot water, cold water, clean water, dirty or slurries. The most common techniques used in calculating water flow are velocity and displacement flow sensors. Each flow meter type has its working principle and use.

Water Flow Sensors Types, Uses, and Working Principle

Paddlewheel Sensors

These are the most common flow sensors in the market. They are cost-effective and easy to install. Paddlewheel Sensors are used to determine the flow rate of water-like liquids. These meters usually are sold with insertions or flow fittings.

They need ten pipe diameters of straight pipes on the inlet and five diameters on the outlet. The paddlewheel meter is typically fitted perpendicular to the flow rate. Usually, it will make contact with less cross-section of water flow.

Positive Displacement Flow Meter

PD meters are used in applications where a straight pipe is unavailable and if a paddlewheel sensor and turbine flow meter would experience a lot of movement. You can also use these meters to determine the flow of viscous fluids. A PD is a meter that requires fluids to remove particles in the sensor for automatic flow analysis.

The positive displacement meters scale a moving liquid or gas volumetric flow rate by splitting the media into fixed metered masses. The tools have a chamber that stops the medial flow and revolving or reciprocating mechanisms that allow improved volume outcomes—the number of cases that go over the section considering the mass media.

The rate at which this meter rotates tends to determine the flow rate of this meter. Positive displacement flow sensors are of two kinds: transducers and these look like a switch, and they offer processors and controllers. The different type is the data recovery system.

Types of Positive Displacement Flow Meter

Reciprocating or Oscillating Piston Each piston of this meter is automatically or magnetically conducted to fill a cylinder with the liquid and then remove it. Every stroke describes the limited analysis of the fluid.

• Gear

Gear flow sensors depend on inner gear spinning crosses over them. There are many types of gear sensors and are often named for the shape of the internal parts.

• Oval Gear

These two oval gears with arranged teeth press a limited fluid through each rotating meter. An oval gear flow sensor, two oval equipment, or rotors usually are fixed inside a cylinder. When the fluids pass through the cylinder, the force of the liquid makes the rotor operate. The rise of flow rate leads to the increased rotational velocity of the rotors.

• Helical Gear

The name helical gear comes from the shape of its gears or rotors. These rotors typically match the style of the helix, and this is a spiral-created structure.

• Nutating Disc

This is where a disk fitted on a circle is shaffled to an axis by the fluid flow, and each spin describes a limited volume of fluid carried. This disc has a round disc fitted on a shaft in a cylindrical chamber. The flow sensor typically defines the number of times the chamber pits and eliminates liquids by tracing the movement of the spindle. The data uses to find the flow rate.

• Diaphragm

The fluid is taken into the inlet side of a rotating diaphragm and then dispersed to the outlet. The diaphragm rotating circles are included in finding the flow rate.

Magnetic Flow Sensors

Magnetic flow sensors are also referred to as electromagnetic or mag meters. They are among the most popular meters in the market and do not have moving parts. Magnetic flow sensors are used to measure wastewater or dirty fluids that are conductive. These meters have displays and are used for data logging or remote monitoring.

Magnetic flowmeters have fluid crossing speed over the tube using a magnetic field to control the volumetric flow. These meters operate using Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. When a liquid passes through a magnetic field, it generates voltage.

The voltage generated is directly related to the fluid movement. You can also not use them to measure clean fluids because they do not contain atoms.

How Magnetic flow Sensors Operate

Magnetic flow sensors operate using Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction to determine the flow of fluids in the pipe. A magnetic field will be channeled to the fluid running over the line in a magnetic sensor. According to Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction, the voltage generated is equal to the flow of running fluid.

Ultrasonic Flow Sensor

Ultrasonic flow sensors are used in applications where sewage and dirt are involved. This meter uses sound waves to discover the speed of fluids in a pipe. They give and accept ultrasonic waves between transducers in both upstream and downstream places in tubes. 

This meter takes the same time to move upstream and downstream in the transducers. Other than flowing conditions, the upstream waves will gradually travel and take longer than the downstream waves.

Final Thought

The application requirements will determine the best water flow sensors. To save time, make sure you read and understand the above articles on flow sensors. Ensure that your meter is well installed and used for required applications for the best results.