Accuracy of ultrasonic flow-meters on short straight sections of water pipelines

Abstract This paper presents experimental results using the ultrasonic flow-meter “Dnipro-7U” on limited straight sections of water pipelines located before turns and branches. In these pipeline sections, asymmetric water velocity profiles can lead to reduced accuracy in flow measurements using an ultrasonic flow-meter. It was observed that the accuracy of the ultrasonic flow-meter on short straight sections depends on both their length and the water flow regime. The device's passport error is specified as 2%. An additional error (ranging from 0 to 3%) may arise due to variations in the reliability of water flow and supply characteristics input by the operator, deviating from the average values used in the operational calculation algorithm during measurements.