Research on Simulation Technology of Ultrasonic Water Meter Based on Instantaneous Flow Method and Experimental Verification

To address the issue of long detection time of water meters using the cumulative flow method, research was conducted on the technology of detecting ultrasonic water meters based on the instantaneous flow method, leveraging the stable instantaneous flow output characteristics of piston-type water meter calibration devices. Based on the structure of ultrasonic water meters, a pipeline model was established, and simulation software was utilized to simulate the flow field distribution at different flow rates of ultrasonic water meters, analyzing the stability of the instantaneous flow field of ultrasonic water meters. The experiment employed a Class 0.2 water meter calibration device to detect errors in 36 ultrasonic water meters of two types of specifications, DN15 and DN25, using both the instantaneous flow method and the cumulative flow method. The test results were verified by a technical institution's standard water meter device. The results show that the maximum absolute value of the error difference between the detection using the instantaneous flow method and the standard device detection was 0.38%, which is less than 1/5 of the maximum allowable error for Class 2 ultrasonic water meters, verifying the technical feasibility of using the instantaneous flow method to detect ultrasonic water meters. Additionally, the detection efficiency of the instantaneous flow method is approximately 80% higher than that of the cumulative flow method. This study fills the technical gap in the field of instantaneous flow detection for ultrasonic water meters and has significant application value and industry guidance significances for improving the detection efficiency of ultrasonic water meters in mass production and promoting the upgrading of water meter detection technology.