Physics of ultrasonic

1.1

Sound

Sound can be defined as a regular

mechanical vibration that travels through
matter as a waveform. The particles in the
medium in which sound travels move back
and forth in the direction of wave
propagation, this accounts for the longitudinal
propagation behaviour.Sound waves cannot
travel in vaccum.
Sound waves are generated by a source that is
vibrating at a rapid rate such as a speaker
diaphragm. These vibrations are imparted to
the medium and thus, the wave propagates
away from the transmitter. A sound wave in
medium can undergo reflection, refraction
and/or attenuation.
The behavior of sound propagation is
generally affected by three things:

A relationship between density and

pressure. This relationship, affected by
temperature, determines the speed of
sound within the medium.
The propagation is affected by the motion
of the medium itself. For example, sound
moving through wind. Independent of the
motion of sound through the medium, if
the medium is moving, the sound is
further transported.
The viscosity of the medium also affects
the motion of sound waves. It determines
the rate at which sound is attenuated. For
many media, such as air or water,
attenuation due to viscosity is negligible.
The speed of sound in dry air is given
approximately by,

vsound in air 331.4 + 0.6 Tc m/s

For temperatures closer to room
temperature, where Tc is the temperature
in celsius.

Fig. Propagation of sound in medium

1.2 Ultrasonic Waves
Sound waves that have a frequency greater
than 20 kHz ( the highest frequency that
humans can percieve) are termed
ultrasonic. These wave have considerably
lower wavelength and much higher energy
than acoustic waves, making them suitable
for level and distance sensing. By large,
the most common source of ultrasonic
vibrations is a piezoelectric transducer.
1.3 History of Ultrasonic ranging
In 1822, Jean-Daniel Colladen, a Swiss
physicist/engineer and Charles-Francois
Sturm, a mathematician, used an
underwater bell in an attempt to calculate
the speed of sound in the waters of Lake
Geneva, Switzerland . In his experiment
an
underwater
bell
was
struck
simultaneously
with
ignition
of
gunpowder. The flash from the ignition
was observed 10 miles away and
compared with the arrival of the sound
from the bell underwater heard through a
trumpet-like device in the water. In spite
of these crude instruments, they managed
to determine that the speed of sound under
water was 1435 metres/second, a figure
not too different from what is known
today.

Fig.
The
experiment

classic

Sturm-Colladem

As ultrasonics in general follows the

principles delineated in acoustics, its
development, particularly in the early
years, is to some extent embedded in the
broad developments in acoustics. The
study of acoustics probably had its
beginning with the Greek philosopher
Pythagorus (6th Century B.C.). Aristotle
(4th century BC) assumed (correctly) that
a sound wave resonates in air through
motion of the air; a philosphy-based
hypothesis more than one of experimental
physics. Vitruvius (1st century BC),
determined the correct mechanism for the
movement of sound waves, and he
contributed substantially to the acoustic
design of theatres, because he was an
architect. Boethius (6th century AD), the
Roman philosopher, documented several
ideas relating science to music, including a
suggestion that the human perception of
pitch is related to the physical property of
frequency.

Galileo-Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is said to have
started to modern studies of acoustics. He

elevated the study of vibrations and the

correlation between pitch and frequency of
the sound source to scientific standards.
His interest in sound was inspired in part
by his father, who was a mathematician,
musician, and composer. Following
Galileo's foundation work, progress in
acoustics came relatively quickly. The
French mathematician Marin Mersenne
studied the vibration of stretched strings;
the results of these studies were
summarized in the three Mersenne's laws.
Mersenne's Harmonicorum Libri (1636)
provided the basis for modern musical
acoustics. Later in the century Robert
Hooke, the English physicist, first
produced a sound wave of known
frequency, using a rotating cog wheel as a
measuring device.
Further developed in the 19th century by
the French physicist Flix Savart, and now
commonly called Savart's disk, this device
is often used today for demonstrations
during physics lectures. In 1822, Swiss
physicist Daniel Colladen used an
underwater bell and successfully estimated
the speed of sound in the waters of Lake
Geneva. In the late 17th and early 18th
centuries, detailed studies of the
relationship between frequency and pitch
and of waves in stretched strings were
carried out by the French physicist Joseph
Sauveur, who provided a legacy of
acoustic terms used to this day and first
suggested the name acoustics for the study
of sound. In the early 1900's, lightships
used a ranging system combination of an
underwater gong and a foghorn on deck.
The crew on approaching ships could hear
both. The underwater sound was received
by the use of a hydrophone on the hull. By
timing the difference of the two sounds,
they could determine their approximate
distance from the lightship.
Investigations of high-frequency waves
did not originate until the 19th century.
The era of modern ultrasonics started
about 1917, with Langevin's use of highfrequency acoustic waves and quartz
resonators for submarine detection. Since
that time, the field has grown enormously,

with applications found in science,

industry, medicine and other areas.
Underwater detection systems were
developed for the purpose of underwater
navigation by submarines in World war I
and in particular after the Titanic sank in
1912. Alexander Belm in Vienna,
described an underwater echo-sounding
device in the same year. Within a week of
the Titanic tragedy, Lewis Richardson
filed a patent with the British patent office
for echo ranging with airborne sound,
following a month later with a patent
application for the underwater equivalent.
The first functioning echo ranger,
however, was patented in the United
States in 1914 by Canadian Reginald A.
Fessenden, who worked for the
Submarine Signal Company. Fessenden's
device was an electric oscillator that
emitted a low-frequency noise and then
switched to a receiver to listen for echoes;
it was able to detect an iceberg underwater
from 2 miles away, although it could not
precisely determine its direction.
Sergei Y. Sokolov at the V.I. Ulyanov
(Lenin)
Electrotechnical
Institute
proposed in 1928, and a few years later
demonstrated a through-transmission
technique for flaw detection in metals. He
advanced his idea in the late 1920s, at a
time when the required technology did not
exist. He proposed that such technique
could be used to detect irreguarities in
solids such as metals. The resolution of
the experimental devices which he
fabricated was however poor and could
not be used at a practical level.
Sokolov subsequently described a
different and obviously the more
important
concept
in
ultrasonic
applications. He demonstrated that sound
waves could be used as a new form of
microscope, basing on a reflective
principle. Sokolov recognized that a
'microscope' using sound waves with a
frequency of 3,000 megahertz (MHz)
would have a resolution equal to that of
the optical microscope. It was
nevertheless not until the late 1930s that
the technology for such devices was

progressively developed, and the high

frequencies required for Sokolov's
microscope are found in microwave and
ultrasonic systems used for radar and
underwater navigation.
In the reflection technique, a pulsed
sound wave is transmitted from one side
of the sample, reflected off the far side,
and returned to a receiver located at the
starting point. Upon impinging on a flaw
or crack in the material, the signal is
reflected and its traveling time altered.
The actual delay becomes a measure of
the flaw's location; a map of the material
can be generated to illustrate the location
and geometry of the flaws. In the
through-transmission
method,
the
transmitter and receiver are located on
opposite sides of the material;
interruptions in the passage of sound
waves are used to locate and measure
flaws. Usually a water medium is
employed in which transmitter, sample,
and receiver are immersed.
The equipment suggested by Sokolov
which could generate very short pulses
necessary to measure the brief
propagation time of their returning
echoes was not available until the 1940s.
Industrial use of ultrasonic testing
apparently started spontaneously at
around similar times in the United States
and Great Britain. Such technology had
also been in place in Germany and Japan,
but developments had been curtailed
because of the second world war.
The key-persons, Floyd Firestone,
Donald Sproule and Adolf Trost had no
knowledge of each other as they worked
strictly in secret. Not even their patentapplications were published. Sproule and
Trost used transmission-technique with
seperate transmitter- and receiver-probes.
Trost invented the so-called "TrostTonge". The 2 probes were contacted on
opposite sides of a plate, held in same
axis by a mechanical device - the tonge and coupled to both surfaces by
continuously flowing water. Sproule
placed the 2 probes on the same side of
the workpiece. So he invented double-

crystal probes. He used this combination

also with variing distance from each
other. Firestone was the first to realize
the reflection-technique. He modified a
radar instrument and developed a
transmitter with short pulses and an
amplifier with short dead-zone. Sproule
eventually gave up the transmission
method and filed a patent in 1952 entitled
"the improvements in/ or relating to
apparatus for flaw detection and velocity
measurement
by ultrasonic
echo
methods".
Research into ultrasonics and
metal-flaw detection in Japan was
considerably curtailed when World war II
broke out in 1941, at which time the
Americans and the Germans were both
diligently researching into ultrasonics and
the development of the Radar. The study
into Radar techniques in Japan was also in
the disadvantage. As the war ended in
1945, research into high-power electronics
was prohibited in Japan for some time (up
till 1948, when developments of nonmilitary electronics resumed).
Japanese enterprises took on the research
from the U.S. and England and soon
developed its own flaw detectors in nondestructive testing. In about 1949, four
Japanese
companies
started
to
manufacture their own flaw dectors. These
were:
the
Mitsutbishi
Electric
Corporation, the Japan Radio Company
(later became the Aloka Company), the
Shimadsu Manufacturing Company and
the Toyko Ultrasonic Industrial Company.
Only Mitsubishi continued to expand in
the field of non-destructive testing and the
other companies moved on to other areas
and in particular diagnostic medical
ultrasound applications. The Japanese
Society for Non-Destructive Inspection
officially recognised the year 1952 as the
first year non-destructive testing was
implemented in Japan.

Early pipe testing with Krautkrmer apparatus

(1950s)

The use of Ultrasonics in the field of

medicine had nonetheless started initially
with it's applications in therapy rather than
diagnosis, utilising it's heating and
disruptive effects on animal tissues. The
destructive ability of high intensity
ultrasound had been recognised in the
1920s from the time of Langvin when he
noted destruction of school of fishes in the
sea and pain induced in the hand when
placed in a water tank insonated with high
intensity ultrasound; and from the seminal
work in the late 1920s from Robert Wood
and the legendary Alfred Loomis in New
York.
1.4 Properties of Ultrasonics
Ultrasonic waves are, in general, sound
waves and therefore they follow all the
laws associated with sound.
The following are the main properties
of ultrasonic waves:
1. The ultrasonic waves cannot travel
through vacuum.
2. These waves travel with speed of sound
in a given medium.Their velocity
remains constant in homogeneous
media.
3. These waves can weld certain plastics,
metals etc.
4. These can produce vibrations in low
viscosity liquids.
5. The ultrasonic waves are reflected and
refracted just like light waves. i.e.
(a) Angle of incidence is equal to angle of
reflection.
(b) Incident ray, reflected ray and normal
lie in same plane.
(c) If i is angle of incidence, r is angle of
refraction, V1 is velocity of ultrasonic
waves in incident medium and V2 in
refracted medium then
Sin i/ sin r = V1 / V2

where I0 = Intensity at surface

I = Intensity at depth x inside the
sample.
is called Monochromatic Attenuation
coefficient. Its value is different for
different media and for a given medium,
its value is different for different
frequencies/wavelengths. With increase in
frequency of ultrasonic waves, value of
also increases.
1.5 Generation of Ultrasonics
Fig.: Reflection of ultrasonics by medium

This is called Snells law of refraction.

7. The speed of ultrasonic waves/acoustic
waves is more in more dense mediai.e. Vg
< Vl < Vs. If ultrasonic waves enter from
rarer medium to dense medium, then V1 <
V2 so equation gives sin i / sin r < 1 =>
i<r. Thus ultrasonic waves will bend away
from normal. Similarly when ultrasonic
waves enter from denser to rarer medium,
then they bend toward normal. This
property is just opposite to that of light.
8.
As ultrasonic waves cannot travel
through vacuum, therefore if these waves
travel through a non- homogeneous
medium, then at each discontinuity like
crack or change in density or presence of
impurity etc., the amplitude and thus
intensity of ultrasonic waves decreases by
some amount. This decrease in intensity of
ultrasonic waves as these travel through a
medium is called Attenuation. The
vacuum in the material causes strong
reflection of ultrasonic waves while
impurities or discontinuity cause the
scattering of ultrasonic waves leading to
net decrease in intensity. The attenuation
is increased with increase in frequency of
ultrasonic waves for a given medium. The
intensity of ultrasonic waves decreases
exponentially according to the relation
I = I0 e-ax

By large, the most common source

of ultrasonic vibrations is a Piezo-Electric
oscillator or simply a piezo vibrator.
However, some applications use a
Magneto-Striction oscillator.
A piezo electric oscillator utilises the
piezoelectric effect, according to which,
when crystals like quartz or tourmaline are
stressed along any pair of opposite faces,
electric charges of opposite polarity are
induced in the opposite faces perpendicular
to the stress.
Piezoelectric and inverse piezoelectric
effects are only exhibited by certain
crystals which lack centre of symmetry. In
a piezoelectric crystal, the positive and
negative electrical charges are separated,
but symmetrically distributed, so that the
crystal overall is electrically neutral. Each
of these sides forms an electric dipole and
dipoles near each other tend to be aligned
in regions called Weiss domains. The
domains are usually randomly oriented, but
can be aligned during poling , a process by
which a strong electric field is applied
across the material, usually at elevated
temperatures.
When a mechanical stress is applied, this
symmetry is disturbed, and the charge
asymmetry generates a voltage across the
material. For example, a 1 cm cube of
quartz with 2 kN (500 lbf) of correctly
applied force can produce a voltage of
12,500 V. Piezoelectric materials also show
the opposite effect, called converse

(inverse) piezoelectric effect, where the

application of an electrical field creates
mechanical deformation in the crystal.
When an alternating e.m.f is applied to the
opposite faces of a quartz or tourmaline
crystal it undergoes contraction and
expansion alternatively in the perpendicular
direction. This is known as inverse
piezoelectric effect. This is made use of in
the piezoelectric generator.

Fig. A typical Piezo-sensor with enclosure

Piezoelectric high frequency transducers
generate, receive, or generate and receive
ultrasonic signals that can be used to
measure distances in air, water, or other
fluid media, to determine flow rates, or for
other applications. A single ultrasonic
transducer can both generate and receive a
signal, but the two functions often are
separated to optimize the performance of
each task.
Apparatus in which piezoelectric high
frequency transducers are used to measure
distances in air -- impulse-echo devices -include level detectors for large containers
(e.g., grain silos), proximity-warning
devices (parking aids), and intruder
alarms. The operating range for an
impulse-echo device is determined by the
operating frequency and the power of the
ultrasonic transducer. The latter factor,
power output, is a function of the
mechanical characteristics and thermal
constraints of the device. Operating
frequency requires careful consideration
because signal reflection and absorption
are frequency dependent. For long range
applications, low frequency signals are

subject to much less signal damping than

high frequency signals. For the best signal
directivity and object resolution, however,
the frequency should be as high as
possible.
For
accurate
distance
measurements,
especially at
short
distances, the excitation pulses must be
short.
The range of an impulse-echo device can
be extended by narrowing the bandwidth.
A narrow bandwidth also reduces the input
power requirement, and minimizes
interference and reflections from objects
outside the signal path. If the signal is too
narrow, however, atmospheric conditions
can divert the signal from its intended
path, particularly at longer distances. Also,
a broader band will exhibit less noise.
The mechanical resonance frequency of a
flexional ultrasonic transducer is a
function of the characteristics of the
piezoelectric ceramic element, the
thickness and diameter of the metal
diaphragm, the manner in which the
ceramic / metal flexional unit is mounted,
and the manner in which the transducer is
incited to vibrate.
Directivity of a flexional ultrasonic
transducer (see figure) depends on the
wavelength of the emitted signal in air (),
the diameter of the area radiating the
signal (D), and the uniformity of the
vibrations across the surface of the
ceramic element. As is decreased, or D is
increased, the angle of the beam narrows.
Directivity is sharpened and the range is
lengthened. Alternatively, if is increased
or D is decreased, to the extent that
equals or exceeds D, the directional
characteristic assumes an undesirable
spherical form.
In echo sounding applications in which a
single, electronically switched ultrasonic
transducer serves both as transmitter and
as receiver, vibrations established during
signal transmission must subside before
the
piezoelectric
transducer
can
differentiate a returning signal from
background, so there must be at least a
minimum distance between the transducer
and the object. The excitation impulse of

the ultrasonic signal should be as short as

practical, which dictates the use of a wide
bandwidth and a high operating frequency.

The speed of ultrasonic waves varies

accordingly in various media. Speeds in
some common media is given in appendix
A.
The general expression of the speed of
all mechanical waves in a given material
is expressed as

Fig.: Radiation pattern of a piezo-electric

vibrator

A high operating frequency, in turn, means

the high frequency transducer can be
smaller. On the other hand, for a given
distance, signal damping increases
significantly as the signal frequency
increases. The maximum range can be
increased, and small objects can be
detected more easily, by narrowing the
signal beam.
1.6 Variations in speed of ultrasonics

The speed of sound changes according to the

surrounding temperature. The speed of sound
in atmosphere reaches 331.45 m/s at 0 C. The
speed of sound in terms of temperature can be
determined with the following equation:

where, c air is the speed (m/s) of the sound in

air, t is the air temperature in degree Celsius,
and k is the rate at which the speed changes
with respect to the temperature, which is
approximately 0.607 m/s at every change of 1
C in temperature.

1.7 Detection of Ultrasonics

The piezoelectric effect can be reversed
to detect ultrasonic waves and to
transform waves into an electrical signal.
Fig. Illustrates a piezoelectric microphone
which senses the ultrasonic waves
reflected by the media.

The compressibility and density of a

material, combined with the laws of
conservation of mass and momentum,
directly imply the existence of acoustic
waves. Ultrasound waves travel at a speed
of sound c, given by
Fig.: Sound detection using microphone

The detected ultrasonic signal is converted

proportionally into electric signals which are
further processed by the Digital signal
Processors.

Blanking distance : The same piezo

sensor is used in generation and detection
of ultrasonics. For detection of returned
echo, the transmitter is designed to stop
and listen to the returning waves. But, it
has some inertia of its own and does not
stop transmitting ultrasound instantly
(just like a bell hit with a hammer !). This
disables the detection of any echo that has
returned in that short span of time and
thus the sensor acts blind for objects that
close. This distance is termed as blanking
distance for the transmitter.

2. Level measurement using

Ultrasonics

When ultrasonic pulse signal is

targeted towards an object, it is reflected
by the object and echo returns to the
sender. The time travelled by the ultrasonic
pulse is calculated, and the distance of the
object is found. Bats use well known
method to measure the distance while
travelling. Ultrasonic level measurement
principle is also used to find out fish
positions in ocean, locate submarines
below water level, also the position of a
scuba diver in sea.
How Does It Work?
Ultrasonic level sensors work by
the "time of flight" principle using the
speed of sound. The sensor emits a highfrequency pulse, generally in the 20 kHz to
200 kHz range, and then listens for the
echo. The pulse is transmitted in a cone,
usually about 6 at the apex. The pulse
impacts the level surface and is reflected
back to the sensor, now acting as a
receiver , and then to the transmitter for
signal processing.
Basically, the transmitter divides the time
between the pulse and its echo by two, and
that is the distance to the surface of the
material. The transmitter is designed to
listen to the highest amplitude return pulse
(the echo) and mask out all the other
ultrasonic signals in the vessel.
Because of the high amplitude of the pulse,
the sensor physically vibrates or "rings."
Visualize a motionless bell struck by a
hammer. A distance of roughly 12 in. to 18
in. (300 mm to 450 mm), called the
"blanking distance" is designed to prevent
spurious readings from sensor ringing. This
is important for installation in areas where
the distance above the level surface is
minimal.
The
ultrasonic
wave
detection
and
measurement principle is primarily the reverse
operation of ultrasonic wave generation. During

ultrasonic wave generation, the transducer

element (i.e., piezoelectric) is excited by
applying an electrical signal across it. But
during ultrasonic wave detection, an electrical
voltage signal across the piezoelectric element
is monitored. As soon as an ultrasonic wave
strikes the transducer, the piezoelectric
element vibrates accordingly; thus it generates
a voltage signal across its terminals.
A technique known as Interferometry can
be used with an ultrasonic sensor to
determine fluid level. Interferometry
consists of diagnosing the properties of
two or more waves by studying the
pattern of interference created by their
superposition. In interferometry, a wave
of some specific shape is transmitted and
then incoming waves that have the same
pattern (i.e., frequencies) are detected.
The difference between the two waves
(transmitted wave and received wave) is
identified. In ultrasonic level sensing
systems,
the
same
principle
of
interferometry can be applied.
After
transmitting a pulse signal, the circuit
listens for any incoming reflected echo
pulse that has similar features (i.e.,
frequency) as the transmitted echo. The
time difference or time-of-flight is
calculated based on the times of
transmission and reception of the pulse
wave.
Paulsen has used the same method for
detecting fluid levels as described above,
in which an ultrasonic transducer driver
generates a voltage proportional to the
resonant frequency of the ultrasonic
transducer. A reference voltage is then
generated and the reference voltage and
the first voltage are monitored and
compared, and a surface detect signal is
generated when the first voltage drops
below the reference voltage

Installation Considerations
There are some important physical
installation considerations with ultrasonic
level sensors.
1. Make sure the materials of construction of
the sensor housing and the face of the
sensor are compatible with the material
inside the vessel. Most ultrasonic sensor
vendors provide a wide selection of sensor

materials of construction in case the

standard sensor housing isn't compatible.
Most sensors come with a PVC or CPVC
housing. PVDF, PTFE (Teflon) and PFA
(Tefzel) are usually available. In some
cases, a housing of aluminum or stainless
steel with a polymer face can be provided.

be modified (and this will be discussed in

a later section of this article). If you do not
do this, your echo will either be missed
entirely by the sensor, or it will use an
echo that is bouncing off the vessel wall
or a vessel internal structure instead of the
real level.

Fig. Mounting the transmitter over a tank

1. Blanking Distance 2.Empty 3.Max.
Adj. 4.Min. Adj.

Fig. 1 Wrong: Mount the instrument in/ above

filling stream, which results in the
measurement of filling stream not the target
medium 2 Correct Note: Sun shield or rainproof is required for outdoor mounting

2. Make sure that the operating temperature

range of the sensor is not exceeded on
either the high or low temperature end.
The materials of construction may deform
or the piezoelectric crystal may change its
frequency if the temperature range is
exceeded. The change in ambient
temperature is usually compensated, either
by an embedded temperature sensor, a
remotely mounted temperature sensor or a
target of known distance that can be used
to measure the ambient temperature.
3. Locate the sensor so that the face of the
sensor is exactly 90 to the surface of the
material. This is especially important in
liquid and slurry level measurement. In
some bulk solids measurements, this can

4. Make sure that the vessel internals do not

impinge on the pulse signal cone from the
sensor. If they do, you may get a spurious
high amplitude echo that will swamp the
real return echo from the surface of the
material.
5. Make sure you avoid agitators and other
rotating devices in the vessel. Sometimes
you can do this with an additional
waveguide. If you can't, make sure you
purchase a transmitter that can
compensate for the effects on the echo of
the agitator blade moving in and out of the
signal cone.
6. Mount your sensor where it can't be
coated by material or condensation inside
the vessel. Coatings attenuate the signal,
sometimes so much that there is no longer
enough power to get through the coating
to the surface and back. If it isn't possible
to avoid coatings, try to provide some
means of cleaning the sensor face. Some
transmitters provide a signal "figure of
merit" that can be used to detect coatings
or other signal failures and activate an
alarm function.

1. Try to avoid agitated tanks even when the

agitator is below the surface of the
material. Agitation can produce
whirlpools or cavitation, which may
attenuate the signal or cause it to bounce
off a vessel wall. In some cases, the
agitation may be so extreme that the
measurement you are trying to make is
"what the vessel level would be if the
agitator was turned off" (Figure 2). This is
not a real measurement, and it may not be
possible to make it with any degree of
confidence or accuracy.
Fig. Mounting position above tank
7. Always use the vendor-supplied mounting
hardware for the sensor. Hard-conduitwiring an ultrasonic sensor can increase
the acoustic ringing and make the signal
unusable.

Application Considerations
Because ultrasonic level sensors and
transmitters are inexpensive and usually
easy to install, they're often used at the
outer edge of the application envelope,
and erratic or erroneous signal and signal
failure often result.

Figure 2. Sometimes the measured value

is "what the level would be if the agitator
were turned off."

Fig. You are advised to opt for installation

with standpipe (or bypass tube) to avoid the
influence on measurement caused by barriers
inside vessels, foam generation or air vortex.
If the measurement is undertaken by LTU55X
inside the standpipe the inner diameter of
standpipe should be at least bigger than the
outside diameter of transducer. Please see
Dimensional Drawings for actual sizes. Avoid
large cracks or welding seam when
connecting standpipe. False echo storage
must be carried out as well in this case.

2. Sparged tanks, where air or another gas is

introduced into the vessel by means of
diffusers or spargers, can cause bubbles or
foam to form on the surface of the
material. It is good to avoid this
application. A layer of bubbles or foam
can attenuate the signal either entirely or
partly. If it attenuates the signal entirely,
there will be no echo return. It is more
insidious if it only attenuates the signal
partly. A false echo can occur from
somewhere in the foam layer, rather than
either the surface of the foam or the

surface of the liquid below the foam

(Figure 3).
3. Avoid foam. Foam can do three things to
the accuracy of the level measurement,
and all of them are bad.
1. It can attenuate the signal so that there
is no echo or only an intermittent echo.
Intermittent echo can sometimes be dealt
with using a sample-and-hold circuit or
algorithm in the transmitter so that the
level doesn't change until the next good
echo. Sometimes, however, that can be
dangerous, as in the case of a vessel where
the level is quite near the maximum fill
point.

it actually is. This "ghost level"

phenomenon is a function of the volatile
liquid in the tank. As the ambient
temperature rises, the vapor blanket on top
of the bunker oil begins to become more
dense and increased in height. The
ultrasonic sensor picks up the top of the
vapor layer, instead of the actual oil level
in the tank.
6. In solids and powders, you may have to
aim the sensor at a point that is not 90
degrees to the level surface (perpendicular
to the vertical axis of the vessel). You may
want to aim the sensor because of ratholing and angle-of-repose issues at the
top, midpoint or bottom of the angle of
repose. Try to have the transmitter
calculate what the actual level might be.
At least one vendor has developed a
multiple sensor array that can scan the
angle of repose and determine what the
actual filled volume of the vessel is.

Fig. Bubbles, foam, vapor and internal

structures make ultrasonic measurement
very difficult.
Foam can provide a false reading of the
true level. You can get a reading from
inside the foam layer, instead of the actual
level.
4. Foam clumps can cause the echo to be
deflected away from the vertical, and the
sensor may receive an echo that has made
one or two hops against the side of the
vessel, yet still be a high enough signal to
fool the transmitter.
5. Avoid volatile liquids. Specially in
petroleum tanks, the sensor insists that the
level in the tank is several feet higher than

Fig. Correct mounting position : 1 Wrong :

Fail to turn the antenna perpendicular to the
surface of target medium. 2 Wrong: Instruments
are mounted in the center of concave or arched
vessel tops, which results in multiple echoes. 3
Correct

7. Avoid pressurized tanks. The speed of

sound changes with temperature and
density, and pressurizing the vapor space

above the level can affect the density of

the vapor space and, therefore, the speed
of sound.

Ultrasonic Open-Channel Flowmeters

One of the most important
applications for ultrasonic level sensors
and transmitters is measuring open-channel
flow. Most of the same caveats apply to
ultrasonic level sensors used as flowmeters
as apply to ultrasonic level sensors used as

tank level measurement devices. There are

a few more:
Figure 4. The level sensor works exactly
the same way-measures level. The
primary device (flume or weir) measures
flow. The flow transmitter takes the level
signal and produces a flow value based
on the primary device.
Most of the same caveats apply to
ultrasonic level sensors used as
flowmeters as apply to ultrasonic level
sensors used as tank level measurement
devices. There are a few more:
1. Avoid wind and sun. Wind can blow
through the vapor space and attenuate the
signal or blow it off course. Sun can raise
the temperature of the sensor housing
itself beyond the operating temperature
range of the device-and higher than the
ambient temperature.
2. Make sure that there isn't foam on the
surface. This can happen often in
nitrifying wastewater discharges.

3. Make sure that there is not too much

turbulence or ripples (or if the flume or
weir is large enough, wave action) on the
surface.
4. Above all, make sure that the flume or
weir is installed correctly. Many problems
blamed on the ultrasonic transmitter are
actually problems that are caused by the
flume not being installed level both
horizontally and vertically, as well as front
to back through the measurement zone.
5. Make provisions to keep ice from forming
on the sensor in the winter or dripping
condensation in the summer.