Atmos Aquarius Flow achieves flow measurement accuracy in preparation for commercial launch
Atmos's next generation Aquarius clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter has successfully achieved flow measurement accuracy verification to within 2% in lab and field testing, passing a major milestone on the way to its upcoming commercial launch.
Developed specifically for water utilities, Aquarius Flow has been designed to provide accurate, non-intrusive flow measurement that is simple to deploy, easy to operate and capable of delivering long-term performance in the field (see Figure 1).
Lab and field trials
Aquarius Flow was verified in lab trials and then deployed on a real pipeline to be verified against an industry-leading magnetic flowmeter. Under lab conditions, the Aquarius Flow achieved within 2% accuracy, demonstrating its ability to consistently provide flow data to industry-standard accuracy. Atmos Aquarius Flow was installed on an operational 115-mm diameter stainless-steel clean water pipeline flowing continuously between 6 and 18 liters per second where it has been running for over 3 months. Figures 2 and 3 show the resulting comparison between the Aquarius Flow readings and an industry-leading inline magnetic flow meter, Figure 2 showing the volumetric flow rate comparison and Figure 3 the totalized volumetric flow comparison.
The data from the field trial demonstrates that Aquarius flow is able to repeatably produce market-leading flow accuracy in real operating conditions, achieving flow accuracy verification to within 2% of the inline magnetic flow meter when applied to a real pipeline under all operating conditions including transients.
A next generation flow meter for water pipelines
Suitable for remote deployment on pipeline sizes from 2 to 36 inches, Atmos Aquarius Flow combines high-frequency ultrasonic flow measurement with integrated 4G telemetry, enabling continuous monitoring of network performance without interrupting operations. The battery-powered logger delivers up to five years of battery life in a typical installation, with an ultra-low-power mode capable of extending operation to as much as 20 years for selected applications.
The successful flow measurement accuracy verification demonstrates Atmos Aquarius Flow's ability to achieve measurement accuracy within 2%, representing an important step in the product's development and validation program. This cements the value of Aquarius Flow as an alternative to existing flow meters, one which is easier to deploy, easier to operate, and more cost-effective for operators of water pipelines.
Oliver Port, Senior Project Engineer at Atmos International, said: “Reaching this milestone is a really positive step for the project. We've developed Atmos Aquarius Flow to provide accurate, long-term flow monitoring that's straightforward to install and reliable in the field. Passing the flow measurement accuracy verification and achieving this result in the field trial give us confidence as we take the final steps to provide our customers access to this new generation of flow meter.”
Martin Duff, Business Development Director at Atmos International, added: "Atmos Aquarius Flow has been developed to give water utilities a practical, cost-effective way to gain continuous visibility of flow conditions across their networks. Reaching this milestone is another important step towards commercial launch, and we're looking forward to working with customers as we complete the final stages of validation and prepare the product for market."
Atmos Aquarius Flow integrates with the Atmos Insight platform (see Figure 4), providing utilities with real-time visibility of network performance and supporting applications including long-term network monitoring, incident logging and leak detection.
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