Accuracy Error Analysis of Smart Water Meters
I. Internal Factors of Smart Water Meter Errors
1. Meter Quality: If a water meter uses poor-quality materials, it is easily eroded and worn down by long-term use in water containing impurities. If the impeller is made of ordinary materials with low strength and poor wear resistance, it is easily worn and deformed during daily use, disrupting its dynamic balance and causing turbulence in the water flow, ultimately affecting the metering accuracy. In addition, insufficient precision of processing equipment, unreasonable selection of process parameters, and poor assembly quality will all affect the water flow sensing effect.
2. Insufficient Sensor Accuracy: Low-precision sensors are prone to metering errors in complex environments: insufficient accuracy of thermistors during temperature changes can cause measurement drift; in noisy environments, they cannot distinguish between noise and valid signals, leading to signal contamination.
3. Signal Processing Algorithm Defects
When preprocessing signals acquired by sensors, if the algorithm cannot effectively filter environmental interference and noise, and correct signal distortion, these useless interferences will mix into the valid data, leading to distortion of the original data.
The flow calculation model is the core of the algorithm. If it is not well constructed, it cannot accurately match the response relationship between water flow and the sensor under different flow rates and pressures, and the calculated results will naturally deviate from the actual flow rate.
Faced with complex situations such as fluctuating water flow speed and pipe vibration, defective algorithms struggle to adjust processing strategies in real time and cannot adapt to dynamic signal changes, causing errors to accumulate and ultimately affecting the overall metering accuracy of the water meter.
II. External Factors Contributing to Smart Water Meter Errors
1. External Environment
Increased concentration of suspended solids (TSS) in water increases water density and viscosity, causing obstruction and abnormal operation of the water meter impeller, leading to metering deviations. Organic matter in water easily forms scale, which, after deposition, damages the mechanical structure of the water meter, alters the shape and roughness of the water flow channel, disrupts the flow velocity distribution, and causes measurement errors. In addition, external environmental factors such as humidity and electromagnetic interference can also lead to calculation errors. 2. Improper Installation: Sufficient straight pipe sections must be reserved before and after the water meter to ensure stable water flow and prevent measurement interference. Improper pipe connections can create stress, altering the meter's internal precision structure and leading to measurement errors, and may also affect pipe sealing.
Data acquisition and transmission must comply with installation specifications. Improper installation can easily cause electrical connection faults, such as loose wiring leading to poor contact or terminal oxidation. These problems reduce signal transmission quality, resulting in abnormal data acquisition, communication delays, or even signal interruptions, ultimately affecting measurement results.
3. Lack of Regular Maintenance and Calibration: The lack of regular maintenance and calibration is a significant external factor contributing to measurement errors in smart water meters. Over long-term use, smart water meters inevitably experience issues such as mechanical component wear, scale and impurity accumulation, electromagnetic interference, electronic component aging, and algorithm model deviations. These problems all require regular maintenance and calibration to resolve.
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