Ultrasonic Sensors: The Reliable Choice When Vision Fails in Industrial Automation

1.Introduction
2.Ultrasonic Sensor Advantages
3.Ultrasonic Sensor for Material Level Monitoring
4.Ultrasonic Sensor for Contaminated Air
5.Conclusion

Introduction
Vision is not the only perception to the environment in industrial automation. While cameras and laser sensors are being talked about as the main technological solution for smart manufacturing, these are only one way to comprehend the physical world. Modern industries use many different sensing technologies. Each technology has its advantages and knowing when to apply alternatives to vision based systems is pivotal in creating successful industrial operations.
Core Pain Points: Why Expensive Medicine Has The Blind
Industrial environments are not usually clean and controlled. Smoke from welding operations, dust from handling materials, water vapour from cooling systems and chemical fumes from process lines make the environment hostile for optical sensors. These airborne particles scatter the light and obstruct laser beams. Thousands of dollars worth of camera is useless when covered in fine cement dust. A laser sensor even as an accurate sensor is bad at measuring distance if there's steam in the way.
Consider a cement factory where there are conveyor belts for carrying raw materials. Dust clouds are constant. Cameras require cleaning once or twice per hour or they cannot see the flow of material. Laser sensors yield false readings due to capricious reflection of particles of the beam. Most factorise requires reliable sensing and traditional optical solutions impose an endless burden for maintenance. So we will introduce ultrasonic sensors for you in below blog.
BESTAR Holdings Co., Ltd., as a professional manufacturer with long-term expertise in the fields of industrial sensing and electronic components, not only provides mature and reliable ultrasonic sensor products, but is also able to respond quickly to customers' specific operating conditions and deliver targeted, application-oriented solutions.

Ultrasonic Sensor Advantages
Firstly, you should know the advantages of ultrasonic sensors. Ultrasonic sensors are basically a completely different principle. They emit sound waves of a higher frequency that human ears cannot hear: in most cases, 40 kHz to 200 kHz. These waves travel through the air and bounce off objects and travel back to the sensor. By determining the gap between the sending and reception, the sensor calculates the distance with amazing accuracy. If you want to know more about working principle of ultrasonic sensor, you can turn to this blog《Getting Started with an Ultrasonic Sensor: Definition，Principles & Applications》.
This approach has native benefits in contaminated environments. Sound waves pass through dusty air without being much attenuated. A dust particle that is as small as micrometers in diameter has little effect on a sound wave that has a wavelength measured in millimeters. Smoke and vapor have the same transparency as ultrasonic sensing. The sensor keeps working even reliably when the human operators cannot even see across the room.
The non-contact quality of ultrasonic measurement negates another major industrial challenge. There are no moveable parts to wear out. The ultrasonic sensor never comes into contact with the material being measured so corrosive chemicals, abrasive slurries and sticky substances cannot damage the sensing element.

Ultrasonic Sensor for Material Level Monitoring
Water tanks, chemical storage tanks, grain silos and oil reservoirs all these applications need accurate level monitoring. These facilities range from small industrial tanks with a volume of a few cubic meters to huge storage tanks with millions of liters of storage capacity. Operators need to know how much material is at any moment in time.
Traditional float switches determine only discrete level indication. They let you know when the level has crossed a certain threshold, but not exactly how much volume is the case. Capacitive and radar are also continuous measuring processes but are not good for some materials, having to be very precisely calibrated. Ultrasonic sensors are good, continuous, go-to-level sensors in a wide range of applications.
Why Sound Waves Are Good for Corrosive Liquids
Chemical processing facilities store aggressive substances which destroy conventional sensors. Hydrochloric erodes metallic elements, some plastics are dissolved by organic solvents. Direct contact measurement methods are necessary to pay for expensive exotic material in addition to frequent replacement.
Ultrasonic level sensor overcome this problem by physical separation. The ultrasonic sensor is mounted on top of the tank facing down and pointing at the surface of the liquid. Sound waves travel on the air space above the liquid then bounce off the surface and return to the sensor. The sensor is never in contact with the corrosive chemical. By this way, the maintenance needs decrease drastically, and the equipment will last longer.
The non-corrosive materials also work just as well with this method. Water tanks, fuel storage and food-grade liquids all benefit from the use of non-contact measurement. The lack of mechanical parts in the liquid eliminates issues of contamination. For pharmaceutical and food industries this is a great advantage.
Ultrasonic sensors operate well in total darkness. They do not need any form of illumination. The acoustic reflectivity of most materials is high enough for it to be detected. Even highly reflective surfaces, which cause problems for laser sensors as they cause the light to be reflected in a number of directions, reflect sound waves in a predictable manner.

Ultrasonic Sensor for Contaminated Air
The propagation of sound through particle-charged air is still extremely stable. While concentrated large numbers of very fine particles may with some attenuation, in actual industrial conditions the situation is seldom reached. A ultrasonic sensor that is running a cement plant keeps continuously measuring distance even when human workers are wearing respirators because of the dust levels.
High humidity also has a similar effect on optical systems compared to acoustic systems. Droplets of water scatter laser beams and also fog camera lenses. Ultrasonic sensors treat humid air as something of a different propagation medium, for which temperature compensation is automatic. The sensor continues operating accurately in 100% humidity conditions which completely blind cameras.
Environmental light variations don't exist for ultrasonic sensor. In direct sun or complete darkness performance is always the same. As a result, this makes them ideal for outdoor applications that require a light source to adapt to changes in light conditions during the day and over a seasonal period. 
Ultrasonic Sensors attached to equipment detect close by obstacles reliably. An excavator used with sensors on the rear samples the location indicates the operator is about approaching a wall or another vehicle. The system operates exactly the same in dust, rain or darkness. Collision avoidance becomes reliable as opposed to depending on visibility conditions. The ultrasonic sensors combine with equipment control systems to achieve automated protection. When an obstacle enters the danger zone, the system can restrict movement of a machine or give graduated warnings to the operator. This approach has shown measurable reductions in equipment damage and safety issues.

Conclusion
Ultrasonic sensors play a very important role in industrial automation. They offer reliable measurement in situations that defeat optical technologies. The combination of no contact operation, no contamination based immunity and robust performance have made them indispensable for harsh industrial environments.
Safety systems are reliant on ultrasonic sensors unbounded in their operation. Production optimization requires precise data whatever the environmental conditions. Ultrasonic technology provides them both. As industrial operations press into more challenging environments presenting greater demands for greater reliability, ultrasonic sensing will continue play an essential role to the safety and efficiency operations will demand. The simplicity, robustly-proven reliability and cost-effectiveness of the technology ensures its place in the industrial sensing toolbox basics.

Looking for the suitable ultrasonic sensors solutions? Contact BESTAR right now for advice and a quote.