About meters
Meters are usually mechanical devices, although larger ones could be electromagnetic, that contain a turbine that rotates in the flow of water. The speed of rotation of the turbine is used to calculate the rate of flow of water.
There are other construction methods and physical principles used in flow-metering but mechanical meters are still most frequently used in domestic water-metering and distribution measurements.
In InfoWorks WS, a meter provides a point at which flow measurements are available. It is hydraulically represented using diameter and a local (minor) loss coefficient. The meter acts as an obstruction to the flow, and the additional losses are calculated using these parameters.
Meters have been introduced to InfoWorks as a separate link type to give them clear and visible representation within the model because flow measurements are crucial for any water system where water is a product that is sold to the customers
The number of domestic water meters can run into tens of thousands in a medium sized model. This figure will grow even further as universal metering is fully adopted in UK. Most other countries have universal metering as standard already. The number of larger distribution system meters (for zones, districts, import and export) can also run into hundreds. With such a high number of domestic and network meters, regular maintenance and replacement of meters is a continuous process that has important impact on all aspects of modelling.
Identifying meters within the InfoWorks model gives us the opportunity to have a better understanding of the model itself. We can analyse individual, or more commonly groups of, flow meters producing total delivered flows and volumes to specific zones of the system or to individual customers.
You can:
- associate a Live Data Point with the meter and use this to compare model results with observed data.
- make use of meters as part of the boundary trace process. Meters will form the boundaries between District Metered Areas (DMAs).
