Will the sensor of a clamp-on flowmeter be corroded when used for long-term measurement of pipelines carrying corrosive media (such as acid and alkali solutions)? Is the sensor lifespan related to the pipeline material?

The clamp-on sensor itself does not come into direct contact with the medium. Its housing is usually made of 316L stainless steel, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), or ABS engineering plastic, so it will generally not be corroded by the corrosive medium inside the pipeline. However, the corrosion and aging of the pipeline material will indirectly affect the sensor lifespan and measurement accuracy:

• If the inner wall of the pipeline becomes uneven, scaled, or has uneven wall thickness due to corrosion, it will cause disordered flow velocity distribution inside the pipeline and deviation of the ultrasonic propagation path, thereby increasing measurement errors.
• If the outer wall of the pipeline (the sensor installation surface) is rusted or has coating peeling due to environmental corrosion (such as humidity, chemical atmosphere), it will reduce the coupling effect between the sensor and the pipeline, leading to unstable signals. In the long run, this may cause wear on the sensor probe (due to repeated pressure adjustments required for poor coupling).