%0 Journal Article %A Hironori Kakuta and Kajiro Watanabe and Yosuke Kurihara %D 2012 %J International Journal of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering %B World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology %I Open Science Index 70, 2012 %T Development of Vibration Sensor with Wide Frequency Range Based on Condenser Microphone -Estimation System for Flow Rate in Water Pipes- %U https://publications.waset.org/pdf/8417 %V 70 %X Water leakage is a serious problem in the maintenance of a waterworks facility. Monitoring the water flow rate is one way to locate leakage. However, conventional flowmeters such as the wet-type flowmeter and the clamp-on type ultrasonic flowmeter require additional construction for their installation and are therefore quite expensive. This paper proposes a novel estimation system for the flow rate in a water pipeline, which employs a vibration sensor. This assembly can be attached to any water pipeline without the need for additional high-cost construction. The vibration sensor is designed based on a condenser microphone. This sensor detects vibration caused by water flowing through a pipeline. It is possible to estimate the water flow rate by measuring the amplitude of the output signal from the vibration sensor. We confirmed the validity of the proposed sensing system experimentally. %P 2267 - 2272