Abstract: Correlation signal processing as a particular case of using a digital data processing obtained from acoustic sensors is
widely used in modern ultrasonic liquid and gas flowmeters. These include both direct correlation flowmeters and predominantly a
time-pulse or time-of-flight type’s flowmeters, where the correlation processing of acoustic signals is an addition to the general
method for measuring the volumetric flow rate of liquid and gas. The use of correlation processing makes it possible to increase the
resolution of the flowmeter as a whole and to ensure the useful signal extraction against the background of the noise presence with a
high degree of reliability. The article describes a method for calculating discrete correlation functions based on the generalized
definition of a discrete correlation function through the convolution of sampled signals from the flow sensors outputs. The essence of
this method comes down to calculating a values set of the cumulative products of the probing signal’s samples taken with different
steps depending on the total number of signal samples and the assumed number of the correlation function samples. The resulting
values sequence is formatted as a two-dimensional array or matrix, but for better understanding it can be represented as a table. The
results of the sum of the individual elements of this table or matrix, selected according to the established rule, will be the final values
of the cross-correlation function of acoustic signals. Within the framework, an algorithm for calculating the discrete correlation
function is directly compiled in accordance with the considered method for calculating the correlation function, examples of software
calculation of the cross- and autocorrelation functions of acoustic signals, which are close in their properties to the real signals of
ultrasonic flowmeters, are given. The proposed option for calculating discrete correlation functions can be applied in energy-efficient
computational modules of flowmeters designed for long-term operation from an autonomous power source with low performance.
Index terms: ultrasonic, time-of-flight, ToF, TDE, UFM, propagation, digital signal processing, DSP, flow rate, table, sequence.