Flexar® Guided Wave Radar Reliably Measures Cement and Flyash
Flyash and cement powder can be difficult materials to measure within silos. The primary reason is the heavy amount of dust during filing. Measuring the level of these materials in their storage silos is important to cement production and users of cement such as concrete producers who also use flyash as an additive to concrete to improve the end product quality. For this reason, flyash processors, utilities that produce flyash, concrete producers and cement producers have all turned to guided wave radar and the Flexar® brand guided wave radar to measure the continuous changing level of flyash and cement powder in their storage silos. The success of Flexar guided wave radar in these applications has added to the proven nature of Flexar to continuously measure the level of dusty powders, even during filling.
The Flexar guided wave radar continuous level sensor uses TDR (time domain reflectometry) technology to continuously measure the level of a wide range of powders, granular and liquid materials. A continuous series of radar pulses is emitted and guided to the material surface by the heavy duty stainless steel cable probe. When the radar pulses reach the material surface they are reflected because of the change in dielectric constant. The time-of-flight of these radar pulses is measured and directly related to the distance measured.
Flexar continuous level sensors can provide RS485 digital communications output or 4-20mA/HART output. The RS485 can be connected to Monitor’s SiloTrack™ inventory management system. The 4-20mA/HART output can be connected into a plant control system or a local panel meter display. The Flexar unit can be powered by 115/230VAC or low voltage 24VDC.
Monitor Technologies LLC is a pioneer in the level measurement and monitoring of powders and bulk solids. For fifty years Monitor has developed, manufactured and applied a wider range of products and technologies to solve level measurement problems and to provide value driven products to a wide range of industries. For more information about the Flexar guided wave radar continuous level measurement sensor and other fine products from Monitor, please contact Joe Lewis or Emily Jones at 800-766-6486 in the USA or 630-365-9403. You can also visit our websites and Level Measurement blog at www.monitortech.com, www.flexar.info and www.typepad.monitortech.com.
SiloPatrol® SE Measuring coal powder levels when nothing else will work ….
Coal-fired power plants are commonplace around the
world. In order for these power generating stations to create
huge amounts of electricity the turbines need to be feed with steam
and the steam created by boilers that are fired by … yep,
coal. But coal as it comes from the mining operations is not
what is fed to the burners. First it is ground or pulverized
into powder. It is not unusual for the coal powder to be stored
in silos awaiting the demand for it to be fed to the burners. The
inventory of coal powder in these silos needs to be monitored to
allow for efficient operation of the power plant.
So, how do we monitor the inventory of coal powder in a silo? Not
easily. In one typical application the power plant personnel
found that the only technology that would work reliably is the modern
smart weight & cable system from Monitor Technologies LLC, the
SiloPatrol® SE.
Anhui Tongling power plant in Anhui province in China had tried
almost ever technology possible to get a reliable level measurement
in their 5 coal powder silos. Radar, ultrasonic and others
were tried, but none worked reliably. It wasn’t until
Beijing Conasen walked in and proposed that the Tongling plant use
the SiloPatrol SE smart cable-based inventory monitoring system that
the power plant personnel found a reliable solution.
Mr. William Yuan, sales manager for Beijing Conasen indicates that
the power plant tried many major brands of ultrasonic, radar, and
other technologies but that due to good relations with the Tongling
plant personnel he was able to sell three SiloPatrol SE model SMU
sensors and an HMI operator interface to them. The units were
installed by plant personnel. Because of the heavy amount of
coal dust in the silos an air purge using dry compressed air was
used. The SiloPatrol sensor incorporates the patent-pending
use of Hall-effect sensor technology, a split-compartment enclosure,
microcontroller, redundant optics and many other valuable features
and technology to ensure reliable measurement even in challenging
dust applications like coal powder.
The SiloPatrol SE system has been working reliably and the plant
has since purchased two additional sensors and connected them into
the same HMI operator interface. This same sensor technology
is working reliably at other coal-fired power stations in China as
well.
For more information on the SiloPatrol SE click
here or contact Monitor Technologies LLC at 800-766-6486 in
the USA and 630-365-9403 worldwide.
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