Cable-Based Sensor System Improves
Silo Level Accuracy
Monitor Technologies LLC announces
that a leading charcoal manufacturer has used its latest
second edition SiloPatrol® SE inventory monitoring
system to improve the accuracy and ease of making silo
level measurements of charcoal.
“We used a cable running up the side of the silo through the top and down
inside with a weight attached to the end inside the silo. The end on the outside
was attached to a hand winch. We would release the winch, lower the cable
until it appeared it had hit the material surface. Then we would take a
reading from a marker on the cable on the outside.”, says the charcoal
manufacturer. The problem that was created was measurement error and inconsistency
due to the manual method employed and human error in making this manual measurement. It
was very frequent that they were way off in readings and the measurement of the
cable outside the silo was always an “eyeball guess”. This
method was used on measuring wood chip and wood flour levels.
The solution was the SiloPatrol® SE inventory monitoring system from Monitor
Technologies. The SiloPatrol SE uses patent pending state-of-the-art technology
and incorporates leading reliable design techniques in electronics, software
and mechanics to make reliable inventory measurement in virtually any environment. This
state-of-the-art weight & cable system is a proven problem solver. Wood
chips have a bulk density of about 20-30 lbs/ft3 and wood flour is even lighter
at about 15-20 lbs/ft3. In addition, the dielectric constant was very low,
running around 1.7 or lower, making this material very difficult for sonar, radar
and other types of level measurement technologies.
Monitor Technologies LLC is a leading supplier of level, flow, particle emission
and aeration instrumentation for the worldwide powder and bulk solids market.
The experience and market knowledge gained over five decades has earned Monitor
a reputation for providing high quality and reliable product solutions. Monitor
is located in Elburn Illinois, give us a call today and let us put our creative
solutions to work for you!
For more information refer to www.monitortech.com or contact Ms. Emily
Jones at 1-800-766-6486 (630-365-9403).
Why Use Solids Flow Monitors?
Assist in detecting problems & increasing automation
From complex automated systems with pneumatic lines
to straight-forward gravity chutes, solids flow monitors can help
to improve process performance. They are effective in detecting flow
problems, as well as enhancing the level of automation at a facility.
Solids flow monitors can assist in detecting problems in flow caused
by equipment failures, plugged lines, leaks, material bridges upstream,
low or no material, etc. They can also be used to add automation
to a process like opening or closing valves, turning a conveyor on
or off, and initiating a process function (spraying of a product
additive).
The Model SFI and SFD-2 line of solids flow detectors from Monitor
Technologies, LLC provide analog or relay outputs to indicate the
flow / no-flow condition of powder and bulk solids materials in chutes
and pneumatic conveying lines. Using microwave Doppler radar technology
these units are non-invasive and extremely reliable and rugged to
withstand the rigors of the installation and your process extremes.
Since there are no moving parts, these monitors can provide dependable,
low-maintenance service for many years.
Solids flow detectors like the Model SFI and SFD-2 can be used
in applications for a
variety of industries including construction materials (cement, sand,
gypsum, etc.), wood chips / sawdust, feed mills & grain processing,
consumer foods (cereal, coffee, sugar, cocoa, powdered milk, barley),
plastics, chemicals & pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and more.
One customer uses the analog signal from a Model SFI unit to monitor
the flow of carbon black in toner cartridge manufacturing to ensure
positive flow before further processing and to detect no-flow and
possible plugged conditions. Another company uses the Model SFD-2
solids flow detector to monitor the flow of coal into the burner
of a coal-fired power plant to detect no-flow conditions and ensure
safety.
Whether a solids flow monitor is used to detect problems, increase
automation or both,
the end result is a substantial long term cost
savings through: eliminating product waste,
cutting “downtime”, reducing employee time spent on watching
the processes or cleaning up spills/messes, increasing product quality
(reducing defective product), and decreasing maintenance time / replacement
costs on other methods of flow detection.
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