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International Society for Industrial Process Tomography

11th World Congress on Industrial Process Tomography

ECT in a Large Scale Industrial Pneumatic Conveying System

M. Neumayer1, T. Bretterklieber1, T. Suppan1, H. Wegleiter1, C. Feilmayr2, S. Schuster2, S. Puttinger3

1 Christian Doppler Laboratory for Measurement Systems for Harsh Operating Conditions, Institute of Electrical Measurement and Sensor Systems, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, Graz, 8010, Austria

2 voestalpine Stahl GmbH, voestalpine-Straße 3, Linz, 4020, Austria

3 Department of Particulate Flow Modelling, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, Linz, 4040, Austria

*Email: neumayer@tugraz.at


ABSTRACT

The application of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) for monitoring of industrial processes has been studied and proposed by many researchers. Examples can be found in monitoring of multiphase flows or mixing processes in reactors. Demonstrations of the functionality based on lab and test rig measurements have proven the proposed principles. In this paper we address the development and operation of an ECT system for monitoring of pneumatic conveying processes in a heavy industries industrial plant. Operating an ECT system in this environment presents several challenges due to the harsh operating conditions. E.g. the sensor is exposed to high temperature variations and must withstand high pressures. These effects will lead to significant signal drifts of the measurement signals, disabling ECT imaging by means of conventional approaches. The installation situation of the presented system also requires the use of an ECT system with connection lines and thus a well-defined signal path must be realized. The development of the system therefore requires a holistic approach that includes all elements and components of the measurement system. We address the relevant aspects and present the solutions realized in the system. With respect to drift effects, a model-based compensation approach is shown. Finally, an approach to determine flow parameters such as the spatial mass density from the ECT reconstruction images for the aerated transport good is presented. These techniques are relevant for future developments, e.g. ECT based mass flow metering.

Keywords: ECT, pneumatic conveying, harsh operating conditions

Industrial Application: Pneumatic conveying

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