Development of a Particulate Solids Thermal Mass Flowmeter

Abstract

An ideal mass flow meter should have the following properties: it should be non-invasive so as not to disrupt the flow profile; it should be easily installed on the conveying line to provide on-line and continuous measurements; it should be able to provide an accurate indication of the mass flow rate regardless of the orientation of the measurement section, inhomogeneities in the solids' distribution, irregularities in the velocity profile, or variations in particle size, moisture content and material properties. A mass flow meter as described in this paper has been developed which uses a thermal method, a direct, noninvasive approach to measuring the mass flow rate. The thermal method uses the principle of heat transfer to solid particles in a flowing fluid to determine the mass flow rate of particles. The mass flow meter is designed such that temperature sensors are located at two ends of a heated pipe section. In the experiments carried out, measurements of gas and solids' temperature were taken and used to calculate the heat transferred to the solids. The mass flow rate obtained using the thermal mass flow meter was compared to that using load cells. The results obtained are analysed and presented in this paper.