On-line measurement of particle size distribution and mass flow rate of particles in a pneumatic suspension using combined imaging and electrostatic sensors

This paper presents a novel instrumentation system that uses a combination of electrostatic and digital imaging sensors. An inferential approach is adopted for the mass flow measurement of particles, velocity and volumetric concentration of particles being measured independently. The velocity of particles is determined by cross correlating two signals derived from a pair of electrostatic sensors and the volumetric concentration of particles is obtained using a novel digital imaging sensor, which also provides particle size distribution data. The basic principles and limits of operation of the imaging sensor are discussed and explained. Results obtained from a pneumatic conveyor are presented which demonstrate good performance of the measurement system for both mass flow metering (accurate to about ±6%) and particle sizing (reliable to around ±2.5%). Particle size distribution results are also included and the insensitivity of particle sizing to changes in velocity and concentration is assessed. In addition, on-line sizing results are compared to off-line results, measured using an accepted laser diffraction based instrument, and good agreement is observed. In general, the results obtained are encouraging and the system shows great promise.