Ultrasonic flow measurement in the minerals industry

Task

About 10% of total electricity consumption in Europe is accounted for by electric pump systems. In addition to optimum pump design, intelligent frequency converters can be used to adjust the speed of the drives and thus their power demand. The required output parameters are the corresponding delivery head and the flow rate.

Solution

Companies in the energy intensive minerals industry have recognized the high potential for energy and cost optimisation.

The portable DUC is used for measurement-based assessments of water consumption at intake and internal withdrawal points. The chart above presents example results from three measurement locations. The following process parameters are relevant:

Medium: Process water at 20°C
Sound velocity of the medium: 1480 m/s
Transducer: DUC-WP10, 1 MHz for nominal diameters DN 32 … DN 400