Summer of Steam: RS Hydro's Clamp-On Flow Monitoring Across Industries

Industry sector:

Waste Recycling, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical production

RS Hydro were requested to assist 3x different industry customers all with the same aim; measuring steam flow consumption from industrial boilers to their respective industrial processes. On already hot summer days, RS Hydro engineer Richard B boiler-suited himself up for even hotter working conditions!

There were 3x separate visits to 3x different sites. One site was a waste recycling facility, with a steam process operating around 10barG pressure which at assumed 100% dryness is around 185oC. The second was a dog food production facility, where there were 2x processes running between 8bar to 10bar (8bar being roughly 175oC). The final site was a pharmaceutical production facility, with a process running roughly at 8 bar.

Monitoring steam flow with a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter is a challenging endeavour. Firstly, the 'conditions' need to met; sufficient pressure (beginning around 8 bar for steam) in the process and suitable lengths of straight run (often meaning that sensors are clamped onto pipes high up on production facility ceilings) are required for the technology to work. Then, the user installing the flowmeter needs to carefully adhere to sensor-spacing requirements and carry out flowmeter programming prior to the measurement taking place.

Once up and running, the Panametrics PT878GC portable ultrasonic flowmeter is able to monitor steam flow rates within the pipe process. This is useful for auditing the steam consumption of certain production processes, monitoring any sudden changes in flow velocities and gaining an insight into steam flow data over a time period without the need for costly process shutdowns or cutting into process pipe to install a different type of flowmeter.

Thanks to the PT878GC's in-built datalogger, once the monitoring period was completed, RS Hydro presented the logged steam flow data to the clients, so that they had data they can use to assess the performance of their industrial boilers.

These services were provided as part of a hire-trial-installation, which allows for industrial sites to test clamp-on ultrasonic technology on their gas flow processes without committing to buy a flowmeter system first - it is a prudent step to take to make sure the flowmeter is right for the site!

Product:

Panametrics PT878GC portable gas clamp-on flowmeter with C-RL high temperature rated transducers. Engineering hire-installation services.

Additional Information:

RS Hydro have many years of experience using ultrasound technology to monitor a large number of different fluids and gases. With on-site installation services, there is no need to carry out flowmeter pre-programming or interpret the flow data alone. Contact RS Hydro's specialist sales team to learn more about the various fluid and gas monitoring services that can be provided.