About Solid Powder
Solid powder is a dry substance composed of many small particles that are tightly packed together. These particles may flow freely when shaken or tilted.
Powders can flow like fluids, but they do not deform continuously under shear stress. Powders tend to stick together when flowing. Radar and ultrasonic level instruments can be used to measure solid powder levels. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can affect the properties of solid powders. Some solid powders can absorb hundreds of times their volume in water and turn into gels.
What is powder flow meter?
A powder flow meter is a device that measures the flow rate of a powder, granules or particles. Essentially allowing you to monitor how fast a powder is moving through a pipe or system, a flow rate sensor designed specifically for powder materials. Commonly used in industrial applications such as chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical processing or systems and cement manufacturing.
Solid (powder) flow meters are tools for online measurement of various gas-transmitted powder flow rates. By measuring the powder flow meter online, the powder mass flow rate in the pipeline can be monitored in real time.
The applicable powder mass flow measurement range of our Sino-Inst flow meter is: 0-20kg/100kg/500kg/20t/100t/h; the applicable particle size range is 0.1UM~2000UM. Support customization!
Working principle of powder flow meter
In the production process of modern industry, due to process requirements, the application of powder flow meter is becoming more and more extensive, and the performance requirements are becoming higher and higher.
The powder flow meter adopts high temperature and high-pressure resistance design, which is suitable for various industrial production environments. The integrated, two-wire structure makes installation and use extremely simple, and can be easily connected to the user’s automation management system. Real-time monitoring of the working conditions of its upstream equipment can play a role in the energy-saving and efficiency improvement process implemented by the enterprise.
The powder flow meter uses the most reliable electrostatic measurement technology. When the airflow containing dust particles in the pipeline passes through a fixed sensor, the weak current generated by the dust particles in motion is collected by the sensor and transmitted to the transmitter. After being filtered, amplified, and processed by the transmitter, it becomes a standard output value that is linearly related to the dust flow.
Characteristics of powder flow meter
- An integrated structure consisting of a sensor unit and a transmitter unit;
- The dedicated sensor is a passive type without electronic circuits. High sensitivity, not affected by vibration, no dust contamination, high reliability, long life;
- The current signal output by the transmitter is electrically isolated from the sensor unit to achieve interference-free transmission of the output current signal;
- Two-wire (4-20mA) current signal output, strong anti-interference ability, easy to transmit over long distances, no special requirements for transmission wires. The output current is linearly related to the dust concentration, which is convenient for subsequent PLC data processing;
- Modular design, the sensor unit and transmitter unit can be replaced separately;
- Long life design, full metal shell and connectors.
How to measure dry solid flow?
To measure the “powder” with a powder flow meter, you actually measure its flow rate, which is the amount of powder flowing through the flow meter per unit time, usually expressed in grams per minute (g/min) or kilograms per hour (kg/kg/h) and is determined by the specific design of the flow meter.
Methods such as measuring the change in weight at set time intervals or utilizing sensors to detect the mass flow of the powder as it passes through the meter are often used.
Flow measurement methods:
- Mass flow measurement: The mass of powder passing through the flow meter is measured directly using a load cell or similar sensor.
- Volume flow measurement: The volume of powder passing through the flow meter is measured and then converted to mass using the powder density.
- Electrostatic measurement: Used in some designs, where the charge of the powder is measured as it passes through the sensor, providing an indication of the flow rate.
Factors affecting powder flow measurement:
- Particle size and distribution: Fine particles can produce greater flow, thus affecting flow rate.
- Moisture content: Moisture can significantly affect powder flowability.
- Powder density: For the same volume, higher density powders will have a greater mass flow rate.
Key points about measuring solid flow rate:
- Particle count:
In pneumatic conveying systems, the flow rate can be estimated by counting the number of particles passing a specific point in the pipeline.
- Particle size and shape:
The size and shape of the particles can affect the accuracy of the measurement, especially in velocity or impact based methods.
- Material density:
Knowing the density of the material is important for converting flow rate measurements to mass flow.
- Flow characteristics:
The flow pattern (e.g. laminar, turbulent) influences the choice of measurement technique.
Application of powder flow meter
Powder flow meters can be widely used in various industrial applications, such as ironmaking, power generation, pharmaceutical machinery, chemical industry, building materials processing, cement manufacturing and other industries.
Typical uses include：
- Coal injection pipeline for ironmaking blast furnace
- Coal injection pipeline for thermal power generation boiler
- Total amount of process delivery monitoring
- Various fuel boilers and other production powder flow monitoring.
- Recovery of powdered materials, monitoring of powder delivery process
In modern industrial production, solid flow meters are increasingly used and their performance requirements are increasing due to process requirements. Powder solid flow meters are reliable in harsh industrial environments and can optimize production processes by precisely controlling ingredient addition; making them a valuable tool for industries that handle bulk solids such as powders, cement and plastic granules.
Our Sino-Inst powder flow meters are designed to withstand high temperatures and pressures and are suitable for a variety of industrial production environments. The integrated, two-wire structure can be easily connected to the user’s automated management system.
If you need to purchase a solid flow meter or have technical questions about powder mass flow measurement, please feel free to contact us!
