Hi,

I need to measure percentage of sand in water. We have a pipe of 8 inches diameter and 1200GPM flow. The volume percentage of sand is between 30 to 40. Does anyone know how can I measure it?

Thank in advance

Fernando Gutierrez

 

The most effective way to make this measurement is with a Mass Flow meter consisting of a Doppler flow meter and a gamma densitometer. This is often used in dredging because it is noninvasive and the highly abrasive slurry won't require regular replacement of the device.

Walt Boyes

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You have several options to measure solids content in water:

- Ultrasonic measurement
- microwave technology
- density measurement

The simplest is the density measurement. Assuming your solids and water a both of constant density, you can temperature compensate for water density
if you wish and most density sensors have this capability. The solids content will simply be directly correlated with the change in density. We
use this solution many times in our facility.

Density can be measured however you wish, nuclear or Coriolis meter. With the straight through flow Coriolis meters now available, you may just be
able to do it with their top of the line and most expensive model.

Ian
Syncrude Canada Ltd.

 

This is a classical measurement for a non-contact gamma density gauge. Typically, a gauge such as this can measure to 1% of range, ususally
better.

A vendor to consider is located at:

www.thermomeasuretech.com.

They may have a representative in your area who can review your application with you.

L.S.Kolbert

 

Density measurement is an excellent way to determine the %solids and you should be sure that the instrument you chose will give a good % solids output.
You quote an 8" pipeline with quite high solids content.
In this pipe size you may find that a coriolis mass meter is going to be very expensive at full line size and you may prefer not to install a bypass or slip stream. Also many mass flow meters have bent tube configuration and this will mean taking care about the flow velocities that you do not have serious abrassion problems.
If you are considering vibrational sytems then you may want to consider an alternative to mass flow meters such as the 7828 tuning fork from Solartron (www.solartron.com) which is an effective pipeline solution at any pipe size from 1" and above. It is used for chalk slurries; for underflow pumping control in some sand processing plants and granite washing plant and with some less agressive slurries such as china clays.
If the velocities are too high for such systems then you may want to consider a non-invasive system such as the gamma ray density meters suggested by others.