Control of slurry flow
AssigneeCsir
InventorHartmut Johannes Ilgner
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Abstract
One aspect of the invention concerns a method of controlling a flow of slurry pumped through a non-vertical pipeline (10) by a pump (54). In the method, at least one sensor (12) is provided. This has a sensing face (42), and the sensor is mounted at a predetermined position along the length of the pipeline such that the sensing face is flush with the invert of the pipeline at that position. The sensor is calibrated to provide output signals related to the velocity of the slurry at the invert. The operation of the pump and/or the density of the slurry are then controlled in response to the output signals from the sensor. Other aspects of the invention relate to the apparatus and to a slurry pipeline control system incorporating the apparatus and in which the method is implemented.
Claims20
A method of controlling a flow of slurry pumped through a non-vertical pipeline by a pump, the method comprising the steps of providing at least one sensor having a sensing face, mounting the or each sensor at a predetermined position along the length of the pipeline such that its sensing face is flush with the invert of the pipeline at that position, the sensor(s) being calibrated to provide output signals related to the velocity of the slurry at the invert at the predetermined position(s), and controlling the operation of the pump and/or the density of the slurry, in response to the output signals from the sensor(s).
A slurry pipeline system comprising a non-vertical pipeline, a pump for pumping slurry through the pipeline, at least one sensor which has a sensing face, means for mounting the or each sensor at a predetermined position along the length of the pipeline such that its sensing face is flush with the invert of the pipeline at that position, the sensor(s) being calibrated to provide output signals related to the velocity of the slurry at the invert at the predetermined position(s), and means for controlling the operation of the pump and/or the density of the slurry in response to the signals output by the sensor(s).
An apparatus for controlling a flow of slurry pumped through a non-vertical pipeline by a pump, the apparatus comprising at least one sensor having a sensing face, means for mounting the or each sensor at a predetermined position along the length of the pipeline such that its sensing face is flush with the invert of the pipeline at that position, the sensor(s) being calibrated to provide output signals related to the velocity of the slurry at the invert at the predetermined position(s), and means for controlling the operation of the pump and/or the density of the slurry in response to the signals output by the sensor(s).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.