Easy Integration – Highly Accurate Density Measurement

When deciding which process measuring technology to buy, the integration costs play a decisive role. The costs for altering a plant are often higher than the cost of new sensor equipment. This makes it all the more important that the sensors can be easily integrated into the plant. With 30 years of experience in process measuring technology, Anton Paar successfully masters this challenge.

For years Anton Paar has focused on providing plant operators with process data such as density, sound velocity, concentrations and viscosity values - with the highest accuracy and reliability and the minimum amount of required work. Besides the accuracy, long service life and durability, the ease of process integration plays a decisive role. Each customer request therefore requires an assessment to evaluate which sensor is best suited to the requirements.

With the wide range of process sensors at their disposal, the application experts first assess which physical property best represents the process parameter to be measured. The application team is able to use state-of-the-art laboratory measuring technologies from Anton Paar. A further benefit: The same measuring technology is used in the laboratory and in process. Often the assessment reveals that the density value is the best physical property for the measurement. However, this previously had the disadvantage that the integration of the sensor into the plant was very time-consuming.

The new generation of density sensors from Anton Paar combines the highest measuring accuracy with easy process integration. The density sensors are lightweight and compact. To withstand the toughest environmental conditions their housing is made of stainless steel. The sensors have no moving parts and are completely maintenance-free. The modular range includes sensors made of different materials and a number of process adapters. Besides the classic bypass adapters there are numerous inline adapters available which enable easy installation. Different communication interfaces are available to ensure easy integration.

The installation with inline adapters, which is favored by many customers, is the easiest way to integrate the density sensor into the plant. These adapters work according to the dynamic pressure principle, also called the pitot tube. The principle is a classic example of the use of Bernoulli's equation. The flow speed in the process line is used to supply the density sensor with sufficient throughput of sample. The losses are minimal and the running costs in combination with the maintenance-free sensors are virtually zero. Due to these benefits, installations with inline adapters are frequently found in the chemical and petroleum industries as well as in the beverage industry. The sensors are typically installed using a DN-50 flange. In the beverage industry a Varivent®-N flange is used. The sensor is mounted directly on the flange and requires no additional support.

Although the sensor is very compact, the measuring tube of the sensor has a diameter of 7 mm. For this reason, depending on the shape and number, particle contamination of 1 mm to 2 mm in size poses no problem. Even if the customer wants a classic bypass solution or this is necessary due to the process conditions, a 7 mm diameter solution is ideal. This means it is possible to use a cost-efficient 10 mm or 15 mm bypass system which causes only minimal additional operating costs. A comprehensive range of different bypass adapters is available to customers. Due to the modular design of the system and the resulting flexibility, customer requirements for DN 6 to DN 450 have been successfully met. It is also easily possible to provide customer-specific solutions.

The combination of a compact design and highly accurate density measurement make the sensors of the L-‑Dens 4X7 series the ideal solutions for flow-rate measurement. Multiplication of these two measuring parameters gives the mass flow and also provides precise automatic quality control for allocation metering. The whole system stands out for its compact design and low resistance to flow. With an upgrade it is possible to minimize the mass balance error, e.g. of a tank farm.

The easy integration and measuring cycle every second form the ideal basis for automating the product identification at multi-product pipelines and unloading stations. This minimizes the danger of product losses. The compact density sensors are also used at airports at the tank farms or dispensers. The density of the jet fuel can be measured using the highly accurate density sensor and the weight of the fuel calculated exactly. Due to the excellent price-performance ratio and low-cost integration, the density sensors are also often used during distillation. The ethanol concentrations can be measured with an accuracy of up to 0.06 %v/v.