RS Hydro Flowmeter Installation

RS Hydro were tasked with installing a flowmeter for monitoring flow for fluid containing mud and silt. The process itself is related to quarrying; specifically, flow from a rock mineral washing plant to a quarry silt settlement lagoon.

RS Hydro visited a large quarry and were presented with a 200mm diameter pipe and pump which connected the quarry's mineral washing plant process to the quarry's nearby settlement lagoon. The aim of the task was to install a flowmeter which monitored the flow of the heavily silted muddy water from the mineral wash plant to the lagoon, so that the quarry was able to determine the remaining lifespan and capacity the lagoon has for storing the silt.

Due to the nature of the fluid, a flowmeter specifically designed to manage silt and slurry was selected; the Siemens TransMag electromagnetic flowmeter system. This system runs off of AC voltage to counteract the difficulty of monitoring the slurry. The system is able to cope with solids and dirt in the fluid thanks to a Linatex inner liner. It is a hand-lined and bonded liner with a stainless steel inner tube. Its excellent abrasion resistance against sand, slurries, and particles means that these particles simply bounce off of the Linatex rather than causing tears and damage. As a result, this material is used often in quarrying and mining industries.

The sensor-body was fusion welded into the mineral wash settlement lagoon pipework, yet due to location, cable was laid between the pipe and the location of the TransMag's transmitter/flow data screen, located inside of an electronics building structure.

Used in conjunction with a Wildeye telemetry datalogger, no quarry technicians need to worry about slipping over mud on the ground of the mineral washing plant; the IoT device allows for the quarry operators to view the slurry flow-rate from the relative comfort of their own office.