WRITE

SHORT

NOTE

ON

THE

FOLLOWING

MEASUREMENT USING: a) b) c) d) CONDUCTING PROBES CAPACITANCE PROBES DISPLACER LEVEL DETECTOR DIAPHRAGM LEVEL DETECTOR

A) CODUCTIVITY PROBES: conductivity probes use the fact that most liquids will conduct electricity. The figure shown
pg. 1

below illustrates the operation of the conductivity level probe.

LEVEL SWITCH HIGH LSH ELECTRODES LEVEL SWITCH LOW LSL

CONDUCTING FLUID

Fig 1 DIAGRAM 0F A CONDUCTING PROBE

An electrode is shown above the liquid level on the left side of the sketch. The circuit therefore is open and no current is flowing through the level switch to energize it. When the liquid level rises as shown on the right side of the sketch, a conductive path between the electrode and the grounded tank is established, closing the high level switch. Energization of the switch closes the load relays, operating pumps, solenoid valves or other processing equipment. If the tank is fabricated of fibre glass or other insulating equipment, the conducting circuit can be made between the sensing probe and the reference probe. Because these switches are available in a variety of configuration, they can be used for on-off control of one piece of equipment or for control of several pieces of equipment.

B) CAPACITANCE PROBES: A capacitor consists of two

pg. 2

conductors separated by an insulator. The conductors are called plates and the insulators are called dielectric charge. When a capacitor is connected to a battery as shown in the figure below, electrons will flow from the negative terminal of the battery to the capacitor and the electrons on the opposite plate of the capacitor will flow to the positive terminal of the battery. This electron flow will continue until the voltage across the capacitor equals the applied voltage as it is shown below.

ELECTRON

FLOW

BATTERY

CAPACITOR

fig CAPACITOR CIRCUIT

2:

BATTERY

AND

Capacitor charge is measured in farads. A capacitor has the capacitance of one farad if it stores a charge of one coulomb when connected to a 1volt supply. The electric size in farads of a capacitor is dependent on the physical dimensions and on the type of material (dielectric) between the capacitor plates. The equation for a parallel plate capacitor is given by the following C= E0 KEA/D
pg. 3

Where A= Area on square meter of either plates d= Distance in meters between plates kE= The dielectric constant or relative permittivity As material temperature increases, its dielectric constant tends to decrease. A change in the characteristics of the material between the plates will cause a change in dielectric constant, which is often larger and more easily measured than changes in other properties. This makes the dielectric measurement suitable for detection of the level of material in vessels, because changes in process level changes the dielectric constant. While these changes are helpful in measuring the level of the material, they also influence the accuracy of level measurement.

C1

LEVEL ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENT

C2

H C C3 GROUND

fig 3 CAPACITANCE PROBE DIAGRAM

C) DISPLACE LEVEL DETECTOR: Archimedes principle states that a body fully or partially immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid
pg. 4

displaced. By measurement of the apparent weight of an immersed displacer, a level instrument can be devised. If the cross-sectional area of the displacer and the density of the liquid are constant, then a unit charge in level device of this type involves a displacer that is heavier than the process liquid and is suspended from a spring scale. When the liquid level is below the displacer, the scale shows the full weight of the displacer. As the level rises, the apparent weight of the displacer decreases, thereby yielding a linear and proportional relationship between spring, tension and level. The spring scale can be calibrated 0 to 100% or in other level units. This simple device is limited to application in open tanks. the major difference between a float level switch and a displacer level switch is that a float stays on the surface and a displacer is partially or totally immersed. The displacer is mounted on a flexible cable attached to a support spring. The diagram of a displacer switch in an open tank is shown below
SPRING LEVEL SWITCH

FLEXIBLE CABLE DISPLACER

fig 4: DISPLACER SWITCH

pg. 5

IN AN OPEN TANK
As shown in the figure above, the displacer is mounted on a flexible cable attached to a support spring. When the tank is empty, the spring is loaded with the full weight of the displacer (hanging buoyancy) resulting from the immersion of the displacer unloads the downward force on the support spring and provides the small stem movement required for switch action.

D)

DIAPHRAGM excited for

LEVEL by the

DETECTOR: process

All

diaphragm against the detection.

detectors operate on the same principle of detecting the pressure switches material level diaphragm. The designs discussed below include diaphragm continuous liquid For solid material services, diaphragm switches can be selected from a number of design variations. Devices with mercury switches can be used for materials having a high bulk density, while units with micro switches are used for lower density services. The diagram below shows how diaphragm switches can be used to detect liquid by sensing the pressure of a captive air column in a riser pipe beneath the diaphragm. While fig 2 shows two versions of the continuous level detection, both
pg. 6

limited to atmospheric tanks. Two versions of the continuous level detection, both limited to atmospheric tanks are as shown in the figure. The diaphragm box instrument shown on the left side of the sketch is quite similar in operation to the previously discussed riser pipe diaphragm switches except that the diaphragm isolates the captive air from the process fluid.

DIAPHRAGM SWITCH (TYPICAL) LSH

LIQUID LEVEL LSL

fig 5: DIAGRAM OF A DIAPHRAGM SWITCH IN LIQUID SERVICE

pg. 7

VENT AIR L1 SUPPLY L1

REPEATER DIAPHRAGM BOX FLEXIBLE DIAPHRAGM

fig

6:

DIAPHRAGM

INSTRUMENTS FOR CONTINOUS LEVEL DETECTOR

pg. 8