Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ingemar Jansson
BTG Pulp & Paper Sensors
P2007en
BTG 2003
MEK-2300
Rotating shear force measurement
The question is, how can you trust these data and use them in
a real specific application?
In the specific application/position you probably have a lot of
variations in the pulp suspension. The fiber type, the flow
velocity, the temperature, conductivity, air content, pressure
etc.; all may change from time to time.
Introduction:
The MEK-2300 Rotating consistency transmitter uses the
shear force principle. It's a complete family with different
variants specified for most applications in the P&P industry.
It can measure between 1-16% consistency.
This paper will discuss these differences, based upon theoretical evaluations and practical experiences. It will show
that MEK-2300 is an
"Unrivalled transmitter for the most demanding and
difficult applications. And why it Provides the firm
foundation for optimal process control."
The paper will also describe why MEK-2300 still provides
the most accurate, safe and reliable consistency measurement on a general basis although new measuring principles
have emerged over the years.
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Background
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Product description
Applications
The Paper:
The paper is divided in
1. Background for the transmitter,
2. A description of it including its competitive advantages
compared to other transmitter types and
3. Applications; some typical applications where it shows
specific advantages over other instruments.
BTG 2003
and
e 20
I n th
30s
he
In t
s
50
In th
s
e 60
K31
K3
The K31 model was economic and easy to find a place for in
the piping system since it could be fitted close to the pump.
It was recognized by its reliability and many units have been
working in the field for 20-30 years. It was originally made
in a version to fit the Klle hydraulic controller but later on
modified to provide 3-15 psi pneumatic output signal and 420 mA electric signal. Pneumatic controllers were very popular at that time so the most common transmitter type was
the pneumatic one.
K22
In the 80s
In the 70s
MEK
- 2000
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The pneumatic controllers had become more and more outdated and replaced by electrical controllers or even DCS, so
the MEK-2000 became the most popular model,
These models became a very large success for BTG. They are
known for their very high reliability and good measuring
properties. Close to 10 000 units have been produced between
1984 to 2001. The present model, MEK-2300, is mechanically very similar to the early produced units although numerous modifications have been implemented over the years.
MEK-2000 had an analogue electronics, but to increase the
measuring accuracy a digital electronics can bring considerable advantages. The output signal can be linearized, which
result in an accurate measurement over the entire measuring
span, and not only at the control point. With different measuring ranges you can calibrate the transmitter to read very accurate even if you change fiber grade or type etc. This resulted
in a new model, the "intelligent" MEK-2200. The difference
to the -2000 is a different electronics unit, the control box
mounted on the wall. This model was produced, in parallel to
the MEK-2000 model, from 1992-2002. Several thousand
units have been sold.
The product:
The MEK-2300 model is distinguished by
1. High measuring accuracy, i.e. its general design properties
and ability to handle disturbances of the measurement.
2. Safe operation; i.e. why it is able to work well over a very
long time of operation and still keeping its high accuracy. All
limitations are known and you know that you can trust the
measurenent. No worries, you can sleep well at night!
3. Universal use I.e. why you are able to use it almost everywhere in the process with a good result and in what specific
applications it brings an added value.
The need to decrease the sales price and to simplify for the
user resulted in the BTG Smart family where all consistency
transmitters and also other kind of transmitters were coordinated. All transmitters are then fed with 24 VDC from a junction box with a common design to fit all models and using a
handheld terminal for their setting. The user interface is very
similar for all the instruments resulting in an easy training
procedure and great user friendliness.
The MEK-2300 model came in 1995 and in the beginning it
used a simple junction box (type JCT-1000). The Junction
box is mainly a box where the connections for all cables and
handheld terminal are made and also a convenient place to fit
the power supply. In year 2000 this junction box was replaced
with type JCT-1100 where a display and pushbuttons for simple settings was introduced together with a new surface
mounted digital processor card in the transmitter.
Totally from 1984 to 2002 close to 15 000 units in the series
starting with MEK-2000 and ending with MEK-2300 has
been sold. If you include the older rotating types over 30 000
units have been sold over a period of more than 80 years. This
is one of the fundamental reasons what makes BTG the leading consistency company.
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Almost
Over 25
Installed in
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Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Measuring principle
450 rpm
Force balance
transducer
with feed-back
function
4-20 mA /HART
Consistency transmitter
Measured relative volume
Rotating: 100
MEK-2300
Blade: 20
Optical: < 1
Due to the rotating motion of the sensing element, the transmitter will also be very sensitive to consistency changes, but only
to the fiber consistency! Compared to blade transmitters this
fact is very important when measuring at lower consistency
levels due to the higher shear force acting on the sensing element. Also type of fiber, fiber length, freeness, amount of fines
etc. will have an impact. More of this discussion later. Generally spoken you should not use a blade transmitter on a consistency lower than 2-2.5% depending on these factors, while the
MEK can be used down to 1-1.5%.
The signal-to-noise ratio shows the quality of the measurement
signal. The higher this level is the higher the quality. You can
say it reflects how much of the measurement signal consists of
non-desired background noise and how much the actual consistency signal is. Compared to static blade transmitters it has
been found in independent tests that the ratio for MEK is
approximately three times higher. So, also in this respect MEK
provides a more representative measurement.
Compared to measurement methods like microwave, nuclear
and certain optical types, the signal quality of MEK relies on
direct physical measurement properties. It's the forces created
when separating the fiber network because the sensing element
is cutting through it (together with drag forces acting on the
side of the sensing element). There are no complicated compensation algorithms needed for MEK. There are no additional
sensors (for compensation) needed, which may need their own
calibration, and no such components needed that may fail and
disturb the consistency measurement. MEK provides a straight
on, accurate and reliable measuring method.
Protected sensor: Since the sensing element of MEK is
located in the measuring chamber, inside the pipe wall, it will
be protected from foreign objects like stones or pieces of metal
or lumps of thickened pulp, flowing into the pipe at certain
occasions (start-up or shut-down etc.). Static blade transmitters
are often mechanically damaged while MEK very seldom is
damaged due to these reasons.
Accurate and long-time stable signal transducer: MEK uses
the force-balance principle with a built-in electro-magnetic
feedback function. As you can see from the description of the
measuring principle, we measure the angular difference
between the two shafts when a force created by the fibers in the
pulp suspension acts on the rotating sensing element. Then
you may ask yourself, why not just measure this angular
deflection using a force-movement type of system; why use a
complicated force-balance system? The reason is that we are
looking of achieving very high accuracy and sensitivity and
long-time stability of the transducer system.
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Consistency transmitter
Fiber and grade dependence
MEK-2300
Output (%)
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Signal quality: Signal damping and filtering: Very low - high quality
Response time and deadtime: Very short - good control ability
Signal-to-noise ratio: Very high - high quality
Cons. (%)
Reference:
Valmet Automation
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MEK will show 0.1% difference, i.e. 2.9% instead of the correct 3% while the blade shows 2.62%, i.e. an actual consistency error of 0.38% that is almost four times larger than for
MEK. This is a fact that is not commonly known. Competition
claims that their static blades are just as good as an MEK but
this is one of the proofs that it is not!
Please note that this error does not only apply when changing
from one specific pulp type to another, also changing or having different blends or fiber type (raw material) or changing
the freeness level will have the same relative impact, a four
times larger error for a blade transmitter, static or active, it's
the same in this respect.
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Consistency transmitter
Influence of fillers
Cons (%)
MEK-2300
Groundwood 3.0% Flow 2.0 m/s Temp 300 C. Coating clay added
KR = Sulfate Kraft
Optical reflection
GW = Mechanical groundwood
Blade
Rotating
3-2.62 0.38
2.62 = 2.62 = 16.4%
3-2.90 0.10
=
3 = 3.3%
3
Microwave
Rotating sensor
Active blade
Static blade
Filler (%)
MEK-2300
Consistency transmitter
Feedback %
Signal %
Influence of fillers
Feedback %
B-sensor. 10% Hardwood Kraft + 50%
Groundwood + 40% Fiber
coatingconsistency
clay
%
Fiber Consistency %
Filler content %
MEK-2300 does not sense the fillers, just the fiber consistency. For total consistency
measurement a compenstion can be made.
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MEK-2300
Air is present in the pulp in two forms, either tied to the fibers
or in the form of air bubbles. The size of the air bubbles
depends upon the line pressure; the higher the pressure, the
smaller they become. They also become solved in the water
with increasing pressure. Thus you need a certain min. pressure for a microwave transmitter to avoid influence from the
air content to the signal accuracy.
One problem, however, is that it is sometimes not possible,
with reasonable efforts, to increase the pressure and thus
avoiding the problem; the measuring principle cannot be
used, the pulp contains too much air.
According to information from all companies supplying
microwave transmitters the general rquest is min. 1.5 bar pipe
pressure.
This is valid if the air content is not too high, but what is an
acceptable level? Do you know how much it is for the application in question and are you sure it doesn't increase abowe
maximum at certain occasions? Is this a safe and reliable
measurement? Will it have an impact on the paper machine
runnability?
There are many uncertainties. The major user of microwave
transmitters, a Swedish mill, claim they need 1.8 bar pressure.
At the machine chest they have had problems and were forced
to install a larger pump, but then how much does this add to
the energy cost, see example fig. 20.
Other customers have said they even need 2.2 bar line pressure to be able to use microwave transmitters. Of course, this
all depends upon the air content they have.
MEK-2300:
Not influenced by air content
Not influenced by pipe pressure
Not influenced by conductivity changes
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MEK-2300 installed at
mixing chest at leading
paper mill in Finland
Accurate control
Measures fiber consistency
Not dependent upon air
content and pipe pressure
No by-pass, installed in-line
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Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
30000
200000
20000
150000
W
/K
nt
Ce W
08 K/K
,
13 SE
1
/KW
ent
4 C Kw
6,5 SEK/
0,5
100000
KW
Cent/
3,27 EK/Kw
0,25 S
10000
50000
Pressure increase
0
0
0,5
1,5
[bar]
MEK is not influenced by air / pulp pressure and conductivity like nuclear and
microwave consistency transmitters = Higher accuracy and Reduced costs
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- All parts and material used in the design are optimized for
the very demanding applications in the P&P industry. It's
designed to withstand high temperature, corrosive media and
atmosphere, high moisture in the surroundings etc.
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From a user and maintenance demand point of view the location is important since the transmitter in most cases is easy to
reach and handle.
The most important point is however its ability to bring a good
consistency control, a result partly depending upon its location
close to the pump. This will be discussed later on.
Fig. 26 show a typical installation of the transmitter, in this
case complete with a sampling valve, an item highly recommended. In this photo you can also find that the pump is
equipped with a variable speed motor. This is an installation
that can cause measurement problem particularly when the
pump operates at low speed since the pulp/dilution water mixing then can become less efficient. As we concluded earlier,
MEK-2300 however measures on a very large sample volume
and is thus less affected than other transmitter types. This particular installation also proves this theory; the unit works very
well also in practice!
Optimal Control
User friedly
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MEK-2300
Consistency transmitter
MEK-2300
Sensing elements
Normal consistency
Basic type
A
B
(2220-2320)
18
m
5m
in
7.3
Medium consistency
Upper limit
0.8
0.8
%
%
2.5
2.5
%
%
1.5-2
10-15
Long
1.0
5.0
Short
1.5
6.5
Long
1.5
Short
2.0
%
%
8.5
10.0
Basic type
G
H
I
%
%
120mm
4.7in
150mm
6in
125mm
5in
Upper limit
Long
10
Short
11
Long
Short
7
8
%
%
12
13
Long
100mm
4in
Short
9
10
%
%
14
15
%
%
80mm
3.1in
Long
Short
11
12
%
%
18
18
%
%
Special: 1-10%
MEK-2310
MEK-2308
MEK-2311
MEK-2314
MEK-2312
MEK-2320
MEK-2315
MEK-2340
10 bar
The sensing elements for MC are shaped like an S and developed to obtain good sensitivity and to minimize the flow sensitivity.
Consistency transmitter
MEK family. Variants
available in MEK-2300 series
21
8.3 0m
in m
MEK-2300
Consistency transmitter
10 bar/Unscreened
10 bar/Unscreened 25 bar
25 bar
Consistency: 1-16%
10 bar/Anti-spinning
Measuring vessel
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Weld-in stud
Pipe size 300 mm (12)
Inspection cover (option)
B
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Consistency transmitter
Mounting parts
MEK-2300
Tightened Distribution
Measuring vessel
Weld-in stud
Consistency transmitter
Typical installation
MEK-2300
Variability Reduction
Optimal Control
Reliable
User friedly
9AOX Reduction
9Environmental Compliance
9Operating Flexibility
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culated for a vertical installation by a factor 1.5 if the transmitter is installed on a horizontal pipe after a bend.
- Also multiple bends, pipe bends directly following each
other, are common and in such a case the recommended calming length is increased even further.
DEADTIME
________
Place them as close as possible to the dilution
- The ability for the transmitter itself to be installed on a turbulent flow. A turbulence is created in a pump, bend or at a
half-open valve. The fibers in the pipe will have different
velocities and the conditions in the pipe are generally unstable. At a certain distance after these disturbance sources the
turbulence evens out and the flow seen across the pipe diameter is uniform, all the fibers will flow with the same velocity
in the same direction. This stage is called plug flow.
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Td
Deadtime ~ 20 sec
If you compare to a rotating transmitter type MEK (or microwave /optical), which can be located much closer to the
pump, Td is 2 seconds and becomes 3 x 2 = 6 seconds.
Based upon these values you can then calculate the parameters for the PID controller, the Controller gain Kc and the
Integrating time Ti (Reset). The Derivate time (Rate) is set to
0.
But what will this mean for the control result using the different types of transmitters? Then you have to study a factor
called Cut-off frequency. The Cut-off frequency Tc is given
by the formula Tc = 2 ( + Td). Since we already know
and Td we can easily calculate Tc.
For the blade transmitter Tc = 2 (60 + 20) = 503 s ~ 8.5 min
and for MEK Tc = 2 (6 + 2) = 50 s < 1 min.
Since the Cut-off frequency Tc is the frequency where the
consistency controller can begin to attenuate disturbances of a
larger period, the value is critical. Frequencies faster than Tc
will not be attenuated!
Looking on the process, at different parts, what frequency
variations can you expect?
- Large tanks, storage chests etc. have long retention time, the
cut-off frequency is low. Thus the dead time Td is not a very
important issue. On the other hand, if the chest is equipped
with a special compartment using an intense mixing and you
have a double dilution, where the course dilution is fed into
this mixing compartment and the fine dilution before the
pump, the retention time can become short!
Generally spoken, traditional large volume chests do not
require transmitters giving very short cut-off frequency, a
blade transmitter can work satisfactory in this respect. For
modern type of chests using mixing compartment, they can be
better controlled using transmitters like MEK
(or optical/microwave).
- Small volume tanks or chests, type mixing chests or couch
pits or process equipment like washers, screens etc., means
higher cut-off frequency. Here consistency transmitters giving a short cut-off frequency can make a significant improvement for the control result, they are really able to treat the
incoming variations so that the control loop can make the job:
a smooth stable outgoing consistency without variations.
15
4
Open loop Time Constant () ~ 30 sec
Output signal blade type
transmitter (not in control)
Control ability:
ability: Comparison between BTG Rotating
(and Microwave/
Microwave/ inin-line optical)
optical) VS.
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Local
setpoint
C ONS IS T EN C Y TR AN SMI TT ER
MEK-2300
CS
Remote
control
Specific Refining
Energy Control
Drainage
Rate Control
F
FT
Output
Power
CRC
DRT-5200
I
MEK-2300
MPS-1000
Standard model
MEK-2300
Cs=3.5%
M EK -2300
Valve pos
Cs
C O N S I S T E N C Y T R A N S MI T T E R
BWCS
Valve
input
SP
Actual BW
C O N S IS T E N C Y T R A N S MIT T E R
M EK-2300
VBW-10
MEK-2300
RET-5300
Machine chest
In the second example the situation was very similar, the mixing chest before the paper machine. The mill is located in
Maine, USA. They mix mechanical groundwood and kraft
stock. The produced paper quality specification states that to
keep the required properties, the paper must contain min. 50%
groundwood pulp. If it becomes lower the properties do not
meet the standard, the paper must be degraded and sold to a
lower price or repulped, which is not cost efficient.
CRC
Mixing
chest
FT
MEK-2300
Safe, accurate, reliable Control for the most critical applications in the
Paper mill
Refiner Control
Standard model
MEK-2300
Wire Pit
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Special model
MEK-2315
30% higher torque
Special MC-sensing
element and mech. seal
Enables better over-all control of the digester. Improves pulp mill economics
Three examples from the chemical pulp mill; consistency control after the continuous digester, after the blow tank and inlet
to the bleach plant are described - fig. 44, fig. 46 and fig. 48.
In the recycled fiber pulp mill the application after the pulper
is shown - fig. 50. All of these applications are very difficult,
but for various reasons, and other types of consistency transmitters can hardly be successfully used here.
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Special model
MEK-2308
Special model
MEK-2320
Clean-flushing with
water
Special model
MEK-2310/-2312
30% higher torque
Flange for 10 or 25
bar pressure
Special MC sensing element
Wetted parts in 316 SS,
254 SMO or Hastelloy C
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Additional information:
- Data sheets, manuals, papers, articles etc. available from BTG.
- Accurate Consistency; A handbook on consistency measurement in pulp and paper processing. Available from BTG, TAPPI
and Paptac.
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