Calibration of an electrostatic flow meter for bulk solids measurement in pneumatic transportation

The University of Teesside has been actively involved in Clean Coal Technology R&D programs in solids mass flow, velocity, and particle size measurement. In the industrial applications, if the air to solids ratio is known, and the output rms in the equation can be obtained from the meter, the equation can give measured solids mass flow rate with an acceptable error band. The velocity of solids can be measured using the cross correlation method, which is usually a feature of electrostatic meters. The calibration can be carried out during the commissioning of a system using the rotary isokinetic sampling, which provides reference solids mass flow rate. The factors, A,B, C, D, E, and F in the equation can be identified via calibration with the corresponding velocity and rms value of a meter. The meter will then be ready for use over the ranges of velocity, air solids ratio, and solids mass flow rate, which have been covered in calibrations.