On-line sizing of pneumatically conveyed particles through acoustic emission detection and signal analysis

Accurate measurement of the particle size distribution of pneumatically conveyed pulverized fuel is critical to achieving optimal combustion efficiency and minimum pollutant emissions at coal and biomass-fired power plants. This paper presents a prototype instrumentation system for the on-line continuous measurement of particle size distribution through acoustic emission (AE) detection. The proposed method extracts particle size information from the impulsive AE signals arising from impacts of particles with a metallic waveguide protruding into the flow. The relationship between the particle size and the peak AE voltage is established through mathematical modeling of the particle impact process. Identification of the peak AE voltage is achieved with an energy-based peak detection algorithm. Experimental results obtained with glass beads demonstrate the capability of the system to discriminate particles of different sizes from the recorded AE signals. The system performs better in terms of accuracy for higher speed, lower concentration particles as the impact signals are stronger and better separated in the time domain.