Measuring viscosity with a long reach

At just over two metres, one of the world's longest torsional viscometers has been shipped by Hydramotion, for on-line measurement at the bottom of a polymerisation vessel

At just over two metres, one of the world's longest torsional viscometers has been shipped by Hydramotion.

The company was asked to help a customer needing to measure the viscosity of the fluid in a five-thousand-litre polymerisation vessel.

Previously, samples had to be taken away for offline viscosity measurement in the lab.

Not only was this procedure time-consuming, but the properties of the sample were liable to change before the measurement could be made.

Inconvenience aside, the risk was that the polymerisation point would be missed and the product would solidify in the reaction vessel.

The difficulty for installers was that any in-process viscometer could only be mounted at the top of the vessel, yet engineers needed to monitor the viscosity of the fluid at its base.

As the vessel was located in a hazardous area the instrument would also have to be intrinsically safe.

Hydramotion therefore created a long-reach sensor with a process fitting custom-made to suit the existing port, penetrating to the bottom level of the vessel.

Both the viscometer and its display unit are ATEX certified to Ex IIG.

Following installation, continuous on-line, INSTANT viscosity measurement was possible regardless of actual fluid level, saving valuable time and ensuring that the process could be monitored throughout.

The customer came to Hydramotion asking for a solution that would avoid having to modify the tank or re-engineer their installation.

The viscometer was simply installed on an existing port and worked straight out of the box.

Hydramotion has many years of experience in the design and production of special-application instruments, including long-reach models for large-bore pipes or deep tanks.

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