Differential Pressure Level Transmitters

The importance of level measurement cannot be overstated. Incorrect or inappropriate measurements can cause levels in vessels to be excessively higher or lower than their measured values. Vessels operating at incorrect intermediate levels can result in poor operating conditions and affect the accounting of material.

The level of a liquid in a vessel can be measured directly or inferentially. Examples of direct level measurement include float, magnetostrictive, retracting, capacitance, radar, ultrasonic and laser level measurement technologies. Weight and differential pressure technology measure level inferentially. All have problems that can potentially affect the level measurement. Differential pressure level measurement technology infers liquid level by measuring the pressure generated by the liquid in the vessel.

For example, a water level that is 1000 millimeters above the centerline of a differential pressure transmitter diaphragm will generate a pressure of 1000 millimeters of water column (1000 mmWC) at the diaphragm. Similarly, a level of 500 millimeters will generate 500 mmWC. Calibrating this differential pressure transmitter for 0 to 1000 mmWC will allow it to measure water levels of 0 to 1000 millimeters. Using the available information properly is another potential problem. Some years ago, distributed control system inputs were incorrectly configured to correspond to the maximum transmitter spans. Aside from using incorrect values, the levels should have been expressed in percent. Using absolute level measurement units such as inches, feet, millimeters or meters increases the potential for error because operators must remember the height of each vessel to put the level measurement in context with the vessel. This can easily become overwhelming and cause operator errors because plants often have hundreds of vessels.

Differential pressure measurement is a workhorse of industrial level measurement that is been used for decades and will continue to be used for decades to come.

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