Specifics of Development and Implementation of Devices for Monitoring Technological Processes in Production

The creation and maintenance of complex automated productions require the availability and implementation of modern means of monitoring technological processes, without which it is impossible to obtain information about the condition of equipment and other important aspects of the production cycle.

At the current stage of production automation in industry, construction, and energy, the role of highly sensitive sensors and instruments for monitoring, regulating, and controlling technological processes is increasing. It is important that these devices are structurally simple, reliable, and resistant to the external environment, capable of continuous operation under changing production conditions.

Priorities and Challenges

Such instruments are most in demand in the fuel and energy complex – one of the most priority sectors in the country's economy. Many processes are constantly being improved and automated, so numerous tasks related to monitoring operational parameters must be solved. The amount of working medium, level, density, flow rate, boundaries between gaseous and liquid media – all this can be monitored using high-precision sensors. It is important that instruments for monitoring technological processes can operate at high working temperatures and under constant mechanical impact. For example, a common problem has become the difficulty of automating production at thermal power plants. The problem is related to the lack of stable devices for monitoring the level of bulk materials in ash removal and fuel supply systems. Difficulties arise when measuring the viscosity of fuel oil and the density of water-coal slurry. All this combined causes breakdowns of technological equipment, reduces the reliability of power supply, and worsens the environmental situation in the region.

To solve this problem, highly sensitive instruments for monitoring and controlling technological processes are needed, capable of operating under strong thermal and mechanical impacts. Manufacturers of measuring equipment strive to offer new design solutions by developing multifunctional and reliable sensors for various industrial sectors.

Classification of Monitoring Instruments

In Russia and beyond, electromechanical primary converters operating on the principle of piezoelectric excitation are actively used. Such instruments have attractive metrological, size and weight, operational, and price characteristics. Analysis of the construction of such devices allows highlighting two priority directions in their development:

• The operating principle of piezoresonance sensors is based on the resonant mode of elements that provide acoustic decoupling of the oscillatory system and the sensor's structural elements. The sensitivity of the devices is based on the modulation of the oscillatory system parameters of the converter. Instruments and monitoring methods have not only become popular in practice but have also been distinguished as a separate scientific field.
• Ultrasonic monitoring instruments are designed for use in harsh conditions. Sensors use non-resonant modes of acoustic signal emitters and receivers, damping oscillations. The operating principle is based on the fact that many monitored physical quantities change depending on the conditions of the medium through which the ultrasonic signal passes.