Apparatus and methods of measuring the level of materials within a sand separator are disclosed. Embodiments include mounting the source and detector on an expandable band to facilitate moving the detector between separators, and embodiments in which the detector is configured to provide a response when the level exceeds a threshold level. The response may include an audio-visual alert or controlling dumping of sand from the separator.

Radiometric measuring arrangement for measuring and/or monitoring a measured variable, especially a fill level or a density, of a fill substance located in a container and a method executable therewith for detection of accretion formation in the container. The variable to be measured is measured by means of a measuring system, which during operation sends radioactive radiation along a measuring path through the container, and measures radiation intensity emerging from the container along the measuring path, and by means of a comparison measuring system, which sends radioactive radiation along a comparison path through the container and measures radiation intensity emerging from the container along the comparison path. The comparison path extends in such a manner through the container that in the case of the presence of an accretion layer on the inner walls of the container a ratio of a sum of the two segments of the measuring path extending through the accretion layer to the length of an additional segment of the measuring path (A, A) extending between these two segments is different from the ratio formed in the same manner for the comparison path, and an accretion formation occurring in ongoing operation is detected based on deviations ascertained in ongoing operation between the measurement results of the measuring system and the measurement results of the comparison measuring system.

A system and method for adjusting a position of an oil-water interface layer. A vessel, such as a free water knockout or a treater used in the processing of heavy oil, contains a fluid comprising the interface layer. A nuclear densitometer is positioned to obtain density measurements of the fluid at various heights along the vessel. Based at least in part on these density readings, a valve controlling flow out of a water discharge port on the vessel may be actuated, with the flow of water through the water discharge port being inversely proportional to the height of the interface layer.

A module system for a radiometric measuring device includes a basic module having a sensor arrangement designed to generate a measurement signal on the basis of radiation which strikes the sensor arrangement, a signal evaluation unit electrically coupled to the sensor arrangement and being designed to determine a measurement variable on the basis of the measurement signal, a control device interface, wherein the basic module is coupleable to at least one control device by the control device interface for interchanging data, the basic module being supplied with electrical energy solely via its control device interface in a basic operating state, and an expansion module interface. The module system further includes an expansion module which is separate from the basic module and has a basic module interface, the basic module interface being able to be coupled to the expansion module interface for interchanging data, interchanging energy, and/or interchanging measurement signals, a number of functional groups, and an energy supply interface coupleable to an energy supply unit separate from the basic module and the expansion module, wherein energy provided via the energy supply interface is used to supply energy to the expansion module.

A nuclear level sensing gauge for measuring the level of product in a bin utilizes a plurality of scintillators arranged in a serial fashion. A source of nuclear radiation is positioned adjacent the bin, and the scintillators, which may be bundles of one or more scintillating fibers or scintillating crystals, are positioned in a serial fashion adjacent the bin opposite the source of nuclear radiation, such that nuclear radiation passing through the bin impinges upon the bundles. Light guides carry photons emitted by the scintillatorswhich are indicative of radiation passing through the binto a common photomultiplier tube. The tube is connected to electronics which convert counts of photons from the PMT into a measure of the level of radiation-absorbing product in the bin.

An apparatus for measuring the level of a medium in a container has a plurality of radioactive emitters which are mutually movable in order to be arranged at a different height level in each case in the container, a protective tube reaching into the container with an extent at least partially in the vertical direction, and an elongate holding device for the emitters, which is introducible into the protective tube and to which the emitters are fastened. A storage device for the holding device together with the emitters, a connection from the storage device to the protective tube, and a conveying device for conveying the holding device into the protective tube and out of the latter are also provided, wherein the holding device is configured to be length-invariant.

A method for determining the position of a liquid interface between a lower tray and an upper tray in a process apparatus such as a distillation column, using gamma scanning and comparing the maximum count rate of gamma photons measured between two trays with the count rate attributed to scanning through the apparatus filled with vapor. The method enables the operating parameters of the apparatus to be optimized and provides a manner of calculating the % flood of an individual tray.

A method and apparatus for determining the location of a substantially horizontal fluid interface within a vessel are provided. The apparatus has a generally linear source array comprising a plurality of sources of penetrating radiation and a generally linear detector array comprising a plurality of radiation detectors capable of detecting radiation emitted by the sources. The source and detector arrays are located so that radiation emitted from each source can follow a linear path from the source, through the vessel and material to the detectors. Comparing the amount of radiation received by at least two of the detectors from a source provides an indication of the relative density of the material through which radiation has passed. The linear axes of the source and detector array are oriented with respect to the horizontal interface such that the linear axes intersect the plane of the interface at an angle between 10 and 80 degrees.

The present disclosure generally relates to a process for separating polymeric and gaseous components of a reaction mixture obtained by high-pressure polymerization of ethylenically unsaturated monomers in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction in a separation vessel, wherein the filling level of the liquid fraction in the separation vessel is measured by a radiometric level measurement system comprising at least two radioactive sources and at least three radiation detectors, and the filling level is controlled by a product discharge valve which operates based on data coming from the level measurement system.

A detector probe for detecting ionizing radiation includes at least one detector (14) mounted on a support (12), and an electrically operated source of heat (18) arranged on the support in proximity to the detector so that the temperature of the detector may be changed by operation of the heat source. The detector probe may be used in the manufacture of a level gauge or density profiler.